The Postman's White Nights

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.

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.

My advice is to watch this film to experience it's captivating photography and the characters that live in the back country to whom the postman must deliver their mail.

You see their hope, needs, desires, boredom, and hopelessness. There really isn't a plot to this movie it's just a fascinating look into the lives of a small almost forgotten community living on the very outer edges.

This film may be much too subtle for some who are accustomed to the Hollywood-type lowest common denominator message delivery. The conversations and interactions are not stylized or dramatized - they are very natural. The scenery is stern and beautiful and the camera work is magnificent. What is especially remarkable is how gently and thoughtfully the characters are portrayed. The postman is an exceptionally kind soul. He is not handsome or muscular and he does not commit any violent acts but he is still "created in God's image" and, in his own way, very heroic. Others may be superfluous, primitive and flawed, but the film manages to fully humanize them and make them very sympathetic and likable. Another reviewer mentioned the contrast between the launch of the space rocket and the simple life of the villagers, but that is not the main point of the film. However poor these people are, the rocket does not diminish their humanity. In fact, the characters do not even notice it. It does not matter anymore that the spaceships are plowing the expanses of the universe. The scenes where the postman looks at a little ant, or hears the sounds of the past in the decaying school building, are even more profound. The important and skillfully developed idea here is that, however remote this place is, the now abandoned people living there still got caught up in the historical events forced upon them, and those events left them scarred for life.

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.