Soul shrinking and extraction is a swell idea indeed, but it depends on what it is for and how it is implemented. Unfortunately this important, rich and potentially exciting topic of soulfulness, was simplified and impoverished in the film. The focus on consumption vs. creativity and spirituality is a common topic for many documentary and feature films. The idea could have been executed much better and certainly could have been more believable, especially when it came to the Russian theme. Thankfully, most of the "Russians" speak real Russian. Katheryn Winnick, who according to IMDb.com "is fluent in Ukrainian" – is really not fluent in Russian. Her Russian is so heavily accented, that one wonders: could they not have found a real Russian for the part? It would not be a significant issue, if only it wasn't a metaphor for the whole movie. The story of her character's abduction is much more fantastic than the film's sci-fi premise: Sveta, the wife of the head of a criminal organization, a rich and powerful individual, could not have been abducted by a lone person, as she would have be accompanied by a pack of heavily armed body guards. The film starts with the declaration and promise of the creative development of a significant idea and finishes with a vague and bleak streak of desperation and pointless sadness.
Review of Cold Souls
