The Postman's White Nights
Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky
Starring Timur Bondarenko, Irina Ermolova and Aleksey Tryapitsyn
The film represents life in a godforsaken Russian village. The only way to reach the mainland is to cross the lake by boat and a postman became the only connection with the outside world. A reserved community has been set up here. Despite the modern technologies and a spaceport nearby the people of the village live the way they would in the Neolithic Era. There is neither government nor social services or jobs. The postman's beloved woman escapes the village life and moves to the city. Postman's outboard engine gets stolen and he can no longer deliver mail. His normal pattern of life is disrupted. The postman makes a decision to leave for the city too but returns before long with no certain reason. The script is based on real characters' stories. People from the village play their own parts in the film. The search for the protagonist lasted for over a year.
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Reviews
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★★★★ review by Chris Hormann on Letterboxd
This plays out like a documentary to begin with as the postman for an isolated village in Russia delivers the mail and introduces us the various characters in the village. However once the postman starts to hallucinate a grey cat at night, things take a more absurdist turn and the various relationships that the postman has with his fellow villagers - characters such as the village drunk nicknamed "The Bun" and the local beauty and solo Mum, Irina endear themselves as much as our postman who seeks the latter's love.
Andrei Konchalovsky takes untrained actors and helps them make their characters utterly believable. Plenty of humour on show (of the laugh out loud variety) and some lovely scenery - it may drag in parts but it shows an unfamiliar (to Western audiences) slice of life in rural Russia.
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★★★★½ review by slyman on Letterboxd
"I swear one of these days I'm going to stab someone."
Funny, beautiful and charming. A delightful insight into life in remote, rural Russia.
Two word review: Threatened idyll.
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★★★★½ review by SOBHO on Letterboxd
“Where does this music come from? From the heavens or from the ground? Now it’s stopped.”
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★★★★ review by JsnTdd on Letterboxd
À prime abord, le rythme lent qui s'impose dès le début du film suggère un drame contemplatif sans trop rebondissements (ce qui, au final, ne s'avère pas faux) mais, assez rapidement, Konchalovsky vient brouiller les frontières entre fiction et documentaire, réalisme et un peu d'onirisme, nous entrainant donc dans un récit où hallucinations, vodka, sorcière, chat imaginaire, Shakespeare et même une fusée (!) cohabitent dans un tout drôlement cohérent.
Un film surprenant et, ma foi, très drôle. À voir!
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★★★★ review by cinemagazine on Letterboxd
"De mooie, weidse camerabeelden verliezen dankzij de bosrijke omgevingen en de felle verflagen op de houten huizen hun kleur nooit helemaal. De post die de inwoners elke dag ontvangen mogen, zorgt evenwel voor de meeste levendigheid. Samen met de televisie, vormt die oude postlijn het enige contact met de buitenwereld. Maar het is niet meer dan een zijden draadje die ze boven het absolute niets laat bungelen. Dat besef krijgt in ‘The Postman’s White Nights’ een indringende uitwerking."
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