NOT YOUR AVERAGE TRAIN : “TRANSSIBERIAN”

I’m guessing most of us would love a ride on the Transsiberian express… I personally think train rides themselves are romantic enough but who can resist riding across the snow-covered Russian steppes, watching the wonderful scenery go by… This is possibly why such a lot of films are set on the Transsiberian express. There are highs and lows in this category of course, but Transsiberian is definitely one of the highs…

Jessie (Emily Mortimer) and Roy (Woody Harrelson) are a typical American couple. They have just finished work at a charity in China sponsored by their church and now they are returning home. However, they have decided to taste a bit of adventure on the way and therefore have decided to take a trip on the Transsiberian express before flying home. Roy loves trains, Jessie is loving Russia because of the photography opportunities. They keep meeting fascinating characters the trip is going well. Their room-mates are also good people, a young couple called Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara) are interesting people and experienced travelers – just what novices Roy and Jessie need. But their “peaceful adventure” is to be short-lived. Roy fails to board the train after one stop. A strange police detective named Elia Grinkov(Ben Kingsley) enters the mix. Ulterior motives begin to surface. And we begin to genuinely wonder what is going on on board this train…

Transsiberian screams quality from a mile away. I mean the cast alone speaks for itself. And as an added footnote I watched this film on blu-ray (high definition dvd – no, I’m not loaded, it’s also my job. I promise.) And it was well worth the experience (for those of us who ARE loaded) not so much because it’s a high-power action movie (and it isn’t. I mean it has action but don’t think Fast and The Furious. This is a train) but because of the breathtaking photography of the afore-mentioned snow-covered Russian steppes. I actually read a review of the film claiming it’s “almost Hitchcock” and I assure you this is not an understatement. Fair enough, you probably will not want to watch it a second time (it kinda palls when you know all the plot-twists. I should know, the afore-mentioned blu-ray episode was my third time round…) but I promise you, you will LOVE the first one :)