Four and the Mountain
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| Four and the Mountain | |
|---|---|
| File:VierundDeBerg.jpg | |
| Directed by | Boris Makulak |
| Screenplay by | Ulrich Tennermann |
| Produced by | Karl Bakkershof |
| Starring | Fritz Eugen Pyotr Ilyanov |
| Cinematography | Carmen Messer |
| Edited by | Johann Ketcher |
| Music by | Alexander Marx |
Production company | Broken Angel Studio |
| Distributed by | Morzov Entertainment Group |
Running time | 154 minutes |
| Country |  Radictistan |
| Language | Radictistani |
| Budget | R$45,000,000 |
| Box office | R$96,174,055 (Domestic) |
Four and the Mountain is a Radictistani psychological horror film released in 2013. It is based off the novella The Mountain by Grigor Samstoff. Four men from a local detachment of the National Defense Organization, the Radictistani home guard, are ordered to reconoiter an abandoned hotel in the mountains of Norcustsur and use it as an observation post to monitor enemy troop movements below. Trapped by the weather and the overwhelming enemy strength, the men are left nothing but their own thoughts and the corrupting influence of a presence which should have left the mountain long ago.
Plot
It is winter in Radictistan and the country has been invaded by an unnamed country. Several members of the National Defense Organization, the Radictistani home guard organization, are taking a break from their march in an abandoned dacha. There they try to contact their superiors using a satellite phone. Four men are left outside as sentries. While the NDO men receive their instructions, an enemy airstrike destroys the dacha. The squad leader remains alive long enough to relay to the sentries, who had been far enough away from the blast to be unharmed. Their orders are march to the abandoned Stralkastein Hotel and establish an observation post there.
The four surviving militiamen arrive at the dilapidated mountainside structure and begin scanning the surrounding area for any sign of the enemy. They initially exude a strong aura of camaraderie. However problems soon begin. Yuri (Pyotr Ilyanov) accuses Radovan (Kazimir Lukoski) of insulting his mother. Radovan denies the allegation, insisting that he had been misheard. The leader of the NDO troops, Adolf Kelgen (Fritz Eugen) backs Radovan while others side with Yuri.
That night Radovan is wondering through the abandoned hotel after being relieved from watch. He sees a light emanating from Room 1467. He walks into the room seemingly transfixed. Meanwhile, Yuri is scanning the sorrounding countryside with binoculars. He thinks he sees movement in the distance and alerts Adolf who tries to send a burst transmission using the HF radio. The device fails to work and Adolf sends Nikolai (Karl Bergmann) to find Radovan who knows how to fix it. Nikolai finds Radovan outside Room 1467 curled into a fetal position mumbling incoherently. Nikolai slaps him out of it and drags him back to the observation post.
Cast
- Fritz Eugen as Adolf Kelgen
- Pyotr Ilyanov as Yuri Kuenov
- Kazimir Lukoski as Radovan Pfalz
- Karl Bergmann as Nikolai Zhakov
Production
Principle photography took place in Norcustsur. Exterior shots of the hotel were shot at the Kleinshof Lodge near Rabensberg. Digital effects were used to make the operating hotel look abandoned. Interior scenes at the hotel and dacha were shot on a sound stage at Hirsfer Studios. Exterior scenes elsewhere were shot at various locations around Norcustsur. The most expensive scene of the film, the destruction of the dacha, was accomplished by building a half-sized wood model which was used for exterior shots and then destroyed with explosives to simulate the air attack.
While it was originally planned to shoot using 35mm film, all photography was accomplished digitally in RAW format at 2.8K resolution with Wotan Spitzer cameras.
Release
The film was a commercial success by Radictistani standards grossing nearly one hundred million Radin domestically. In addition to its domestic cinematic relase, Four and the Mountain was presented internationally through Alhambra Cinemas.