Siberia (2018 film)

Siberia is a Canadian-American 2018 romantic crime thriller directed by Matthew Ross and written by Scott B. Smith from a story by Stephen Hamel. It stars Keanu Reeves, Ana Ularu, Pasha D. Lychnikoff and Molly Ringwald.

Siberia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Ross
Produced by
  • Stephen Hamel
  • Braden Aftergood
  • Gabriela Bacher
  • Dave Hansen
Written byScott B. Smith
Story byStephen Hamel
Starring
Music by
  • Daniel Bensi
  • Saunder Jurriaans
CinematographyEric Koretz
Edited byLouise Ford
Production
company
Distributed bySaban Films
Release date
  • July 13, 2018 (2018-07-13) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes[1][2]
Country
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish, Russian
Box office$636,366[3]

Plot

American diamond merchant Lucas Hill (Keanu Reeves) travels to Russia to sell rare blue diamonds to gangster Boris Volkov (Pasha D. Lychnikoff). However, his contact in St. Petersburg, Pyotr (Boris Gulyarin) who had the diamonds has gone missing. Boris threatens Lucas to deliver the diamonds in 48 hours.

Following Pyotr's clues, Lucas arrives at a guest house in Mirny, Siberia. He contacts his wife Gabby (Molly Ringwald) through Skype. He goes to a cafe and starts a fight with two men and the cafe owner Katya (Ana Ularu) saves him. Later, her brother Ivan suspects her of sleeping with Lucas. So she asks him to sleep with her.

Lucas meets Pyotr's brother Andrei who tells him that Pyotr sold the diamonds to a man named Samsonov. Enraged, Lucas goes to Katya's home. They start a passionate affair. Lucas also goes bear hunting with Ivan and Katya's other brothers. Lucas earns Ivan's respect when Lucas kills Ivan's dog.

Lucas is contacted by Vincent but he turns him off. Lucas returns to Pyotr's apartment in St. Petersburg to find a diamond there. That is real. He checks the one Pyotr sent to him. It's a fake. Lucas meets Boris, along with Katya to show the diamond promising him to return the rest later. Katya is raped by Boris.

Lucas is met by FSB agents who make Lucas sell fake diamonds, the ones Pyotr tried to sell to Samsonov, to Boris and get the money to the agents. In return, they promise him safe passage to home. Lucas overhears them speaking that once Boris finds out, he will kill his wife and Katya and Lucas won't hide long. Lucas manages to make Boris buy the diamonds and wire the money to the agents' account. But he gets a warning from Boris' henchman Pavel of the consequences if he is betraying.

Lucas finds where Pyotr is hiding in Siberia. He goes there to find Pyotr dead and no way to retrieve the real diamonds. Lucas meets Katya one last time and borrows Ivan's Mosin-Nagant hunting rifle, knowing there is no other way this could end.

Pavel and a few henchmen find Lucas to the place. Lucas shoots and kills all the henchmen while trying to escape but gets shot by Pavel in the back and dies.

Cast

Production

In February 2017, it was announced Keanu Reeves had been cast in the film, with Matthew Ross directing from a screenplay by Scott B. Smith. Stephen Hamel, Reeves, and Gabriela Bacher will produce the film under their Company Films, Summerstorm Productions banners respectively.[4] In April 2017, Aleks Paunovic, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Ana Ularu, and Molly Ringwald joined the cast of the film.[5][6]

Production began in May 2017.[7] Some scenes have been filmed in Saint Petersburg; Siberian scenes have also been filmed in Manitoba, Canada, including the small towns of Cooks Creek and Marquette.[8]

Release

In May 2018, Saban Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[9] It had a limited domestically released in theaters on July 13, 2018,[2] worldwide on July 20, 2018,[3] and on VOD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on September 18, 2018.[1]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 12%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 4.00/10.[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[10]

References
  1. "Siberia (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. "Siberia (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. "Siberia (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. Lodderhose, Diana (February 1, 2017). "Keanu Reeves Heading To 'Siberia' With 'Frank & Lola' Director Matthew Ross – Berlin". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. N'Duka, Amanda (April 5, 2017). "Aleks Paunovic Books Two Roles; Catherine Siggins Lands 'The Samuel Project'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  6. N'Duka, Amanda (April 27, 2017). "Keanu Reeves Starring Thriller 'Siberia' Rounds Its Cast; Magda Apanowicz To Co-Star In 'Volition'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  7. Garcia, Daniella (May 16, 2017). "Cannes First Look: Keanu Reeves Dives Into Diamond Trade in 'Siberia' (Exclusive Image)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  8. "Siberia (2018): Filming & Production". IMDb. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  9. Wiseman, Andreas (May 11, 2018). "Saban Films Snaps Up North American Rights To Keanu Reeves Crime Thriller 'Siberia' – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. "Siberia (2018) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
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