Subtle, sensuous, and utterly fascinating, SILENT SOULS (M) is a 75 minute road movie of great distinction by Aleksei Fedorchenko.

When manager of a provincial paper mill Miron’s beloved wife Tanya passes away, he asks his best friend and colleague Aist to help him say goodbye to her according to the rituals of the Merja culture, an ancient Finno-Ugric tribe from Lake Nero, a picturesque region in West-Central Russia.

According to the film maker, although the Merja people assimilated into Russians in the 17th century, their myths and traditions live on in their descendants’ modern life.
After tenderly washing Tanya’s body and bunting her pubic hair with ribbons for her last terrestrial journey, the two men set out on a road trip thousands of miles across a land littered with bridges, with them, two small birds, buntings, in a cage.

Along the way, Miron shares intimate memories of his conjugal life. This stirs submerged romantic and erotic feelings in Aist and adds poignancy to the solemn proceedings. As they reach the banks of the sacred lake where they soak her body in spirits, cremate her, and sprinkle her sand mingled ashes on the water, each man realises he wasn’t the only one in love with Tanya!

In addition, there is an intriguing back story to Aist, whose father was an eccentric poet and keeper of the Merja culture. These scenes are slightly off centre with the rest of the narrative and tone and are redolent of the directors’ reputation as a truth thief. He did, after all, make a mockumentary of the Soviets landing on the moon in the Thirties.

Beautifully shot and with minimalist performance from the two leads, SILENT SOULS is an unexpectedly entertaining and anthropologically fascinating film that resonates with a simple majesty of ritual that elevates ordinary lives to a soulful experience.

© Richard Cotter

23rd May, 2012

Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- SILENT SOULS, Contemporary Russian Cinema, Aleksei Fedorchenko, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter.