Silent Souls

This meditative third feature from Russian filmmaker Aleksey Fedorchenko is not a documentary, but the journey that is taken by the characters—two men carrying the body of one man's young wife, who died suddenly, to her final resting place—also serves as an anthropological tour through the distinctive (and disappearing) culture of the Meryan people in West-Central Russia. Igor Sergeev stars as Aist, a writer and poet and something of a cultural historian, who accompanies grieving widower Miron (Yuriy Tsurilo) while also narrating—expounding upon the Meryan people, who pride themselves on the unique heritage bestowed upon them by their Finnish ancestors. The symbolic odyssey here recalls the patient, poetic work of Andrei Tarkovsky, both with its long takes and in the way the film slips from the smoky present of a winter road trip to bright remembrances of the past. While there is definitely a sense of loss and sadness in Silent Souls, the narrative is also very positive in its presentation of death as part of the cycle of life, and in its depiction of the desire of Meryans to return to the sea (not the earth). A gentle, affirming film that captures a mostly unknown culture while presenting a meditative and beautiful journey, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)