TransSiberian
Mystery and intrigue in the frozen waste of Siberia
Tags: TransSiberian Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 4th, 2008
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Transsiberian is a nice little thriller set in one of the more interesting locations on Earth – the middle of nowhere, Russia. Trains are not a new location for a mystery, not is the setting of being in the middle of nowhere. Lifeboat is an early example of this genre that somehow always manages to surprise with its endless adaptability.
Here we get a mystery from the opening moments of the film, beginning in Vladivostock and Police Inspector Detective Narcotics Bureau (or some other such grand title) Grinko (Ben Kingsly) investigating what appears to be a drug deal gone bad. The scene then shifts to Roy and Jessie (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) who were doing missionary work in China, and elect to take the long train ride to Moscow. Along the way they meet another couple Carlos and Abby (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) who seem a bit sketchier, but decent.
While there is a lot of character interaction, which is key and central to the film, it is interesting that not all of the main players are ever together. As a matter of fact, one of the key players simply vanishes early on and it seems that the film had taken a dark turn and that the audience would be in for a different film than what we do get. This is what makes the film so good, that while it is a very simple story, the characters are well developed and the plot is executed finely to make for a decent mystery thriller.
Unfortunately the pacing may put some people off as the film plays out much like the titular train ride. There are long stretches where seemingly nothing happens only to round the bend and be faced with a surprise. Some may see this as the film being slow, but I found it to be more atmospheric and deliberate in the way events unfolded.
I took the Trans-Siberian journey from Beijing to Moscow about 13 years ago or so, and vividly remember the experience. Transsiberian recreates the feeling of the train ride very well, and while it isn’t a travelogue, there are definite landmarks that recognizable, if not by sight by their mention (and the excitement they elicit).
The Blu-ray comes with a “making of” featurette that runs just over 30 minutes and is in interesting look at what it took to make the film. The DVD doesn’t come with it. This seems odd. Get the Blu-ray, really, because you want to see these landscapes in as much clarity as possible anyway.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Good mystery + Tension without unnecessary scare tactics |
8.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - Slow pacing can be off-putting | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| A solid thriller worth checking out. | |
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Tags: TransSiberian
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 4th, 2008 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
