Compartment No. 6 Movie Review

Something I didn’t know going in was that “Compartment No. 6” is based on Rosa Liksom’s 2011 novel. The film has the same name as the book, though it was initially titled “Hytti nro 6.” ​

The story is about a Finnish woman named Laura (Seidi Haarla), who takes a trip to Russia. The time frame here is near the collapse of the Soviet Union. As it’s mentioned at some point, outside of the home, women now do more than they used to, and Laura has more than a slight interest in becoming an archeologist. Though it’s winter, she boards a train going from Moscow to Murmansk, which is near the border of Russia and Finland. She sets out to see some petroglyphs that she has been studying in college.

Luckily for Laura, though the train is quite full, she gets a compartment all to herself, or so she thinks. She’s happy to have the time to get some studying done. She also needs to think long and hard about the relationship she has with her lover and friend Irina (Dinara Drukarova), who, at the last minute, couldn’t accompany her on the excursion. Laura’s peace and quiet are crushed when in walks Vladimir Putin look-alike, Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov). He is ill-mannered, imposing, aggressive and rude. After a short time with him, she can see that it’s not going to get any better, so she spends the entire evening in the dining car. It isn’t bad until they finally make her leave for the night. She’s driven back to the compartment she has to share with an arrogant, nosy, smoking Russian who, learning Laura is from Finland, spouts on about how his country is the best because it beat the Nazi’s.

She’s rather uncomfortable and asks an attendant if she can move to another compartment. She’s told there are no other places to sleep, and she’s informed she’s lucky to have what she has. While walking through the train, she sees proof of the benefits in her car and goes back. Though neither are the happiest of people, neither are they the most aggrieved or gruff. She decides to make the best of it and not let him get to her and ruin the experience.
It’s here that the pace of the movie picks up and becomes much more engaging. After a bit of thawing inside the train, not outside, sadly, Ljoha and Laura slowly get to know one another. It takes time, but she eventually lets down her guard and defrosts some. He opens up, as well, and asks Laura why she’s on the train and where she’s going.

She tells him about the petroglyphs. The subject interests him more when she tells him that it’s crucial for human evolution and its future if we better understand our past. If Laura is willing to take time to get to know what symbols on rocks mean, perhaps she needs to realize that just because someone didn’t grow up in your neighborhood or is seen as being beneath your station doesn’t mean he isn’t worth a better look. Perhaps this reserved and aloof academic needs to take a comprehensive look inside of herself, too.
I give this a rating of 95% for the alluring cinematography (some shots take you directly into the film), the acting, the script, and how Kuosmanen handles the relationship between his two leads.