Film Shapes

I saw this preview for the Perth Festival at The Backlot a few nights ago. It's a low-key 'love story', devoid of any of the usual romantic cliches that you'd expect to find in a film with this outline. Finnish student Laura, played by Seidi Haarla, is first seen trying to navigate a party full of wankers at her girlfriend's apartment in Moscow. She doesn't fit in here and it's some relief to know that she's soon off on a train trip north to Murmansk to see some petroglyphs (ancient rock drawings). In fact, this was a trip planned by her carefree (and could care less) girlfriend, Irina, who cancels at the last minute. This is where the journey - and the JOURNEY - begins. Laura's compartment (No. 6) is shared with a moody Russian skinhead called Ljoha, played by Yuriy Borisov. He doesn't take long to get pissed up and obstreperous, lecturing her on the superiority of Mother Russia and asking if she's going to Murmansk to 'sell her cunt...