Description:
An encounter between a Finnish student and a Russian worker on their way to a remote Russian city in the Arctic Circle. Although the two make odd bedfellows, an unusual bond forms between them during the long train ride.
When we first meet the two passengers in compartment no. 6, they seem unlikely friends. They're divided by class, nationality, and language. Laura, a Finnish grad student, has just said goodbye to her Russian lover and boarded a train headed for Murmansk, a remote city in the Arctic Circle, to see the rock drawings. The loutish Ljoha, who polishes off a large bottle of vodka the first night of the trip, is reporting for work at the massive mine in the region. As the journey drags on, though, cracks appear in the facades they present, and their vulnerabilities force them to recognize each other as far more complex than the fronts they present to the world - or what their own prejudices dictate.
"I think the starting points were the scenery, the train, Russia and the human connection between these two very different characters. I was fascinated to be able to make a film on Russian soil; it's a country I've visited many times, also by train, to Saint Petersburg, to Moscow, and even to Ulaanbaatar. I like the way the country looks, I like the people, I like trains, and I really like train films. For Murmansk, I felt the coldness and the proximity to the sea make it a place where it's easy to breathe. The film is inspired by the book Compartment No. 6, rather than being an adaptation." (Juho Kuosmanen)