12+Synopsis
The Spirit of Baikal (Дух Байкала, 2023) is a Russian family adventure-drama from Mikhail Raskhodnikov, and you can watch it online on iFILM. A boy has just lost his mother, and his father — unsure how to reach his grieving son — drives him out to the grandfather's place for some winter ice fishing.
Out on the frozen surface of the largest lake on Earth, a blizzard catches them. The truck goes through the ice, every landmark vanishes, and father and son are left alone with Baikal — and with a loss neither has learned to say out loud. What pulls them through is partly stubbornness and partly the ancient, almost living force of the lake itself. The film balances survival in the cold against Buryat folklore.
Shot among the real landscapes of Baikal, it's the icy scenery that gives this simple father-and-son story its weight. A warm pick for a family evening, built around the motto "what's inside shows on the outside." Stream The Spirit of Baikal (2023) online on iFILM.
Comments 0