IFC Films
When it comes to films centered around aliens, it is really hard to please me. They aren’t my favorite kind of films with the exception of a few like District 9 and Alien. Going into the new IFC Russian sci-fi film Sputnik, I wasn’t expecting much since my desire for the genre is low. A young doctor (Oksana Akinshina) takes on the position of observing a cosmonaut who has returned from space with a dangerous organism living inside of him. It feels a bit similar to other alien movies, but its one of the better sci-fi films I have seen this year.
Right from the beginning I was hooked. The tone for the film crafts a dark and mysterious setting that keeps building as the film progresses. When we are introduced to the two cosmonauts in space and they are descending back to Earth, it is filmed as a bleak moment for the pair as they encounter an unknown specimen. Tatyana (Akinshina), is recruited by the officer in charge of the facility that the survivor is brought into. The little information she receives from the officer, Colonel Semiradov (Fyodor Bondarchuk), tells us that something is not right. As we learn more about the cosmonaut’s situation with the creature living inside of him, the film maintains its dark and mysterious tone.
The score matches the ominous feeling throughout the movie. The score increasingly builds suspense as people are observing the unknown creature. We know that something is off with the creature, but the score provides the sense that something dangerous could happen at any time. Scores can play a huge part in a film and in Sputnik’s case, it helped out the film.
Oksana Akinshina provides a standout performance as the renowned Russian psychologist. Her curiosity regarding the creature is conveyed throughout the film and I was also impressed with her confidence. There is a secondary plot involving her that I didn’t feel invested in and neither did Akinshina, so it was hard to connect with.
The pace is slow, but it always feels entertaining. The story flows naturally with enough development for the cosmonaut and the creature within him. I spent most of the film wondering about the creature, but answers are revealed gradually throughout which kept me interested in the movie. The characters and story were set up perfectly to where you wanted to see where the story went.
Although the creature looks like something I have seen before, I thought it looked cool. Much like the characters within the film, I was curious about it and always wondered what it would look like to the people observing it. Early on, I felt that the creature could have been a friendly one, not a creature that you would snuggle with but perhaps share a bonding moment together.
Sputnik was a surprising sci-fi horror film. Don’t go into it expecting a big blockbuster type of film. It is a bit slow, but every scene builds on top of each other to a satisfying ending. Sometimes I am happy that theaters are shut down because I get to watch some of these smaller films that I probably wouldn’t have watched if theaters were up and running. Even though theaters will be opening this week, I want to continue watching smaller films and discover these hidden gems along the way.
Sputnik has a run time of 1 hour 53 minutes and is not rated.
IFC Films
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