'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell (1979)

'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell (1979)
Director: Grigori Kromanov
Writen by: Arkadiy Strugatskiy and Boris Strugatskiy,
based on their novel "Otel 'U Pogibshego Alpinista'".
Edited by: Sirje Haagel
Director of Photography: Jüri Sillart
Original Music: Sven Grünberg
Cast: Uldis Pucitis, Jüri Järvet, Lembit Peterson
imdb

The Estonian Cinematography is always reduced to a bunch of titles: "Nukitsamees", of course, based on Oskar Luts book; "Vimne Relikvia", by Grigori Kromanov, director also of "'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell"; and the trilogy "Kevade", "Sügis" and "Suvi", also based on Oskar Luts novels.

The Estonian Cinematography has found its roots mainly in literature and a combination of realism and Folklorism, which has lead to literary adaptations and to comedies and dramatic comedies, which probably represent the 80% of the whole cinematography.

"'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell" is a really interesting but disturbing movie. While watching it I couldn't help coming back to the spanish "Arrebato", by Ivan Zulueta, also from 1979. Not only they are from the same year but also they share something more deep in common: the intention of playing with the standards established for each genre (exactly the same done in "Låt den rätte komma in" -Let the right one in-).

The story begins when Police Inspector Peter Glebsky (Uldis Pucitis) arrives to an isolated hotel in the Alps, sent by his Chief after a call from the hotel. When he gets there it seems that everything is alright. But soon he discovers that there are some strange things going on in the hotel.

The environment of the hotel, with its strange characters, may seem a precursor of Lynchism, that cinematography created by David Lynch where surrealism is the leit motiv of the action (as happened with "Arrebato")

It is also interesting to notice the use of the classic "noir" approach through the character of the policeman to allow the viewer to get involved in the extraordinary via the ordinary; the investigations of a policeman.