For Maddin, place is a state of mind. He explains we are in Archangel, a town in northern Russia, of 1919, the Great War is over though no one informs the inhabitants who continue to fight. The film opens with Eisenstein-inspired docu-portraits of the characters. Pieced together, they montage a story. Each black and white image is meticulously sculpted with light, so beautifully rendered it could be plucked and hung in a noir museum.