Transsiberian (film)

Infobox Film
name = Transsiberian


image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Brad Anderson
producer = Julio Fernández
writer = Brad Anderson & Will Conroy
narrator =
starring = Ben Kingsley
Woody Harrelson
Eduardo Noriega
Emily Mortimer
Thomas Kretschmann
Kate Mara
music = Alfonso Vilallonga
cinematography = Xavi Giménez
editing = Jaume Martí
distributor = First Look Studios
released = July 18, 2008
runtime = 111 min.
country = Lithuania
Germany
United Kingdom
Spain
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:348656
imdb_id = 0800241

"Transsiberian" is a neo-noir thriller directed by Brad Anderson, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008 and began its theatrical release on July 18, 2008 in New York City.

Written by Anderson and Will Conroy, the film stars Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson, Eduardo Noriega, Emily Mortimer, Thomas Kretschmann, and Kate Mara. The film is set on the Trans-Siberian Railway, a railroad that runs from China to Moscow. Filming began in December 2006 in Vilnius, Lithuania, with additional photography in Beijing and Russia.

Plot

An American couple, Roy and Jessie, takes the train from Beijing to Moscow as an adventurous side trip on their return home from a Christian mission in China. The gregarious Roy befriends their cabin mates, a Spanish man, Carlos, traveling with his American girlfriend, Abby. The reserved Jessie does not share her husband's warmth towards the globe trotting pair. In course of the journey, Carlos shows Jessie a collection of souvenir dolls he is carrying. When Roy misses the train in Irkutsk while site seeing, Jessie is left alone with Carlos and Abby. Jessie decides to get off the train and wait for Roy to arrive in another train and join them. Carlos and Abby too get off the train with Jessie and proceed to a hotel. At the dinner table, Jessie sees the same dolls that Carlos had shown her and described as pretty rare. Hearing this Abby gets upset and goes off to bed. Jessie then tells Carlos that Abby is a good kid and not to involve her in his activities, which she suspects are shady and criminal. The next morning Carlos turns up in Jessie's room, tells her that his shower is not working and asks to use her bathroom. Jessie receives a call from the reception and goes down, leaving Carlos in the room. At the reception, Jessie gets to speak to Roy over the phone, who tells her that he'll return only after 4pm. Carlos convinces Jessie to accompany him to an old church. The two travel into the middle of snowy wilderness and Jessie, an amatuer photographer herself, starts clicking pictures of the old church. In the midst of the wilderness, Jessie surrenders to Carlos' advances and the two begin kissing. However, the roof of the old church collapses and Jessie somehow comes to her senses and decides to stop. Carlos however does not give up and continues to chase Jessie. Jessie ends up beating Carlos to death with a stick. She returns to her hotel and goes to the railway station to meet Roy. Meanwhile, an inquisitive Russian investigator, Grinko, whom Roy befriended while coming from Irkutsk, is traveling from Vladivostok to Moscow for a conference. Jessie then finds the dead Carlos' dolls in her own suitcase and realizes that Carlos may have hidden them when she had gone to the hotel reception for Roy's call. Carlos was smuggling heroin in those dolls. And Grinko (who viewers were lead to believe was also in the payroll of a Russian druglord, Rushkan) was trying to get the drugs back.

References

*Jacobson, Harlan (January 19, 2008). " [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/sundance/2008-01-19-sundance-transsiberian_N.htm Sundance screening spotlight: 'Transsiberian'] ". "USA Today". Retrieved on January 23, 2008.
*Honeycutt, Kirk (January 21, 2008). ' [http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN2033252220080121"Transsiberian" a thrill ride] '. Reuters. Retrieved on January 23, 2008.

Reception

The film has received mostly positive reviews. It has a 92% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and has a perfect 100% rating from their top critics. and it has scored a 7.2/10 on the Internet Movie Database. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times praised the film, saying it builds "true fear and suspense", and Wilder Shaw of [http://themoviewatch.blogspot.com/2008/09/film-review-transsiberian.html The Movie Watch] said it was, "one of the best thrillers I've seen in a long time". As of 9/12/2008, it has grossed $1,312,068.

External links

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* [http://www.transsiberian.de Transsiberian - Der Film] Official German Film Website