By Anees Aref.
“A charming and elegantly crafted story about romantic longing, companionship, and the surprising places people find it.”
Whether as a dramatic or metaphorical tool, the train can function in various ways to explore the inner and outer dramas of both character and plot, emotional and physical spaces. In Compartment No. 6, a new Finnish film directed and co-written by Juho Kuosmanen, the train serves these various functions and more, as we follow a young Finnish woman named Laura travelling by railway from Moscow to the port city of Murmansk in Russia’s arctic coastal region. It’s a charming and elegantly crafted story about romantic longing, companionship, and the surprising places people find it.
Laura (played by Seidi Haarla) is on her way to visit the famous petroglyphs, or cave paintings of Murmansk. She was supposed to be accompanied by her lover from Moscow, Irina (Dinara Drukarova), who backed out at the last moment, leaving Laura a bit lovesick as she takes the trip solo. Her compartment is shared by Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov), a rough mannered young Russian man whose first impression leaves Laura unimpressed. “Why are you going to Murmansk, to sell your cunt?” Ljoha asks drunkenly.
The film then follows the pair along various stops during the arctic journey, and as you might imagine, the initial icy exchange begins to thaw bit by bit. Laura is an aspiring archaeologist who had dreamy notions of being in the social circles of intellectuals and cultured party goers, including the charming Irina. Laura soon finds that Irina’s affections are not quite as deeply felt as her own. Ljoha is a more direct, straightforward individual, speaking his mind and more grounded in his needs. He has plans to open his own business, though the details are a bit vague, “what kind of business?” Laura asks. “Just…business” he says with annoyance.
Compartment No. 6 is really about feeling alone and finding connection in unexpected places. The train journey is in a sense a metaphor for Laura’s searching. Is archaeology really her thing? Or was it more of a passing interest that allowed her to share the company of Irina and the pleasures of her glamourous lifestyle? Like her, Ljoha feels alone. Their connection is in a sense romantic, but the filmmakers intelligently avoid what would be conventional plot developments in another love story. One is reminded a bit of American director Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise, where character and emotional connection move the story forward rather than melodrama or romantic obstacles, as well as the more obvious similarity of young romantics meeting on a train. There’s an immediacy to Kuosmanen’s direction, giving Compartment No. 6 the flow of real life. Like it’s characters, the film lives in the moment, allowing scenes of dialogue to unfold uninterrupted while managing to maintain a tight, steady pace. Each stop along the train’s journey offers new discoveries and impressions to our two heroes, an emotional odyssey of sorts. One memorable episode involves an old lady who may or may not be Ljoha’s mother. “Each woman has a living animal inside them…a woman should listen to her instincts” she tells Laura over drinks.
Seidi Haarla and Yuriy Borisov give strong, carefully observed performances as the two leads. Ljoha’s yearning is moving as he tries to bond with the more intellectually driven Laura. Haarla finds the many layers of Laura’s own self-questioning and longing. Who am I, what am I, her eyes ask as she looks out the train windows on to the frozen, snowy landscapes along the railway tracks. This is an enchanting film for those who enjoy character-driven stories and the little things that forge connections between strangers.
Anees Aref is a writer on film, history, and politics based in the Los Angeles area who has published abroad as well as in the United States.