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This an art film with a b-movie narrative, assisted by cheesy sci-fi guns, ‘splosions, and large military instruments. It may be as close as we’re ever gonna get to a snail-paced, po-faced, philosophical arthouse action extravaganza. Some of the deadpan art film clichés mixed with weirdly OTT action can be hilarious and lack self-awareness, but I find that pretty enjoyable. It can be fun to simultaneously appreciate and laugh at self-indulgent artsy stuff.
Politically, the movie seems critical of the Soviet ‘collective’ state philosophy. Being so close to the demise of the USSR, I suppose more dissonant views were starting to leak into domestic pop culture. The story’s ‘contaminated’ ones are a mindless collective, fighting for their own greater good while trying to convert the individually driven humans. The only ones not susceptible to the alien brain programming are youths, free-spirits (crazies), elders, and intellectuals; those that have either yet eluded their society’s influence, or are too firmly set in their own ways to be manipulated.
Overflowing with more reverb-y percussion than an 80’s hair metal concert, the sound design can get a tad annoying. The atmosphere is so f*cking good though. The cinematography shifts from drab color to eerie sepia, the setting is damp, foggy, and perpetually photogenic, and the odd ambient/jazz score is outstanding. This makes the movie. Bleak atmosphere devotees should take heed. One of the best.
Even as a fan of Lopushanskiy and early von Trier, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such blatant Tarkovsky worship. It almost passes for the real thing. The sepia is beautiful, the foggy grain is beautiful, and each shot is given enough breathing room to save a drowning U-boat. It’s not the type of rip-off that should annoy fans of Tark and the like, but further indulge their tastes. I know I picked some gripes. It's a pretty easy target, but it’s so under the radar, and based on my own enjoyment… I can’t not give it 5/5.
ART.
ALSO ART.
ALSO ALSO ART.
So, you better like what you see, cause you’re gonna get 3 ½ hours of it.
Posrednik (1990)
An alien apparatus that looks like balled-up tree bark starts to contaminate the minds of the community around it. People affected show little emotion as a result. The non-affected humans also show little emotion though, because they’re in a wannabe Tarkovsky ogle-fest.This an art film with a b-movie narrative, assisted by cheesy sci-fi guns, ‘splosions, and large military instruments. It may be as close as we’re ever gonna get to a snail-paced, po-faced, philosophical arthouse action extravaganza. Some of the deadpan art film clichés mixed with weirdly OTT action can be hilarious and lack self-awareness, but I find that pretty enjoyable. It can be fun to simultaneously appreciate and laugh at self-indulgent artsy stuff.
Politically, the movie seems critical of the Soviet ‘collective’ state philosophy. Being so close to the demise of the USSR, I suppose more dissonant views were starting to leak into domestic pop culture. The story’s ‘contaminated’ ones are a mindless collective, fighting for their own greater good while trying to convert the individually driven humans. The only ones not susceptible to the alien brain programming are youths, free-spirits (crazies), elders, and intellectuals; those that have either yet eluded their society’s influence, or are too firmly set in their own ways to be manipulated.
Overflowing with more reverb-y percussion than an 80’s hair metal concert, the sound design can get a tad annoying. The atmosphere is so f*cking good though. The cinematography shifts from drab color to eerie sepia, the setting is damp, foggy, and perpetually photogenic, and the odd ambient/jazz score is outstanding. This makes the movie. Bleak atmosphere devotees should take heed. One of the best.
Even as a fan of Lopushanskiy and early von Trier, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such blatant Tarkovsky worship. It almost passes for the real thing. The sepia is beautiful, the foggy grain is beautiful, and each shot is given enough breathing room to save a drowning U-boat. It’s not the type of rip-off that should annoy fans of Tark and the like, but further indulge their tastes. I know I picked some gripes. It's a pretty easy target, but it’s so under the radar, and based on my own enjoyment… I can’t not give it 5/5.
ART.
ALSO ART.
ALSO ALSO ART.
So, you better like what you see, cause you’re gonna get 3 ½ hours of it.