Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Igor Sergeyev, Yuriy Tsurilo, Viktor Sukhorukov, Yuliya Aug
Written by Denis Osokin based on his own short story
Cinematography by Mikhail Krichman
Produced by Igor Mishin and Mary Nazari
Certification TBC
Runtime 75 minutes
Directed by Aleksei Fedorchenko
Miron (Tsurilo) runs a paper factory in the town of Neya when one day he wakes to find his young wife Tanya (Aug) dead in the bed beside him. He contacts his best friend Aist (Sergeyev) to help him prepare her body and take it to be buried at the place of their honeymoon.
Based on screenwriter Denis Oskin’s own short story, this is a sombre look at love and loss in western Russia where ancient traditions of the local Merjan people persist to the present day. The story is told almost exclusively through an explanatory voice over from Aist who brings sense to a frequently perplexing series of events, such as bathing in vodka, affixing multi-coloured threads to pubic hair and buying copious amounts of alcohol and axe handles.
Often slow moving to the point of torpor, the long periods of silence and protracted scenes draws an occasionally fascinating picture and provides insight into an alien culture. All of this means that although rarely the most uplifting piece, Silent Souls is as much about love and life as it is about death, and manages to be variously hypnotic, thoughtful and at times genuinely touching.