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Weather Station (The) AKA Pryachsya AKA Good Weather
R2 - United Kingdom - Simply Media Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (5th January 2016). |
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The Film
 The film opens in a remote meteorological station somewhere in a desolate, snowy Russian landscape. Three men live and work in the station. The boss of the operation is Ivanovo (Vladimir Gusset). A large, weary man. His subordinate is the older Drozdov (Sergey Grammas), a man with a seemingly unhealthy obsession with the legend of the Yeti and a bad temper to boot. The third person living at the station is housekeeper and cook Roams (Port Loaches) who has only been at the station for two months and has recently left an orphanage that he had lived at since he was five years old. Roams is a strange young man. When he was five years old he witnessed the brutal slaying of both his parents by a man with a birthmark on his arm. Roams himself would have been killed also had he not managed to evade the killer by hiding. Romash is the dogsbody of the group and often refers to himself as ‘the ghost’ whilst Drozdov calls him ‘the invisible boy’. One night a married couple arrive at the weather station looking for shelter before they move on to some caves they wish to explore. The narrative of the film shifts constantly between the scenes described above, scenes which took place two days before, and the present day. These scenes concern two detectives investigating the meteorological station where everyone seems to have disappeared. Also reported to the detectives is the disappearance of a wealthy married couple seen in the area recently. Several clues present themselves to the two detectives. There are gun shots in a door, there is plenty of food and drink untouched in the station and, most intriguing of all, there is a washing machine placed right in the middle of the dining room. The two narratives shift back and forth until finally the two collide and the mystery of what happened to all at the station, and why, is finally revealed. I have tried to give you a flavour of the film without discussing too many of the details as it really is a film that should be discovered by the viewer as it unfolds before them. ‘The Weather Station’ was originally released in 2010 and is the second film directed by Irish filmmaker Johnny O’Reilly. There is plenty to like about this Russian language film. The script by O’Reilly and Aleksei Kolmogorov is clever and well rounded. The characters are all well catered for by the script. The script is clever and plays, for the most part, very fairly. This is a mystery thriller and has been compared by some reviewers like an Agatha Christie story but in my opinion the work closet, in terms of story and intrigue, is ‘The Usual Suspects’. The script and the direction of the film ensure that the clues are there, should you wish to look close enough, with the final denouement being a particularly clever one, one I thought I had missed, but is revealed to be the final shot of the film. The location and the cinematography play a major part, and the weather and the station are almost characters in their own right. Considering the extreme isolation of the weather station this film has a very claustrophobic feel to it. The decision by O’Reilly to have two different time lines of the story running side by side is a clever one too. It does mean the viewer has to pay particular attention and as the film progresses the two time lines get closer and closer until they converge on the finale of the movie. ‘The Weather Station’ is a very good film where nothing is what it seems. No actions by the characters are without thought or reason and it’s tight script, excellent cinematography and skilled direction make this film well worth seeking out.
Video
The film is presented in the 2.35:1 anamorphic ratio. As mentioned previously the cinematography by Alexandr Simonov is superb and this disc does not waste his hard work. Set within snowy wastelands and with grimy interiors this film has a muted palette but one that is presented well. The outside scenes strangely often feel claustrophobic. The snow covered hills that surround the weather station seem to close in on the station and no more so than when the fog moves in. The interior of the station is just as cramped with it’s dark corners and under lit corridors and this all adds to the overall feel of the film wonderfully. I cannot find fault on the video presentation of this disc.
Audio
The language of the film is presented in 2.0 Dolby Stereo and is in Russian (Crimea, Southern Ukraine). English subtitles are provided but these are standard subtitles that present only the spoken part of the film and are not descriptive. The soundtrack of the film is very good. The howling winds and creaking floorboards add greatly to the overall effect of the film. The musical soundtrack is not the best but it’s fairly unobtrusive. There is one scene, about halfway into the film, that uses sound extremely effectively, and coupled with the remote, snowy setting, put me in mind of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. In fact the whole film has a very ‘Thing’ vibe to it, especially the early sequences. As much as the vistas of the mountains and sets of the station are a character within the film Director O’Reilly ensures that the soundtrack plays a major part too and once again I cannot find fault with it’s presentation here.
Extras
None.
Overall
This is a very enjoyable film with a touch of class about it. The acting is very good throughout and the script is quite clever. The film has a great look about it too. There was talk, when the film was originally released, about a Hollywood remake and whilst I can see that the story is strong enough to support it Hollywood would have to go a long way to beating the original. Don’t let the fact that it’s in Russian with subtitles put you off. This is a cracking mystery thriller and should not be overlooked anymore. Recommended.
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