''Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' (, ) is a

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n film directed by

Grigori Kromanov Grigori Kromanov (; 8 March 1926 in Tallinn – 18 July 1984 in Lahe, Lääne-Viru County, Lahe, Lääne-Virumaa) was an Estonian Theatre director, theatre and film director. He directed some of the best-known Estonian movies, including ''Viimne r ...

and based on the 1970 novel '' Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' by

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Strugatsky (28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Strugatsky (14 April 1933 – 19 November 2012) were Soviet and Russian science-fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers. Their notable works in ...

, who also wrote the screenplay.Pick, Anat & Narraway, Guinevere (2014) ''Screening Nature: Cinema Beyond the Human'', , p. 170

Production

The film was directed by Grigori Kromanov, with his wife

Irena Veisaitė Irena Veisaitė (9 January 1928 – 11 December 2020) was a Lithuanian theatre scholar, intellectual and human rights activist. She was awarded the Goethe Medal in 2012 for her contribution to cultural exchange between Germany and Lithuania. L ...

acting as assistant director while taking a sabbatical year from university. Yves Plasseraud (2015) ''Irena Veisaite: Tolerance and Involvement'', Brill/Rodopi, , p. 116 It was filmed between 1978 and 1979 in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and set in a fictional western country. Lead actor

Uldis Pūcītis Uldis Pūcītis (15 April 1937 – 14 December 2000) was a Latvian television, theater and film actor, scriptwriter and film director. Early life and stage career Uldis Pūcītis was born in Ranka parish, Gulbene district to Jānis Pūcītis ...

, who did not speak Estonian, had his lines dubbed by Estonian actor and theatre teacher

Aarne Üksküla Aarne Üksküla (21 September 1937 Tallinn – 29 October 2017) was an Estonian film and stage actor and theatre instructor. In 1961 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. Career * Rakvere Theatre (1961–196 ...

Plot

Due to an anonymous call, Inspector Glebsky travels to the hotel "Dead Mountaineer's." This hotel is situated in a mountainous region of a secluded valley in a European nation. Simply put, the hotel's name, "Dead Mountaineer's," refers to the fact that a climber perished here after falling from a cliff. He left only his faithful dog behind – a St. Bernard called Lel. In the hotel there is a rather bleak portrait of the climber near which faithful Lel likes to sleep. Almost all of the lodgers are rather strange, especially Mr. and Mrs. Moses and Olaf Andvarafors. Later another strange individual materializes; Luarvik, who can not even utter a couple of words. Mr. Moses and Luarvik turn out to be aliens and Mrs. Moses and Olaf are their

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

s, although they look like ordinary people. And in the mountains they suffer a calamity. After a heavy snowfall, when the hotel is cut off from the outside world, a body appears at one point. Inspector Glebsky initiates an investigation, using all of his standard skills. However the investigation of the pseudo-murder of Olaf comes to a standstill. And when seemingly all intricacies of the plot unravel and the aliens can safely leave the Earth a military helicopter appears. The inspector has a chance to do great service to the aliens, but Glebsky behaves like a typical cop, subordinate only to common sense and official instructions which leads to the tragic outcome. At the end of the film the inspector is plagued by doubts whether he did everything he could.

Reception and analysis

Eva Näripea and Henriette Cederlöf, in a 2015 article on the film, viewed it as a blend of science fiction and

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

, the latter particularly in its visual aesthetics.Näripea, Eva & Cederlöf, Henriette (2015)
Genre and Gender in the Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (1979)
", ''Science Fiction Film & Television'', Volume 8, Issue 2, ISSN 1754-3770. Retrieved 1 January 2019 They also viewed the film as " ouchingupon the inherent tensions and social anxieties of the 'crudely communist' Soviet regime" and "Soviet nationalism and the threat it poses to the language, culture and the very existence of non-Russian ethnic groups". Gender identity was also a theme that they identified in the film, commenting on its "apparent denial of heteronormativity as the sole accepted coordinate system for sexual identity", which "parallels its obvious denunciation of oppressive power relations and the attempts by Soviet authorities to combat all kinds of otherness, including of ideological and ethnic origin".

Cast

– Inspector Peter Glebsky *

Jüri Järvet Jüri Järvet (18 June 19195 July 1995), born Georgi Kuznetsov, was a Soviet Estonian actor. Biography Jüri Järvet's birthname was Georgi Yevgenyevich Kuznetsov, and he took the Estonian form in 1938. Järvet's mother was a Russian, while hi ...

– Alex Snewahr * Lembit Peterson – Simon Simonet *

Mikk Mikiver Mikk Mikiver (4 September 1937 – 9 January 2006) was a prominent Estonian stage and film actor and theater director. Biography Mikiver was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He graduated from the State Conservatory of Tallinn in 1961. He then went ...

– Hinckus * Kārlis Sebris – Mr. Moses * Irena Kriauzaitė – Mrs. Moses *

Sulev Luik Sulev Luik (16 April 1954 – 29 June 1997) was an Estonian actor. In 1976 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory. 1976-1988 he worked at Noorsooteater and since 1988 at Estonian Drama Theatre. Besides theatrical roles he played also in ov ...

– Luarvik * Tiit Härm – Olaf Andvarafors * Nijolė Oželytė – Brun *

Kaarin Raid Kaarin Raid (22 October 1942 Rakvere – 29 July 2014 Viljandi) was an Estonian director, theatre pedagogue and actor. In 1967 she graduated from GITIS in director speciality. 1967–1974 she was a director at Endla Theatre, 1974–1977 at Esto ...

– Kaisa

Awards

*Best cinematography (Jüri Sillart), USSR Film Competition (Shostka), 1979 *Best cinematography (Jüri Sillart), Estonian SSR Film Festival, 1980 *Best art design (Tõnu Virve), Estonian SSR Film Festival, 1980 *Jury Special Prize for novel expression in film music (

Sven Grünberg Sven Grünberg (born 24 November 1956, Tallinn) is an Estonian synthesizer and progressive rock composer and musician best known for his meditation, meditative organ (music), organ and electronic music, electronic works involving the concepts of ...

), Estonian SSR Film Festival, 1980Festivals, awards, nominations
, efis.ee. Retrieved 1 January 2018

References

External links

* {{Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Films based on works by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Soviet science fiction films 1979 films Films based on Russian novels Estonian-language films Soviet-era Estonian films 1979 crime films Films set in hotels Tallinnfilm films Estonian science fiction films Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Grigori Kromanov Films about androids 1979 science fiction films