Thanks to Hollywood, we are really spoiled for choice when it comes to movies about alien arrivals, many of which result in scenes of death and destruction on an epic scale. With that in mind, director Egor Abramenko and writers Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev should be praised for avoiding the urge to create another over-the-top shoot 'em up. Instead, Sputnik is a far deeper movie, and because of this, viewers who imagine this will be another man versus alien knock off, will be disappointed. My recommendation: go into this film with as few expectations as possible.
Sputnik crafts a story that thematically explores love, family, what it means to be a hero, power, sacrifice, and the greater good. These are imbedded into the film's narrative, and treated competently. Unlike other alien films of recent years, where cheesy dialogue goes with it like peas and carrots, this Russian gem is intelligently written, with characters making decisions that are not only smart and logical, but make sense in regards to their character.
The film is set in 1983. Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov) and Kirill Averchenko (Aleksey Demidov) are cosmonauts, whose space module, that's returning them to Earth, is inexplicably hijacked. After Moscow loses contact with them, the pod mysteriously crashes in Soviet Kazakhstan. Enter Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina), a psychological professional, who is as brilliant as she is beautiful, and who is renowned for thinking outside the box to solve complex cases. Hired by a colonel named Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk), her task is to evaluate Konstantin, who is believed to be harboring something sinister from the missing hours in space.
Characters are likable and well developed. Each has strong views and values, and the resulting conflict makes for a great back and forth between them, with equally believable chemistry. Even characters like the arrogant doctor, Yan Rigel (Anton Vasilev) have likable qualities, demonstrating that everything is both good and bad, an idea the film frequently postulates.
Having similarities to movies like Alien and Life, yet developing its own unique interpretation of the genre, Sputnik is a film filled with terrific imagination. Despite occasionally resorting to telling the audience rather than showing, the explanations greatly assist us in having a perfect view of the complex situation. The pacing is really good, the feature slowly ratcheting up the evolving situation and tension, one event feeding into another.
The orchestral score superbly adds to the film, the sometimes bombastic or eerie tones developing an unsettlingly ambience, though it can be surprisingly gentle at times too. The sound design, moreover, is just as effective, while the effects are phenomenally sublime. The movie is not bogged down by these, choosing to show us the creature in moderation, adding to the alien atmosphere. At the same time, the cinematography (example, shots of the steppes) is gorgeous to behold, while the set design tonally adds to the feature.
The inclusion of a sub-plot about an orphaned child does feel a bit tacked on, considering we know more about the alien than we do about him, yet he becomes pivotal as the narrative progresses. Furthermore, the film does toy with a love story during its almost two-hour run-time. Despite there been scenes that subtlety explore this, this thread also needed further weaving to stand up to scrutiny.
You can probably tell by now that I'm just nit-picking. As a creature-feature, Sputnik is delightfully entertaining in its design and execution, this aspect of the movie receiving the most attention and devotion. Sputink is a testament to the fact that diamonds can always be found, even in overdone film genres, and this Russian addition truly shines.
Sputnik crafts a story that thematically explores love, family, what it means to be a hero, power, sacrifice, and the greater good. These are imbedded into the film's narrative, and treated competently. Unlike other alien films of recent years, where cheesy dialogue goes with it like peas and carrots, this Russian gem is intelligently written, with characters making decisions that are not only smart and logical, but make sense in regards to their character.
The film is set in 1983. Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov) and Kirill Averchenko (Aleksey Demidov) are cosmonauts, whose space module, that's returning them to Earth, is inexplicably hijacked. After Moscow loses contact with them, the pod mysteriously crashes in Soviet Kazakhstan. Enter Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina), a psychological professional, who is as brilliant as she is beautiful, and who is renowned for thinking outside the box to solve complex cases. Hired by a colonel named Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk), her task is to evaluate Konstantin, who is believed to be harboring something sinister from the missing hours in space.
Characters are likable and well developed. Each has strong views and values, and the resulting conflict makes for a great back and forth between them, with equally believable chemistry. Even characters like the arrogant doctor, Yan Rigel (Anton Vasilev) have likable qualities, demonstrating that everything is both good and bad, an idea the film frequently postulates.
Having similarities to movies like Alien and Life, yet developing its own unique interpretation of the genre, Sputnik is a film filled with terrific imagination. Despite occasionally resorting to telling the audience rather than showing, the explanations greatly assist us in having a perfect view of the complex situation. The pacing is really good, the feature slowly ratcheting up the evolving situation and tension, one event feeding into another.
The orchestral score superbly adds to the film, the sometimes bombastic or eerie tones developing an unsettlingly ambience, though it can be surprisingly gentle at times too. The sound design, moreover, is just as effective, while the effects are phenomenally sublime. The movie is not bogged down by these, choosing to show us the creature in moderation, adding to the alien atmosphere. At the same time, the cinematography (example, shots of the steppes) is gorgeous to behold, while the set design tonally adds to the feature.
The inclusion of a sub-plot about an orphaned child does feel a bit tacked on, considering we know more about the alien than we do about him, yet he becomes pivotal as the narrative progresses. Furthermore, the film does toy with a love story during its almost two-hour run-time. Despite there been scenes that subtlety explore this, this thread also needed further weaving to stand up to scrutiny.
You can probably tell by now that I'm just nit-picking. As a creature-feature, Sputnik is delightfully entertaining in its design and execution, this aspect of the movie receiving the most attention and devotion. Sputink is a testament to the fact that diamonds can always be found, even in overdone film genres, and this Russian addition truly shines.