Archangel
Set in contemporary Moscow and the frozen northern town of Archangel, the drama revisits the stark landscape of Communist Russia and takes place over four days in the life of academic Fluke Kelso. His fateful meeting with a former Stalinist bodyguard leads to the uncovering of one of the world's most dangerous and best kept secrets. He is led unwittingly through murder and intrigue towards his own personal "Holy Grail" - Joseph Stalin's secret legacy - a legacy that could change the face of Russian history forever.
'Archangel' is quite friendly towards those not familiar with the legacy of Josef Stalin, and is an engrossing mystery as a result. Unfortunately, there's also a lack of character development here. The people in this television film are just sort of presented to the audience, and then become pawns in the film's narrative. So it doesn't work very well as a thriller, and maybe an extra half an hour or so could have worked out this problem. However, Daniel Craig and Russian actress Yekaterina Rednikova give reliable performances, and the ending is definitely not what I was expecting (but in a good way). Not without its flaws, but worth catching when it's on again.
~ 7/10 ~
Set in contemporary Moscow and the frozen northern town of Archangel, the drama revisits the stark landscape of Communist Russia and takes place over four days in the life of academic Fluke Kelso. His fateful meeting with a former Stalinist bodyguard leads to the uncovering of one of the world's most dangerous and best kept secrets. He is led unwittingly through murder and intrigue towards his own personal "Holy Grail" - Joseph Stalin's secret legacy - a legacy that could change the face of Russian history forever.
'Archangel' is quite friendly towards those not familiar with the legacy of Josef Stalin, and is an engrossing mystery as a result. Unfortunately, there's also a lack of character development here. The people in this television film are just sort of presented to the audience, and then become pawns in the film's narrative. So it doesn't work very well as a thriller, and maybe an extra half an hour or so could have worked out this problem. However, Daniel Craig and Russian actress Yekaterina Rednikova give reliable performances, and the ending is definitely not what I was expecting (but in a good way). Not without its flaws, but worth catching when it's on again.
~ 7/10 ~