Koma
2019 / 111m - Russia
Fantasy, Action
3.5*/5.0*
Coma poster

Watches

August 08, 2020

3.5*/5.0*

A sprawling Russian fantasy film. There's definitely a trend going on there, lately more and more big budget Russian genre films are finding their way to the West. It's a big move away from the downtrodden rural arthouse that we usually get to see, but it's a trend I'm gladly embracing.

The plot of Coma isn't the most interesting, but it's a solid premise that allows the director to go crazy with the fantasy elements, which is the main focus of the film. An architect in a coma arrives in a strange, Escher-esque world where he finds other victims battling dark and evil creatures. He architects out to have special powers and is quickly recruited by a team of survivors.

A lot of time and effort went into the design and execution of the fantasy world, which is a real blessing. Argunov takes his time to explore this world and keeps the plot to a minimum. No doubt a choice that is going to annoy some people, but personally this is how I prefer my fantasy. A pretty nifty discovery.