Silent Souls

Somewhere up north in Scandinavia a young woman dies. Her husband wants to cremate her, following the rites of the land he lives in. One of his workers comes with him and together they start on a road trip through life itself.

A short introduction is used to define the world of the film - a desolate town in the middle of nowhere that is filled to the rim with people that follow a somewhat strange set of rites and rulings, but that are perfectly happy with them. The main theme in their life is a large river that flows through their country and that is more or less the base of their lives.

As it starts rolling it is mostly just two players working their ways around each other, portraying their odd lives with perfection. The story is amazing, the way they go through it is maddening and reminding of a lot of other strange road trips. The Straight Story and Cargo 200 come to mind. It has some fleeting moments where the pace drops to a stand still though and thus it isn't entirely satisfactory. It's good, but not very good.

7 out of 10 bottles of vodka

Silent Souls. A fitting adapted English title to this film. In short, Aist and Miron serve as the guides to a desolate portrait into the life of the Merya people of Russia. The journey is centered on the grieving of a husband for his wife, and on the the associated death rites. As such, the film gives viewers a passenger's perspective into the customs and thoughts of a people whose rituals have been disappearing. All in all, Silent Souls is informative and simple, dragging viewers slowly into a surprising and symbolic conclusion. It is a film best observed through the gaze of an anthropologist or ethnographer, and taken in with the intention to learn and absorb a culture that to most will be new and foreign. In sum, one ought not to expect Hollywoodian diversions.

.... Because it is terribly boring! It seems that when movies made by non Anglophone directors deal with traditions, death and other supposedly « deep » subjects, critics are always over enthusiastic.

There is barely any dialogue, people are neither beautiful nor thin, there is no real plot to speak of, nothing happens : oh well it must be a wonderful experience of the senses, almost mystical, transcendental.

You have to be a poet, an intellectual or an artist with a love for emptiness and a lot of time to waste in order to enjoy watching such a film.

I can hardly understand why some critics have written that it was sensual and erotic. Hearing a man say his wife's « three holes » worked perfectly and that they only had sex when he initiated it did not make me feel the slightest bit aroused.

To each his own I guess but I would appreciate it if the media were a bit more honest when it comes to « foreign » films and that is why I decided to review this very dull Russian film and tell it like it is.

This was a fairly interesting movie.

Just to correct errors in two of the previous reviews above: this is not a Scandinavian movie, but Russian. It is not located in remote Northern Scandinavia, either, but in central Russia, and thus actually quite far from Scandinavia. Although the movie tells about traditions of a people ethnically related to Finns, there is really nothing in the movie that would resemble anything in Scandinavia. These Meryan people merged with Slavs about a thousand years ago, and their own language disappeared in the 16th century. Apparently some of their ancient customs still live, if this movie is to be believed.

Having set myself the goal of watching all the fairly good films released in Russia in 2011, I started with this movie.

The film turned out to be very languid, calm. Although the film is modern, and the plot takes place in our time, it is devoid of all the fuss, that overabundance of electronics that now reign in megacities. A provincial town, calm people, who never seemed to show bright emotions, who still retained some part of their culture ... This causes respect.

Some may feel that the scenes are drawn out. Yes, indeed, a change of plans takes a very long time. But it seemed to me a great merit of the film - so you could see every centimeter of the space being filmed. Immerse yourself completely in the plot of the film.

I immediately understood how the film would end, because the plot is quite simple and a little banal, they say, they are going to bury the godwit, which means they will bury it at the end of the film. But even after that, the interest of the film did not fade away. The film was watched in one breath, as if it lasted only a few minutes ..

Simple, unobtrusive, nothing special. Just a good movie.

10 out of 10.