Like Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein (1989; dir. Peter Fleischmann) – which we reviewed here – this Estonian film is based on a story by the Strugatsky Brothers, famous Russian authors with a penchant for mixing hard sci-fi with cod-philosophy. This, like so many of their works, is so far removed from any social or political context that it may as well be from another planet itself. When a policeman is dispatched to an isolated ski resort in the mountains, he isn’t prepared for the bizarre guests and strange goings-on, despite doing more socializing than sleuthing.

Like most films from the former USSR, this is uneven in tone, ranging from romance to comedy and never benefiting from the trappings of either. The supernatural element is handled perfunctorily and, it must be said, very unconvincingly. However the film rises above this with its freewheeling approach to camerawork: often handheld and always off-kilter, Kromanov wields his camera around the gloomy, perpetual night of the hotel interior with an assured uniqueness. Cluttered frames and blurred focal planes are broken only by the large expanse of white snow that seems to blend into the giant lens flare of the sun. The film is an interesting starting point for anyone still clinging to the miseducation of Hollywood framing.

Also as with Es ist nicht…, the Strugatsky Brothers were unhappy with this adaptation and there is a more recent computer game based on the same material. Much more conventional than the film, it perhaps hints at the same conservatism and cultural boorishness that saw the Strugatskys unhappy with any film version of their work except the pretentious Stalker (1979; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky) – which we’ve reviewed here.

‘Hukkunud Aplinist’ hotell at the IMDb