Transsiberian (2008)

A Transsiberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers.

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writers:

Brad Anderson, Will Conroy

Stars:

Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley

2 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Harrelson	...	Roy
Emily Mortimer	...	Jessie
Ben Kingsley	...	Grinko
Kate Mara	...	Abby
Eduardo Noriega	...	Carlos Ximénez
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Kolzak
Etienne Chicot	...	Frenchman
Mac McDonald	...	Minister
Colin Stinton	...	Embassy Official
Perlis Vaisieta	...	Manager Hotel Pushkin
Mindaugas Papinigis	...	Young Detective
Mindaugas Capas	...	Military Officer
Sonata Visockaite	...	Female Train Attendant #1
Larisa Kalpokaite	...	Female Train Attendant #2
Valentinas Krulikovskis	...	Young Waiter

Storyline

Americans abroad. Roy and Jessie finished a volunteer stint in China. He loves trains, so they go home via the Trans-Siberia Express. There are strains in the relationship, including her past. They meet Carlos, a Spaniard, traveling with Abby, a young American. Carlos keeps close to Jessie, and when Roy is left behind and waits a day for the next train so he can catch up, Jessie and Carlos take a trip into the dead of winter to photograph a ruined church. Carlos may be running drugs, so, later, when Roy catches up and introduces Jessie to his new pal, an English speaking Russian narcotics detective, he's the last person Jessie wants to see. Will the Siberian desolation be their undoing?

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Plot Keywords:

train | drugs | travel | trans siberian railway | murder | 

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Taglines:

Arrive on time.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, including torture and language

Details

Official Sites:

First Look Studios Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK Germany Spain Lithuania

Language:

English Russian Spanish Chinese French

Release Date:

5 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Expresso Transiberiano

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,615, 20 July 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,203,641, 9 November 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax International, Canal+ España, Filmax Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX (as Dolby Digital Surround EX)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On creating the character of "Roy," Woody Harrelson has said in interviews that it's largely based on an autistic version of his character of "Woody" from Cheers. "I kind of thought, what if he were 'Woody,' but a version of Woody that's really into trains?" Harrelson told EW.

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Goofs

Roy and Jessie set out from Beijing and immediately deal with Russian staff on the train. In fact, the train is manned by Chinese staff with a Chinese restaurant carriage whilst the train is still in China.

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Quotes

Roy: [competing with other passenger's tiger scar] Hey, look at this. A deer attacked me.
passenger: A deer?
Roy: Yeah, a John Deer power mower!

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Alternate Versions

9 secs of cuts to shots of a knife being pressed into a leg wound were removed from the UK DVD release in order to achieve a 15 classification. Cuts were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy. An uncut 18 was available.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Ben Kingsley Performances (2015)

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Soundtracks

Count The Lights Of San Francisco
Written by Otto Sieben

User Reviews

A Beautifully Shot Thriller in the Cold

Just screened this great film at Sundance 2008 and came away very pleased with the experience. It appears that Director Brad Anderson has successfully created a modern thriller worthy of attention. The backdrop of this film is the wondrous Transsiberian Express railway which in itself makes this completely watchable and makes for fantastic cinematography. The story takes us along the railway with Jesse (Emily Mortimer) and Roy (Woody) who are taking the trek as an adventure after a stint in China. The two Americans find themselves befriended by a young couple Carlos and Amby (I think thats her name,the character was played by Kate Mara) who themselves are traveling around Russia. After some time together an awkward friendship forms between Jesse and Carlos who has several different motives. As the train keeps pushing across the frozen tundra some situations occur that separate the newfound friends and places certain individuals in compromising positions that ultimately result in some stressful events. Russian narcotics officer Grinko (Kingsley) arrives just in time to really make things chaotic and turn the train ride into a thrill ride. Jesse finds herself pushing and pulling between dealing with the truth and what it will take to survive the train trip home.

First of all whether one loves the plot or not, its hard to deny the fantastic cinematography that takes place throughout the film. The train sequences inside are so authentic that one can truly feel the atmosphere breathing. Overall the whole film just feels authentic to the locations and the people who wander in and out of the film are completely genuine. Superb performances by all, just really good stuff from actors you would expect it from. Plot runs a little weaker towards the end and inevitably its somewhat predictable as most thrillers are, but with the train and the location its a enough of a twist to keep viewers interested. Flick definitely should appeal more to mainstream audiences then the typical indie sorts, so buzz might be a bit weak on the indie circuit but this movie should have decent release interest and definitely get good views on video and cable when people give it a chance.