A short film based on Papers, Please does the impossible: it's a video game movie that's actually good. The 10-minute adaptation does a fantastic job at depicting the struggle between duty and family, and self-preservation versus compassion. It's available on Youtube and Steam right now, for free, and is definitely a must watch for anyone that enjoyed Papers, Please the game.
The film provides plenty of easter eggs for fans of the game. The colorful array of passports, suspiciously-expired work permits, and the almighty Arstotzkan stamp show up to make life difficult for the protagonist, a border inspector who must tightly control who enters a city torn in half by a recent war.
Even without playing the games, however, one can definitely sympathize with the protagonist's struggle. Under the watchful eye of a seemingly omnipotent government, he spends his day faced with hard-pressed folks who just want go into the city. Having to turn away people who have everything riding on the trip visibly weighs on him, and yet he knows he must do his duty for the sake of his family, whose picture sits on his desk as a reminder.
The film somehow manages to do both of these things simultaneously. It reminds the game's fans of the difficulties they had controlling their own borders, and it also tells a compelling short story of its own. Perhaps that successful balancing act is achieved by having Lucas Pope, the game's writer, help with the film's script. Pope shares writing credits on the film with Nikita Ordynskiy, who also directed, and Liliya Tkach, who also produced. The script is in Russian, but subtitles are provided for an astounding 22 languages.
As a film with a short 10-minute runtime, there's not too much else to say without going into spoilers. One thing that can be said is that the film certainly doesn't shy away from showing the dire consequences of certain decisions. It also doesn't try to tell the audience what the protagonist should have done, or what the "right" answer is. Just like in the games, every day at the Grestin border is dangerous. And even the smallest action can have huge consequences.