Posrednik (1990) User Reviews

Great late-Soviet sci-fi indie!

[cinemaphil · 7/10 · 15 November 2008]

Unusual and high-brow. Low-pace and creepy. Existential and extraterrestrial. Takes over Tarkovsky and Sokurov. Sends shivers down your spine. Schitzoid and paranoid.

ET intelligence invades the earth by hacking right into commonplace terrestrials' minds in an average Soviet town. "This is a scenic location around here...", as the tagline goes, also serving as a password for the ET intruders.

Caution! this is very different from any US sci-fi movie. In fact, this is a different cinema genre. Also beware in case you have mental disorders )Otherwise just roll a joint, relax and open your mind for the offbeat stuff... And make sure you plan your next visit to your shrink )

A perestroika visual gem

[spintongues · 8/10 · 25 October 2015]

If not exactly a masterpiece, this was definitely worth watching. Alexander Mirer's novel, only the first part of which is here put on screen, was written in the early 1970s, with no especial political agenda. However in this 1990 version, we are dealing with an exercise in perestroika thinking, for this is a genre commentary on horrors of totalitarianism for inmates of totalitarian regime, done from the point of view slightly less totalitarian, or at least no- longer-so-totalitarian-as-before. Curious, yes. All done in the space-trooper-fell-on-my-girl low-cost style with military helicopters.

As it sometimes happens, the film is much better than the original novel that was done shoddily and aimed at brain-damaged soviet kids. Shell-shocked pacing here, of course, helps, as well as the marvelous avant-atmospheric soundtrack by the premier soviet jazz giant Chekasin. Actors don't act but this is the case when they don't need to; it is enough for them to move around, and not interfere with the camera. The film has some hidden Easter eggs in it, like visual tributes to a number European and American artistes, including, of course, Tarkovsky (and his famous tile sequence), Fellini (and his carnival freaks), etc.

Here beautiful district...

[sovsem · 16 July 2004]

Morning of a silent provincial small town. The sleepy city is exposed silent to capture alien a landing. Newcomers are installed in people, destroying the person and subordinating a body to the new carrier. Having grasped key official and military posts aliens should send a signal on the ship-carrier about the beginning of full-scale capture of all planet...

It is last fantastic film made in the USSR. 1990 - last year before disintegration of the Union.

Film has no to a nursery book-source any attitude. It is completely independent project of the director which made a film not for children. Style of film - repetition "Stalker". The grey and sad sky, gloomy kinds. Many looked this film in a year of his output and today is simple nostalgia, recollecting those days. For them film became a certain symbol, not clear memoirs.

Now I am afraid to reconsider "Posrednik", I am afraid that light ideas about it will be irrevocably spoiled by a today's sight.

Though there can be I am afraid in vain?...

no budget no movie

[exciter-2 · 4/10 · 7 June 2004]

The book by Alexaneder Mirrer - simply deserves an American Sci-Fi TV series with proper budget. The movie sucked. TOTALLY. It failed in every way possible. It failed the great Sci-Fi Book! The Book itself is similar in feeling to the TV series ' V ' But boy! The makers of this little disaster tried hard to bore everyone to death. Badly lit, set in terrible weather and dull colors. Boy - they even managed to picture the beautiful Russian forest - as a grey and ugly place. Very depressing place. I can't figure out what was the point in that. If it wasn't for Olesya ... What would we (disappointed viewers) do? I sincerely hope that this movie will not stop anyone from reading the book. The book RULES!