Ukrainian film, Stranger, written and directed by Dmitriy Tomashpolskiy, tells of a tangled web of mystery as a Detective with an unblemished record is brought onto a case investigating a string of apparently unconnected disappearances. The first disappearance is an entire synchronised swimming team who vanished from their swimming pool mid-performance. The second, a patient at a water-therapy clinic who disappeared while taking a bath. As our Detective begins to investigate, she finds a plethora of unusual incidents that she’ll have to work through in order to solve the case.
If you like films with a side of confusion-induced headaches, then Stranger is just the ticket. The film plays out in a David Lynch Twin Peaks fashion, with strange occurrences being the norm. People happily interact with insane things such as a living doll (complete with human hair) without batting an eyelid. It’s unsettling for the audience as events are, at times, so ‘out there’ that it’s pretty bewildering that our lead isn’t reacting to them more. Stranger is a film that most definitely takes place within its own world, one that is distinctly separate to our own. The fantastical elements point to another reality unlike our own, but that still isn’t quite enough for the viewer to fully suspend their disbelief.
You’ll also need a degree, or at least a keen fascination with nuclear physics, to fully appreciate everything from a story perspective. The film features at least two extended monologues on various aspects of the number 126. I’m sure it’s importance will make aspects of the story make sense if you have any familiarity with the theories discussed, but as a layman, this writer got very muddled.
As bamboozling as the plot is, Stranger excels on a visual level. The film has been meticulously put together, and the lighting, production design, costume, make-up and cinematography, all work together to craft a breathing work of art. The colours are rich, sumptuous, and all-consuming. Scenes set within the water-therapy clinic are bathed in deep reds and greens, adding to that fantasy world feeling whilst also looking spectacular. Everything else encased within the clinic setting is overly stylised, from the nurses costumes all the way to our detective’s striking hair and bold lipstick choice. The film is so beautiful to look at that it most certainly distracts the viewer from the story, which is both a positive and a negative.
Stranger appears to be a film that is more concerned about its aesthetic than about its plot. Visual distractions aside, the plot is, put simply, confusing as Hell. The Lynchian elements are whirled with Lovecraftian themes, which in turn are coated in musings of nuclear physics. It’s a varied mix that too often feels like a jumble of ideas all competing for dominance. This is the truest example of a mystery wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in ambiguity; Stranger will likely take a crack team of experts to fully expose all its secrets.
Stranger was reviewed at Fantaspoa.
Stranger
Summary
A head-churning story that will confuse many, Stranger is saved by its attention to creating beautiful imagery.
