Have you ever psychoanalyzed an alien?

That’s the premise behind the Russian film “Sputnik” which was released in 2020.

How does this situation come about? Two Russian cosmonauts are floating in space in the 1980s when their ship encounters… something. It’s never really clear what, and not really necessary to understand.

Later, when they crash land back on Russian soil, one of them is dead. And one of them is kind of different.

To figure out what ails him, Russian authorities bring in a female psychologist. With a little digging, she uncovers the secret the authorities have been hiding from her. The surviving cosmonaut has an alien creature living inside him. It exits his mouth at certain points to stretch its limbs and eat.

When the psychologist determines the alien is in some sense influencing the cosmonaut (who seems unaware of his situation), she’s tasked with the job of separating them. But she begins to question whether they have a deleterious parasitic relationship or a more mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.

This setup lends itself to various kinds of philosophical rumination. But there’s plenty of screams and blood and guts as well.

The whole thing reminded me of a Stephen Sodenberg film: thoughtful, plodding camera work, a lack of jump cuts, a limited color palette for each shot.

It was also an interesting look at Russia in the 80s, in the midst of the Cold War.

A lot of what happened was hard to believe (beyond the alien stuff), and at times too predictable.

It’s one of those films where I feel like I probably missed a lot of symbolism, but sometimes just the sensation that you’re in a wash of meaning is enough to tickle the brain.

So, if you’re in the mood for something a little slower while still horrifying, “Sputnik” is worth checking out.