Les silences du docteur Ivens

Dr Evans, his wife and a few other passengers are saved by alien visitors after a plane crash. One of the humanoid aliens develop a special relationship with Dr Evans, whose scientific work aspire to prolong the human life span. As a first encounter both sides experience somewhat of a disappointment about the other, albeit the aliens had less to correct. The emphasis is on the dialog. This is a film with limited action and special effects. The display of a well known scotch whisky, and brand of cigarettes intend to give the viewer the impression the events in this film take place somewhere in western Europe. Being the year 1973, it works for me, though we did have slightly more intense traffic. The performances are classic Russian drama acting, which works just fine in surreal situations such as alien encounters. The star Sergey Bondarchuk does a solid interpretation of his role. Does his name seem familiar? Well, yes, his daughter made a memorable and lasting impression as Hari in Tarkovsky's Solaris the year before this film. This is not a great movie, but it is neither a complete waste of time to watch it.