The Territory tells the tale of a Russian geological survey team in the tundra in the early 1960s. The star of the film is the magnificent landscape, lovingly shot and highlighting its many faces throughout the seasons. Bleak, dramatic, breathtakingly beautiful, and above all relentless. The men and women who choose to make their lives here, and hopefully their fortunes, are a rare breed; part explorer, part engineer and part philosopher. The difficulties they face and the comradeship they form are seared into your mind. It's a tale of passion, for one's country. Love, for nature and freedom. Determination, to achieve the goal against all odds and sense. Truly Russian. I was captivated by the film, the sense of purpose, of how small man is in his environment, and how we can be set free at the same time. Awe-inspiring, intriguing, and charming, The Territory is the perfect antidote to Hollywood pap.
6 Reviews
An Epic Film sitting somewhere between 'Dersu Uzala' and 'War and Peace'
stafbettridge30 October 2015
This is a truly epic film both in duration, the depth of it's characters and the scale of it's setting. Russian films are often 'Love' stories dealing with different aspects of Eros, Philios, and Agape; so this is an Epic Love Story, about Geologists surveying Siberia (the Territory) in the Soviet 60's. Just as in 'War and Peace' the lives of many people are followed through tragedy and triumph, and all of these individuals are fleshed out in exquisite detail. We see their flaws and strengths tested under the harshest of conditions, and in a spectacular terrain. There is a 'Dersu Uzala' quality to the film; a native hunter, the force of nature, bonding, testing, love, physical tests, the triumph and failures - it's raw and beautiful.
The Cinematography, apart from a couple of rugged drone shots is just breathtaking, especially on a big screen. Casting, Acting, Locations, Sound, Editing are all superb. What the Director/Writer has achieved with the Script is vast in it's scope, hence I describe the film as an 'Epic' for good reason. The film falters only for moments; once it gets it's rhythm up it becomes totally mesmerizing and as for the ending - well, I loved the ending - it's really well written. This is no Hollywood 'Heroes Journey' film - nobody is a 'Handsome Hero' - all are hard, obsessive, damaged, damned, fragile, beautiful manifestations of humanity. And that's what this film has in spades: Humanity. I give it Nine Stars - I rate it higher than 'Dersu Uzala' which is a film that I love dearly. At two and a half hours you'll need patience and a big screen but it won't disappoint. Extremely Russian. Extremely Poetic and philosophical. A Visual feast. Epic. October 2015.
The Cinematography, apart from a couple of rugged drone shots is just breathtaking, especially on a big screen. Casting, Acting, Locations, Sound, Editing are all superb. What the Director/Writer has achieved with the Script is vast in it's scope, hence I describe the film as an 'Epic' for good reason. The film falters only for moments; once it gets it's rhythm up it becomes totally mesmerizing and as for the ending - well, I loved the ending - it's really well written. This is no Hollywood 'Heroes Journey' film - nobody is a 'Handsome Hero' - all are hard, obsessive, damaged, damned, fragile, beautiful manifestations of humanity. And that's what this film has in spades: Humanity. I give it Nine Stars - I rate it higher than 'Dersu Uzala' which is a film that I love dearly. At two and a half hours you'll need patience and a big screen but it won't disappoint. Extremely Russian. Extremely Poetic and philosophical. A Visual feast. Epic. October 2015.
Ten stars of ten
boorhan16 August 2015
If you want to understand the Russian soul, you should see this film.
This film truly describes geologic search in north locations or Russia in sixties. The strong characters and hard nature. A little bit as a Jack London books but with Russian specific. Must see to whom who wants to visit Siberia or Far East Russia. The breathtaking nature views and very good story. Not about politics, but about of people in hard conditions.
P.S. Very good work of operator. It's a pleasure to see nature sites in Siberia. My lovely homeland )
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This film truly describes geologic search in north locations or Russia in sixties. The strong characters and hard nature. A little bit as a Jack London books but with Russian specific. Must see to whom who wants to visit Siberia or Far East Russia. The breathtaking nature views and very good story. Not about politics, but about of people in hard conditions.
P.S. Very good work of operator. It's a pleasure to see nature sites in Siberia. My lovely homeland )
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Astonishing!
minunimion22 October 2020
Really impressive piece of Cinematography to indulge in on a big screen (preferably with cold weather outside)
OneSentenceReview29 March 2023
I agree to the wise words of the (current) 4 other reviewers, amazing Cinematography, Awe-inspiring, intriguing, charming, perfect antidote to the usual Hollywood pap, great story Also the 60ties soviet era props and machinery was quite nice to see.
Although 2,5h long I would have liked a little bit less guessing in the story and a bit more fast paced conversation and clarifying dialogue (guess it wouldnt have interrupted the scenery and atmosphere). Why was the blonde woman with the ExTanker on a road trip with the tractor, and where to? What was the (long)bearded accommodation managers female assistant all about? Etc
Dear imdb on a personal note, and given my UserName, why do some (me) always get the message "Sorry, your review is too short. It needs to contain at least 600 characters.", when somehow others on here (see reviews everywhere) get away with submitting braindead 3-line-reviews (no idea how that works and why they don't have to write more than me) Also, some Users really dislike your unsolicited Trailer-AutoPlay (with no off-switch to chose - even serves trailers without a way to find out the title!?), and I am right to assume a lot on here really dislike your Black-White-Contrast-Eye-Torture while on our TV-Couch at night. So long.
Although 2,5h long I would have liked a little bit less guessing in the story and a bit more fast paced conversation and clarifying dialogue (guess it wouldnt have interrupted the scenery and atmosphere). Why was the blonde woman with the ExTanker on a road trip with the tractor, and where to? What was the (long)bearded accommodation managers female assistant all about? Etc
Dear imdb on a personal note, and given my UserName, why do some (me) always get the message "Sorry, your review is too short. It needs to contain at least 600 characters.", when somehow others on here (see reviews everywhere) get away with submitting braindead 3-line-reviews (no idea how that works and why they don't have to write more than me) Also, some Users really dislike your unsolicited Trailer-AutoPlay (with no off-switch to chose - even serves trailers without a way to find out the title!?), and I am right to assume a lot on here really dislike your Black-White-Contrast-Eye-Torture while on our TV-Couch at night. So long.
Nice
gianmarcoronconi17 April 2023
Film so realistic that it looks like a true story, but so beautiful that it is a real big movie. I still can't believe how a gold digger story can be so entertaining. The plot is beautiful and captivating and manages to mix very dramatic moments with more action-packed moments. This film is divided into a few stories and suffers from the defect of all films of this genre, i.e. That some stories are less interesting than others and also from the defect that these stories overlap a bit and therefore everything is a bit messed up, but the stories manage to intertwine well in the finale thus resulting in a very good and organic conclusion.
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