The mysterious Russian sci fi tale Alien is set in the unfamiliar, remote Ural hinterlands. Lyosha (Maxim Stoyanov), the local oddball, has a hearing disability, lives in his grandmother’s cabin on the edge of the settlement, and has built an impressive tower out of trash that he has collected. He has also jerrybuilt a radio system and made giant circles in the fields, all attempts to contact space aliens He is teased pitilessly by the village japesters. We later learn that the long ago disappearance of his mother has affected his psyche.
A newcomer suddenly appears at his cabin – most certainly not looking like any space alien that Lyosha has imagined. Is this visitor just a runaway from another village, an emissary from deep in the universe, or a supernatural messenger from his mother? It’s all up in air as hostile villagers close in, all the way to an unpredictable ending.
This is a dynamite screenplay from writer-director Ivan Sosnin, who keeps us guessing for its 73 minutes. I screened Alien for its US premiere at Cinequest.