A British-Russian historical drama being filmed near St. Petersburg boasts an international cast, including John Malkovich as a sadistic NKVD officer.

John Malkovich is playing a gruesome NKVD colonel in a new British-Russian film currently being shot by Thema Productions at a glue factory in the St. Petersburg suburb of Pushkin. Set in 1946, In Tranzit is based on real events that took place in Pushkin. A group of German prisoners of war is by accident sent to and held in a transit camp guarded by women immediately after the end of World War II. The location being used for the shoot is the Krasny Treugolnik, or Red Triangle, factory in the south of the city. According to the filmmakers, during the year that the prisoners spend in the camp, they experience a tremendous range of human feelings, from humiliation and hatred to despair, love and forgiveness.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, Thema Productions has offices in London and St. Petersburg. Since its launch in 2003, the company has co-produced 12 films, including Woody Allen's Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson. In Tranzit is the first fiction film to come from documentary guru Tom Roberts, who gained international fame for his documentaries about Chernobyl, the military campaign in Chechnya, the legacy of the Soviet GULAGs and the war in Iraq. "This is a story of forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit," said producer Michael Dounaev. "I think it is very relevant today, as it shows us that war is not a solution to conflict."

For many war veterans in Russia, coming to terms with memories of World War II has been difficult. In St. Petersburg, recent attempts to hold exhibitions of war photographs and memorabilia collected by both German and Russian survivors have met with protests from local veterans' organizations. "When the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Germans offered to restore a war cemetery for the Russian government," Dounaev said. "There was only one condition, that it would be a memorial to all soldiers; everyone was to be equally honored. The Russians didn't support this initiative, and this means they haven't forgiven."

At least one actress in the team has first-hand family experience of this lack of forgiveness. From her early childhood, Vera Farmiga remembers the ice-cold tone and pursed lips of her Ukrainian grandmother when she talked about the war. Farmiga's grandmother was a nurse in a camp during World War II. "Even as a child I was shocked to see and sense that she could not forgive," Farmiga said at a news conference earlier this month in the Rosbalt news agency. "It baffled me so much, and I wondered why it is that some people find it harder to forgive than others. For me, reading the script brought these memories back."

The main character, a former university professor, Max, is played by German actor Thomas Kretschmann. Max is confronted by Malkovich's character, Colonel Pavlov, a vicious torturer. "I play an NKVD colonel, and there is, in fact, a personal twist on this story for me," Malkovich said. "I have German ancestry, my wife has Jewish ancestors and comes from St. Petersburg. I have been in your city on several occasions and I relate to this place in many respects."

The cast also includes German actor Daniel Bruehl, Lithuanian star Ingeborga Dapkunayte, and Farmiga, a U.S. actress of Ukrainian descent. Dapkunayte's character in the film, Chief Guard Vera Tyurina, is openly vindictive toward the German captives. Tyurina's nickname, "devil in a skirt," is well earned, the actress believes. "Although the war is over, for Vera, the campaign, the vendetta is only beginning," Dapkunayte said. "My character is by no means a kind person."

Russian actor Yevgeny Mironov, the star of last year's Dreaming of Space, plays a gloomy, shellshocked and introverted camp guard in Roberts' film. Mironov's role is virtually silent: His character, lost in thought, barely acknowledges the presence of his own wife, prison doctor Natasha. "Goodbye, Natasha!" is, in fact, the only phrase the actor is to pronounce in the entire film. "Tom Roberts offered me a choice of two roles, and I preferred the guard's role, as it's very unorthodox," Mironov said. "I need to use mime and the language of gesture a lot, which is a lot more challenging. There is even an element of clowning in performing this role."

The shooting in St. Petersburg, which started March 1, is due to finish in early April. The film is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and is expected to have its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in February 2007.