|
|
|
|
|
Every day, we come in contact with all kinds of strangers. We drive past them on the street or walk by them in the store, and then we go on with our day. But in Finland’s Best Foreign Language Oscar submission, Compartment Number 6 (or Hytti nro 6), a couple of strangers make a clumsy but significant connection on a train.
Compartment Number 6 embarks on a long train journey to the arctic with Laura (Seidi Haarla), a Finnish archaeology student who’s been studying in Moscow. After reading about the petroglyphs that had been discovered in the far north, she decided to see them for herself. In order to get there, though, she’ll have to leave her girlfriend behind and travel in a small train compartment with a strange man (Yuriy Borisov). The journey gets off to a terrible start—but as they travel, these two strangers gradually build an unexpected connection.
Of course, Laura has every reason to be anxious when she first meets her traveling companion. She’s a young woman traveling alone, and she arrives in the cabin to find a man who’s messy and drunk, making loud proclamations about Russia, the greatest country in the world. And her attempts to keep him at a distance only make him act out even more, allowing both of these talented stars to give strong performances against a rather simple and often claustrophobic backdrop.
As her relationship back in Moscow cools, Laura finds herself opening up to conversations with her traveling partner. They share a few basic facts about their lives. They have a few drinks. But as the train continues north through Russia, they open up more and find comfort in the company of a relative stranger.
Along the way, viewers will witness the gradual transformation in these characters. They become more complex, more interesting, as the wintery Russian scenery passes by their compartment window. At occasional stops in the long journey, the characters explore areas around the station, stopping for a smoke on the snowy platform or following a dog to some friendly locals. Though this may not be a film that’s loaded with action or melodrama, it’s a charming story of two people whose lives intersect in some unexpectedly moving and amusing ways.
Compartment Number 6 doesn’t always go the way you might predict, and it doesn’t end the way you might expect. But this challenging, playful, moving drama is sure to make you stop and think about the connections in your life.
Compartment Number 6 opens in select theaters beginning on March 25, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
|
|
|
|
