In Tranzit (In Transit)

Two things attracted me to this movie, the cast and the story. The cast includes John Malkovich, Daniel Bruhl, and Vera Farmiga. The story seemed so interesting as tells about an empty Russian transit women’s prison (women from here go to the Gulag) in the aftermath of WWII where a group of male German prisoners of war are taken by “mistake”. The prison guards are women who have lost loved ones to the hands of the Germans that did atrocious things in St. Petersburg. So you can see the possibilities for a great script with a great story.

Based on true facts this UK and Russian production unfortunately does not deliver as has a very weak script that makes the film go nowhere even when the plot thickens as among the prisoners there is suspicion that there are some wanted SS war criminals (is true) plus Russian wardens and local lonely women start to fall for the “enemy”.

I cannot complain about the acting, as Malkovich does an unpleasant and unlikable character very well, Farmiga does a complex character good, and Bruhl is acceptable even when his character is always hidden among all the prisoners. Is basically a terrible script that lost the great opportunity to tell an interesting story in a dramatic, tense, romantic, relevant way and opt to tell the story in the most uninteresting and tedious way what makes this movie totally forgettable.

Still was remarkable for me to find what could be interesting tales about the aftermath of WWII in Russia. Tales that not often are told in movies for western viewers consumption.

I find the idea (and true story) fascinating and I just wish that another scriptwriter revisits the story to create a great script that I’m sure could make a great movie.

Definitively I cannot recommend this movie.

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion