Round 8: Tossup 3

Shots filmed from onboard a departing plane bookend a black-and-white film in this language in which a wildfire thwarts a geological expedition (15[1])in search of diamonds. Making a 1975 movie in this language of the film Letter Never Sent lifted the spirits of a director who attempted suicide over lack of funding in his native country. (15[1])In that film in this language based on a 1923 memoir, a pivotal scene used a real wild tiger. The crew of a 1979 film in this language contracted (*) diseases due to shooting in toxic environments, such as power plants and the backdrop of a long, silent shot tracking some men riding a handcar. This is the primary language of Akira Kurosawa’s only non-Japanese film, Dersu Uzala, and a 1979 film about a journey to a wish-granting area in the Zone. For 10 points, name this language of the sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic and its film adaptation, Stalker. ■END■

ANSWER: Russian [or russkiy; prompt on Kyakhta Russian–Chinese Pidgin by asking “which of those two languages was the primary language in the film?”]
<AP, Written> | Absolute-Cinema_08
= Average correct buzzpoint

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