• Siberia (2018) - The price of greed - 7/10 (30/08/19)

    Siberia (2018)

    Siberia is a slow-paced romantic thriller that has received a surprising number of unfair reviews. While the movie is certainly no genre highlight, it convinces with solid acting performances, a gloomy atmosphere and a realistic story.

    The story revolves around an American diamond merchant who travels to Saint Petersburg in Russia for a big deal. Upon arrival, his contact person has vanished and the rare blue diamonds are also gone. A local gangster boss however insists on getting these diamonds delivered as quickly as possible and gives the merchant forty-eight hours to find them. The diamond merchant wants to save his reputation and travels to the Siberian hometown of his partner. He learns that his partner attempted to double-cross another gangster boss by trying to sell fake diamonds. The diamond merchant now understands that what seemed to be a perfect deal is a dangerous situation. Even the Russian secret service starts investigating. The diamond merchant however gets unexpected help from a cosmopolite café owner he falls in love with and a former South African trade partner. The diamond merchant must try to find his contact, get the deal done and cooperate with the secret service in order to leave the country alive.

    Siberia's main flaw is that the film is quite slow-paced before the final thirty minutes finally increase intensity.

    However, the movie convinces on several levels as well. Every scene has a purpose for the story. The bear hunting scene for example shows us how the café owner's brother starts to trust the diamond merchant and tolerate the relationship between his sister and the mysterious foreigner. The acting performances are convincing and honest. Keanu Reeves plays a calm and experienced man which explains how he could be involved in diamond trafficking but his insecure and tender side also shows that he is despising some of his partners and longing for a fulfilling relationship. The story involves numerous interesting side characters such as an intimidating gangster boss and a cunning secret agent. The settings of the movie are splendid and vary from one of the world's most beautiful cities with Saint Petersburg to rural towns in Northeastern Siberia. The story is complex but always easy to follow thanks to its smooth pace. The ending of the movie is unconventional but realistic and certainly offers some food for thought.

    The more I think about this movie, the more positive elements I find. I would recommend it to patient viewers with an interest in Russian culture. If you like slow-paced Scandinavian, German and British thrillers, you might also possibly like this movie. If you expect Keanu Reeves to play a similar role to his John Wick character, you won't find it in here. If you need thrillers to be fast-paced and focused on explosive special effects, you've got it all wrong. Siberia is a gloomy thriller that stands out with its unique style nowadays and focuses on character and story development rather than impressive action scenes and baffling plot twists.

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