The film 'Compartment No. 6' won the Grand Prix in Cannes, it features Yura Borisov and petroglyphs, but no originality. Is that bad? It depends on how you look at it.

To the song Voyage, voyage by Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop, better known as Desireless, against the backdrop of Moscow's bohemian party scene of the 90s and questions about Pelevin, we meet the main character Laura (Seidi Haarla). There's an immediate sense that she, a student interested in petroglyphs, is not from this world, even though she is in love with Irina, one of the partygoers (played by Dinara Drukarova, who also appeared in Balabanov's films). And where is that world of Laura's? We will search for the answer to this question, together with the heroine, throughout a long train journey from Moscow to Murmansk.

Not just a fellow traveler

Laura boards a train to Murmansk to see the Kanozero petroglyphs. Knowing history is important. After all, if we don't know the past and who we are, where are we going?!

She was supposed to be accompanied by that same Irina, but, citing business, the Muscovite sends the Finnish student on a solo journey. However, Laura doesn't get bored — she shares the compartment with a rough-mannered lout named Lyokha (Yura Borisov). According to him, he's going to the 'middle of nowhere' to earn money, so he can later start a business. Well, a business. He plans to make money. Like everyone else.

In Lyokha, the director of 'Compartment No. 6', Juho Kuosmanen, seems to have gathered all the stereotypes about the simple Russian man:

• endlessly drinks the era's iconic spirit 'Royal', chasing it with pickles;
• acts overly familiar even with strangers;
• gets bristly and looks distrustfully at more educated foreigners;
• hides a generous soul under a rough exterior, masking vulnerability with stupid jokes.

Everything about Lyokha suggests he is no match for Laura. Even the word 'petroglyphs' is hard for him. And, half-jokingly, half-seriously, in one of the film's most iconic episodes, he compares them to Jack and Rose from 'Titanic'. His comparison, naturally, doesn't imply the parallels the viewer will see. And it's not even about the notorious class inequality, but about the fact that Lyokha becomes the catalyst for changing the girl's worldview. Like Jack, he is not destined to stay with Rose. But, like Jack, he radically changes the life of his Rose. Because often, to understand ourselves, we need someone from outside. Someone from a completely different world.

What does Chekhov have to do with it?

'Compartment No. 6' is not called that by chance. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Rosa Liksom, who in her work unequivocally paid homage to the outstanding story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

V. Golosov wrote about Chekhov's 'Ward No. 6' as follows:

Simplicity, elegance and power of speech, brightness and vividness of colors, adherence to strict causality of events, deep realism of the psychology of the characters, and proportionality, harmony of the construction of parts, consistency of internal perspective.

And these characteristics are largely inherent in the film 'Compartment No. 6'. This road movie is not at all about originality, unpredictability, or any revelations. No. But Kuosmanen's work is gripping. You can't help but be moved by the simplicity of his characters. It's hard not to appreciate the realism of their psychology. The harmony in the story and its external framing is utterly absorbing.

Speaking of the latter. 'Compartment No. 6' is atmospheric to its very core. And it's not even about the fact that the events unfold in familiar settings, but about how the cinematographer and production designer work with light, the frame, and its content. At certain moments, honestly, you feel like even smells reach your senses, and in the scenes in the Murmansk region, when snowflakes literally seem about to break through to this side of the screen, your skin gets goosebumps. This once again proves that a sense of presence can be achieved without trendy formats and technologies.

Is the film 'Compartment No. 6' worth watching?

The film 'Compartment No. 6' won the second most important award at the Cannes Film Festival — the Grand Prix of the Jury (Kuosmanen shared this prize with Asghar Farhadi and his film). This is a great achievement for both Finnish and Russian cinema, which are responsible for the project's creation.

Maxim Klein

Notes on the sheets of 'Listopad'. Day 2: premiere of the film that won the Cannes Grand Prix

We continue to cover the events of the main Belarusian film festival. The second day expanded the 'geography' of the main competition, offering three new films at once.

Open material

But for the average viewer, such accolades might set expectations for a completely different kind of cinema. Inaccessible, bohemian, with a high barrier to entry. In reality, however, 'Compartment No. 6' is audience-friendly cinema. Such films are commonly called 'heartfelt'. Perhaps the film's success in Cannes lies in this simplicity. You can't always give awards to films for highbrow critics. Sometimes, for a change, you can also recognize cinema for ordinary people.

To sum up, 'Compartment No. 6' will appeal to those who have been longing for simple cinema, where characters are most important, where the story doesn't amaze the imagination but leaves a pleasant feeling, despite the unappealing texture of the 90s for many. Such cinema is in short supply these days, which makes it all the more valuable.

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