A witty examination of life and culture in Siberia.A witty examination of life and culture in Siberia.A witty examination of life and culture in Siberia.
- Director
- Writer
- Star
Georges Rouquier
- Narrator
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Narrator: [Opening lines] I'm writing you this letter from a distant land. Its name is Siberia. For most of us, that name suggests nothing but a frozen devil's island. And for the Czarist general Andreyevich, it was the biggest vacant lot in the world. Fortunately, there are more things on heaven and earth than any general, Siberian or not, has ever dreamed of.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Cinemania (2002)
Featured review
Tristam Shandy's Travel Talks
Travelogues were long a feature -- or short subject -- in the movie theaters. Here's, years after MGM's Traveltalks had ceased production, came this short feature about Siberia. Beginning as a series of pan shots, or perhaps post card pictures, this continues in a variety of forms, including animation discussing mammoths and so forth and a trip to find a mammoth's frozen remains.
Perhaps this is more akin to the "City Symphony" films that flourished, most notably in the 1920s. The landscapes it offers don't really show people, so much as the bleak Siberian landscape, even as they narration tries to convince the listener that it has its own beauty: birches on a plain, hawks, wolves, geese in flight, even trains roaring along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Perhaps. The print I saw showed a land that was washed out.
In the end, though, Chris Marker produces a self-referential parody of travelogues which mocks the idea that he can produce a work that will show you the reality of Siberia. It is, he makes clear, too large, too diverse, and every frame of his movie is open to endless interpretation. So look at the pretty images and take what you will.
Perhaps this is more akin to the "City Symphony" films that flourished, most notably in the 1920s. The landscapes it offers don't really show people, so much as the bleak Siberian landscape, even as they narration tries to convince the listener that it has its own beauty: birches on a plain, hawks, wolves, geese in flight, even trains roaring along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Perhaps. The print I saw showed a land that was washed out.
In the end, though, Chris Marker produces a self-referential parody of travelogues which mocks the idea that he can produce a work that will show you the reality of Siberia. It is, he makes clear, too large, too diverse, and every frame of his movie is open to endless interpretation. So look at the pretty images and take what you will.
helpful•41
- boblipton
- May 7, 2018
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ein Brief aus Sibirien
- Filming locations
- Angarsk, Russia(planned city, founded in 1948)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content