Personally I didn't find the boy's acting particularly effective, especially in the scene when he has left his father behind. The brilliance of this film is that each scene clearly expresses an idea and the audience is able to understand and sympathize with emotions and events that would be hard to put into words. For me the landscape seemed oppressive and gloomy. Of course in some ways it's beautiful but that's only a perception, and if the audience enters into the spirit of the characters then i don't think they'd find the scenery attractive. I also found the drawn out shots demonstrated the immensity of everything, the length of the voyage, the effort that the characters have to make everyday just to keep going. The film is an amazing commentary on Russia, it revives a lot of the Communist culture (especially the belief in ESP) but also shows the new Russia in the form of the boy. A boy who is not a totally sympathetic character but who shows incredible determination.
