Rent Sputnik (2020)

FORWARD TO THE PAST - Sputnik review by Frank Talker™

Unusual film-genre hybrid which looks like it might be an ordinary horror-movie, given the general cinematographic and psychological doom-&-gloom of the entire proceedings, but which is actually a suspenseful science-fiction conspiracy thriller.

The conspiracy here is that old movie-chestnut about any government automatically-desiring to weaponise a recently-discovered alien creature, à la mode de "The Andromeda Strain" (1971) or "Alien" (1979).

The well-titled "Sputnik" (2022) (Russian for 'travelling companion') is shot-through with references to the main characters' past and is even set in the Soviet Russia of 1983. The Soviet Union thus becomes a metaphor for a past which must be laid-to-rest in order to ensure any kind of viable future, but which is often stubbornly not allowed to die in its very-real affect upon the film's present.

From a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-stricken cosmonaut abandoning his son in an orphanage to join the Space Race; a brilliantly-intuitive psychiatrist raised in an orphanage, herself; &, an extra-terrestrial symbiote unknowingly-brought back to Earth, the physical and emotional connectedness of these characters is shown in a low-key manner; eschewing jump-scares and focusing on their inter-relationships, their value to each other, their personal weaknesses & their intellectual strengths.

The psychiatrist here actually develops a somewhat-maternal relationship with her cosmonaut patient and even with the creature, itself; despite it's literal symbiotic-need of the bodies of other animals to survive, thrive & grow - and in spite of the fear-induced cortisol produced in human brains; resulting from a natural fear of the sputnik's behaviour.

The birth (& rebirth) scenes are superior to the one in an obvious movie-progenitor like "Alien" (1979), since the idea isn't just immediately thrown away and is actually central to the underlying theme of healthy parenting.

The male host survives each rebirth and we are left with a salvageable-yet-substitute family-unit; albeit one presented as a recurring nightmare since the creature only appears while its paralysed host sleeps. And yet this particular family is as ultimately- and as potentially-destructive of all families as is the child-murdering convict briefly seen at the secret military-facility early-on in the film; hinting at what usually goes wrong in dysfunctional families.

A structural problem with this movie is the confusing flash-backs to the psychiatrist's orphaned, physically-disabled childhood. Her presence there was never explained (abandoned by her parents, perhaps?) yet is visually-conflated with the cosmonaut's son having been abandoned at a similar orphanage by his guilt-ridden father. This subjective dramaturgical-confusion somewhat spoils an otherwise subtle drama by partly-disturbing its suspense and pacing.

As always, Oksana AKINSHINA is a stand-out performer, surrounded by men whom are either quite cowardly or extremely cynical, à la Sigourney WEAVER's situation in "Aliens" (1986). She heads a talented cast (especially Pyotr FYODOROV as the cosmonaut) whom make the most of admittedly-underwritten roles, yet all of whom help to create the moodiness of the oddly-dank, curiously-underlit & dungeon-like atmosphere of a secluded scientific/military-facility deep in the middle of nowhere.

AKINSHINA's feminine charisma helps propel the narrative in the way that a male character could not, since she is not prone to much leaping-into-action, but to thoughtful introspection and emotional nurturing, instead - especially in being the only character attempting to form an emotional bond with the alien.

A somewhat bleak yet satisfying ending makes this movie about responsible parenting a winner.

Good psycho-sci-fi - Sputnik review by RCO

The narrative develops well as Tatyana, and we, uncover the truth of what is going on, and has to deal with it. The special effects of the Alien (reference intended) very good. As often with aliens HP Lovecraft has a lot to answer for - tentacles and slime! The three lead characters all very solid.

Also interesting to see a Russian film looking back to the late Soviet period - bare corridors and lightbulbs, paranoia and little rebellions against pervading authority - so different to Russia today, and more like England today.