Transsiberian (2008)

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Brad Anderson (written by) &
Will Conroy (written by)

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Arrive on time.

Plot:

A Trans-Siberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers. |

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Woody Harrelson	...	Roy
Emily Mortimer	...	Jessie
Kate Mara	...	Abby
Eduardo Noriega	...	Carlos
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Kolzak
Ben Kingsley	...	Grinko
Etienne Chicot	...	Frenchman
Mac McDonald	...	Minister
Colin Stinton	...	Embassy official
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Saulius Bagaliunas	...	Drunk Pole
Alfredas Butkevicius	...	Male Provodnik
Mindaugas Capas	...	Russian Officer
Vidmantas Jasiunevicius	...	Perter Tulun Station
Larisa Kalpokaite	...	Female Train Attendant #2
Bronius Kindurys	...	Uzbek
Valentinas Krulikovskis	...	Young Waiter Dining Car
Kristina Kulinic	...	School Girl #1
Sergej Oskin	...	Engineer
Mindaugas Papinigis	...	Young Detective
Andrius Paulavicius	...	Backpacker
Aleksandrs Petukhovs	...	Russian Cop
Antanas Radinskas	...	Sullen Clerk
Visockaite Sonata	...	Female Train Attendant #1
Antanas Surgailis	...	Young Russian
Perlis Vaisieta	...	Manager Hotel 'Pushkin'
Emilis Welyvis	...	Russian Cop
Jin Zhou	...	School Girl #2

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, including torture and language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK | Germany | Spain | Lithuania

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Lithuanian Film Studios, Vilnius, Lithuania

Company:

Filmax Group

Goofs:

At the end of the movie, the main couple drives a train. A locomotive with three cars. Jessie closes all the doors of the cars and then goes back to Roy, who is operating the locomotive. But there is no way to get from the cars to the locomotive.

An Old Concept in New Clothes (thick ones)

The movie is set in a somewhat unusual environment (geographically speaking), which, in my opinion, is nice. In the movie you'll see several clichés typical for a thriller, with being able to predict most stuff in the film along the way. As said, the movie doesn't have much new really, but the fact that it's set (mostly) on a train in the middle of nowhere managed to give me the feeling that this was something new, and exciting.

Also typical for these kind of movies was the stereotypical view upon Russians, and foreign (non-american) people overall. The two polite and innocent Americans can't even ask the train staff why the toilet isn't functioning without getting shouted at in Russian. On top of this the police are told to be brutal and corrupt. But then this contributes to the feeling one gets while watching the movie, that the two Americans feels lost and insecure, and that they are in the hands of careless strangers who they can't even communicate with. I just wish they would have done this in some other way, without having to rely on silly stereotypes.

Even though the end was quite predictable, I liked it, along with the rest of the movie. Overall this movie is worth the time spent seeing it, and more.