Belye nochi pochtalyona Alekseya Tryapitsyna

The scenario: Lake Keno or Kenozero in northern Russia's Arkhangelsk district (the city of Arkhangelsk is about 300 kilometers away). The lake is not far from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which plays a role in the story. It is summer, and the far northern latitude of the lake causes the white nights; darkness never sets in day or night. Postman Aleksey Tryapitsyn (played by himself) delivers mail by boat to the small settlements on the lake's shores. The inhabitants seem to be mostly women, children, and old people; presumably, the able bodied men have departed in search of jobs. Aleksey's visits seem to be the only communication of the locals with the outside world, except for television and occasional bus trips to nearby towns.

There are a few professional actors in the cast; the rest of the characters are real people playing themselves. Individual anecdotes and reminiscences were used by director/writer Andrey Konchalovsky and cowriter Elena Kiseleva during the writing of the screenplay. The time is post-Soviet and we have glimpses of some of the character's past from their comments and some photographs. There are also strange and whimsical happenings such as the disappearing grey cat and rockets from Plesetsk making their way to space in the background.

The action: nothing much happens, except for a theft mid-movie. However, what we witness are real characters in they real milieu. The film bears the seal of truth and envelops us in its magic from beginning to end. An essential component is the outstanding cinematography by Aleksander Simonov. It does justice not only to the beautiful, melancholic summer landscapes of Northern Russia but to the modest houses and their drab interiors which, without obvious trick lighting come to life with the poetry of common things and with an almost three dimensional look. One of the most fascinating films I have seen.

In "The postman's white nights" the local postman is the only connection with the outside world for the inhabitants of a very remote (only accessible by boat) rural area in the North of Russia. Because of this the postman is much more than only a postman. He delivers also other goods than mail and is closely involved in the lives of the families in his area.

Because they are both situated in Northern Russia "The postman's white nights" is often compared with "Leviathan" (2014, Andrey Zvyagintsev) from the same year. Apart from the Northern place of action another similarity is the abundant consumption of Wodka.

But there are differences too. The landscape in "Leviathan" is messy, the landscape in "The postman's white nights" is at times eye-catching situated as it is in Kenozersky National Park. The Wodka consumption in "Leviathan" is mainly due to frustration with widespread corruption, in "The postman's white night's" it is caused by boredom.

I would like to make a comparison with a film that at first sight is completely different: "One Hour Photo" (2002, Mark Romanek).

In "One Hour Photo" a photo developer gets intimately involved with a family, in "The postman's white nights" it is a postman. In both casus a rather unusual situation. In "One hour photo" the reaction is very negative, in "The postman's white nights" on the contrary it is positive.

OK, the main character in "One hour photo" is much more creepy (and tragic) than the main character in "The postman white nights", but I think there is another, less obvious, reason.

"One hour photo" plays in a Western urban environment where the nuclear family is the norm and people can meet their needs by market transactions.

"The postman's white nights" plays in an Eastern rural community where extended families are the norm and neighborly help is essential to survive.

I didn't expect docu-fiction from Konchalovskiy but that's ok... it was good. I especially enjoyed the romance between the postman and the police woman (the movie made me identify with him and desire her, as Laura Mulvey would say) as well as its lyrical moments (the rockets! the boat trip! the contemplation of nature!). I also think it's beautiful that a remote community like this has acted in a movie.

The concept is simple, the premise even more so, the execution - well done. It is a different movie in that you follow a mail carrier in a somewhat remote (but not too remote) southern part of russia. As he delivers mail we get to see his interactions with the community, learn about it, about life, their struggles, their aspirations... all of those are covered and more. It feels like a documentary at times.

Nothing in this movie is sensationalized which is very in line with russian cinema. Everything is low key but not moody or brooding as we have grown accustomed to their cinema.

The acting is very natural, the events are completely realistic, the flow is well paced and you never feel overwhelmed, lost or bored with the script.

Not much to say about it other than it is a good drama. And the locations are very nice, i could totally see myself setting up a lakeside cabin there. You really get that feel through it all since the camera work and scene composition have been well done.

You can seek deeper meaning in this, and it has plenty of that offer, or you can take it at face value. Both ways, the story is consistent and the movie works whichever way you view it. I wanted to give it an 8 but that is way too high. We will have to settle for 7 because i feel some scenes could have been better elaborated on.

A very realistic depiction of life in a beautiful Russian village whose tenuous connection with the rest of the world is slowly getting severed. This lends it an air of magic & mystery. Unfortunately, all's not good for this village since it doesn't have the basic infrastructure that we take for granted, like schools & healthcare institutions. People are poor and have no jobs. Their only remaining connection to the outside world is the postman who delivers mails & brings in their supplies. He is a decent and easy-going guy but when his boat's motor is stolen, he gets a little fed up with the village people. And when his love interest leaves for town with her son, he too decides to go to the city, but his roots may be deeper than he thought!

Mr. Konchalovskiy has captured the essence of this wonderful community on the verge of extinction. Hopefully, this movie would have brought the attention of the authorities to the plight of the people living in this beautiful but abandoned land.

The cinematography & the sparse background score is to die for!