Transsiberian

Transsiberian
Director
Brad Anderson
Country
Germany, Spain, Lithuania, United kingdom
Year
2008
Genre
Fiction
Scriptwriters
Brad Anderson / Will Conroy
Cast
Woody Harrelson / Emily Mortimer / Kate Mara / Eduardo Noriega
Production
Castelao Productions / Filmax / Canal+ España. In coproduction with Universum Film (UFA), Telecinco Cinema, Future Films and Lietuvos Kinostudija (as Lithuanian Film Studios)

Storyline

Transsiberian is a thriller set on the legendary train that links the Far East and Europe, running from China and Mongolia to Russia. Following a stay in Beijing, Roy and Jessie, a couple who are going through a rocky patch, decide to give their relationship one last go and have another adventure together, traveling on the Transsiberian from China to Moscow through exotic, wild and snow-laden places.On the train, Roy and Jessie discover that the days of the Transsiberian's glorious luxury have faded since the fall of the U.S.S.R. The famous train's former glamor has disappeared, leaving cold steel carriages and taciturn fellow passengers, reputed to include drug traffickers. They take refuge in the company of a fellow western couple who arrive in their shared compartment, Carlos and Abby, who travel throughout the world giving language classes and re-selling handcraft, such as, on this occasion, Russian Matryoshka dolls.Everything is going well until the four decide to get off the train at one stop. Roy gets separated from the rest of the group and the train carries on with the other three already back on board. Jessie, by now extremely worried, has no other option but to get off at the next station and wait until Roy comes on the following train. Abby and Carlos offer to wait with her. However, while they wait for him, Carlos tries to take advantage of Jessie and, in trying to defend herself, she ends up accidentally killing him. Terrified, she left the corpse in the snow. She then returns to the station, where Roy has finally arrived. Back together at last, Jessie tries to forget about what has happened. But the nightmare is only just beginning.She soon discovers that Carlos was in fact a drug dealer who was being pursued by corrupt police officers, and they are now chasing her. Unwittingly, Roy and Jessie get caught up in the dark world of smuggling and betrayal. And they know that while the train is in motion, there is no means of escape!

Festivals & Academy awards and others

Berlin International Film Festival 2008
Panorama Special
Sitges Film Festival

Gaudí Awards 2009
Winner: Best Film Editing and Best Art Direction
Nominated: Best Film not in the Catalan Language, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Special Effects

Releases

Germany (11 of December 2008)
Belgium (5 of November 2008)
Spain (27 of October 2008)