Siberia (2020 film)

Siberia is a 2020 psychological thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival,^[4][5] where it premiered on 24 February 2020.^[1]

Siberia
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Abel Ferrara
Written by	Abel Ferrara Christ Zois
Produced by	Marta Donzelli Gregorio Paonessa Philipp Kreuzer Jörg Schulze Julio Chavezmontes Diana Phillips
Starring	Willem Dafoe Dounia Sichov Simon McBurney Cristina Chiriac Daniel Giménez Cacho
Cinematography	Stefano Falivene
Edited by	Fabio Nunziata Leonardo Daniel Bianchi
Music by	Joe Delia
Production companies	Vivo Film Rai Cinema Maze Pictures Piano Faliro House Rimsky Productions Bavaria Filmproduktion
Distributed by	Nexo Digital (Italy) Port au Prince Pictures (Germany)
Release dates	24 February 2020 (2020-02-24) (Berlin) 2 July 2020 (2020-07-02) (Germany) 20 August 2020 (2020-08-20) (Italy)
Running time	92 minutes[1]
Countries	Italy Germany Mexico
Language	English
Box office	$23,645[2][3]

Premise

Clint, an English speaker, has abandoned his former life and now runs a bar in Siberia where most of the few guests do not speak English. He suffers from hallucinations and embarks on a dog-sled journey to a nearby cave where he confronts his dreams and memories, including of his father, brother, former wife and son, trying to make sense of his life.

Cast

• Willem Dafoe as Clint
• Dounia Sichov as wife
• Simon McBurney as magician
• Daniel Giménez Cacho as doctor
• Cristina Chiriac as Russian woman
• Anna Ferrara as Clint's son

Production

The film is the sixth collaboration between Ferrara and Dafoe.^[6] The film also features Ferrara's wife Cristina and daughter, Anna,^[7] who plays Clint's son.

The film was inspired by Carl Jung's The Red Book.^[8][9]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on 24 February 2020.^[1] It was released theatrically in Germany on 2 July 2020 by Port au Prince Pictures and in Italy on 20 August 2020 by Nexo Digital.^{[2][3][10][11]} In the United States, Siberia was released in select theaters and for digital rental on 18 June 2021 by Lionsgate.^[12][13]

Reception

Box office

Siberia grossed $23,626 in Italy.^[2][3]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 62% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critics consensus states, "Willem Dafoe delivers another outstanding performance in the central role, although it's undercut by Siberia's frustratingly elliptical approach."^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[15] Guy Lodge of Variety called it a "beautiful, unhinged, sometimes hilarious trek into geographical and psychological wilderness that will delight some and mystify many others".^[6]