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Krotkaya (2017)
Very good directing, unique concept, but a little two long
I've read other users' review and noticed that the director could make some of the audience convinced of the seriousness of this film and make them think of "real" situation of contemporary Russian society.
That may be one of main intentions of the director. But I think I's better to look back the whole story and to remember many ambiguous points intentionally left by the author. This film is not so simple as it seems to be. I tell you why.
First, the title of the film: everyone who studied Russian literature knows that "Krotkaya" is the same title of F.Dostoevsky's famous novella, and every true lover of author's cinema knows that novella was already made into a film by Robert Bresson. So I,not being too informed of this film, expected that its is Loznitsa's new adaptation of Dostoevsky's story. We can soon realize that it is not. There's nothing in common with that. This is probably the entrance for audience to go into a play with the author.
Second, this film seems full of stereotyped "uncivilized" and "anti-human" images of Russia. Those who are only funs of art-house cinema, not too interested in Russian literature and without deep knowledge of Russian language and habits, probably will take them as "realistic" details.
So they will also think that there's really such "Siberian" prison camp near the station named "Otradnoe"(which means "joyful").By the way, there isn't such a prison town in Siberia, as far as I searched on Russian "Wikipedia".
Then we enter the second stage of the game. The place is not "real" in any way.
When heroine asks an old man the way to the office where she is allegedly be able to address her complaint to the authorities, he tells her a complicated way with streets' names with Lenin, Marx and Dzerzhinsky(Felix Dserzhinsky was the first leader of Soviet secret police). On the wall of that office we can see a portrait of Stalin. It will be impossible in contemporary Russia for such office for defending citizen''s human rights.Well, anti-humanistic nature of contemporary Russia is "symbolized" in such a way?
"Stalinist" theme was orchestrated even before heroine's arrival to the prison town, when she was in the train. Two war veterans sing "The song of 3 tank drivers" form Stalinist film "Traktoristy"(1939) . It's not the single case of reference to old Soviet and Russian cinema. The town which gradually began to look unrealistic and the neighbouring forest with a kitsch house where costume party is held, provide clear reference to one of Kafka-like films of "perestroika" period "Zero city"(1988). And the following violent rape scene within prison car is a reference to "Khrustalyov, mashinu!"(1998) by Alexei German.
So the third and the last layer of the game with audience is that of pure association, of cultural memory of Soviet period. This layer also includes the music for celebration, formulas of patriotic speech, etc.
As a whole, "Krotkaya" betrays expectations of those who got into the first and second layers of the film and want to find in it any reference to "concrete" situation within or outside Russia. No one of its characters talks about other countries or areas, except Russian Federation,, as the film turns out to be that of cultural memory and association of Soviet and of Russia.
I think It's a very unique film with an unique concept, but a little too long for that kind of a game.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Boring, pretentious,and highly overated
To make long story short, I don't understand what really matters in this film.
The plot is rather simple, a lazy jobless middle-aged man living in Los Angels gets in trouble only because his name is identical to the another man who looks a millionaire but in fact lives by the money of the foundation that he represents.
The plot may become interesting if the main characters have more concrete biography and have a will to live their life in such so that it would become better than the total wasting of time.
But what the authors made of the plot is the contrary. No one of the characters has a will to live otherwise, that is, they want to live only as lazy dogs with no positive or creative purpose. Their sense of justice and sense of duty is lower than average , their desire to have a lot of money without working is not motivated by any thought-out view of the world, and as a result they look very flat and boring people.
Here the simple plot is played by very boring people and authors' effort to make simple boring story look interesting resulted in an empty demonstration of cheep and disconnected images (visions of daydreams of the main character).
Sorry, but I feel no sympathy for dose lazy and healthy guys only playing but not living.
Her (2013)
What is this film?
From the very start this film is full of violations of the film genre(s) to which it pretends to belong.
Who can believe in OS with self-consciousness as a consumer product available for most ordinary middle aged person with sexual frustration? Such a great technology will soon become a top-secret for any government, be destroyed as a potential threat for mankind by its inventors or shut down as a defected product with huge risk by any company. So the story is illogical from the beginning.
If this film is not Sci-Fi, then maybe it's a love story? Is there any character who behaves really convincingly as a living human with flesh and blood, having enough biography, emotions and thought as a real member of modern or near-future society? I think, NO. So there's no basis for me to see this film as a love story with characters I can feel sympathy for.
Then what is this? It's a boring 2 hours nonsense.
Autómata (2014)
Apparently underrated because of misunderstanding
I noticed that many reviewers associated this film with "Blade Runner" and "I,Robot". Some similarity in the image of the future and of the robots really exists here. But in fact it's not important at all for this film. The concept and the story of this film are far original than the visual effects. The title "Automata" means mechanical dolls mainly made for fun, to entertain the privileged in Europe when democratic system was unimaginable. "Robot" is neologism made by the Czech writer Karel Capek in his play "R.U.R."'(1920), where artificial human-like machines are use all over the world as universal and cheap labor forces. In the play (and in all the films with "robots" borrowing its concept from Capek's play) "robots" are like slaves, tend to overthrow the human control,want to be free, so their violence against human makes a dramatic turning point in those films. By removing all "scientific" details, their plot will not so much different from that of Eisenstein's "Strike" (or Griffith's "The Birth of Nation" if seen from "masters' point of view").
In "Automata" the plot develops in other context; those "automata" don't look like slaves. They rather look like products of awkward and unsuccessful human attempt to make "human-like" machines, as automata before 20-th century. They are not revolutionaries, they have no reason for that, if humans don't interfere their "natural" evolution. They can live without destroying the decaying city where Jacq Vaucan and other characters must live unwillingly to avoid radiation. Violence is made by humans. Many audience maybe don't have sympathy for Jacq who shows compassion for Cleo, but probably have more sympathy for Cleo.Designs of "automata" are (most likely, intentionally) old-fashioned, awkward but somehow reminding hand-maid dolls. Human hands made them with soul, so they received it from human and began to live a real life.
Have you ever seen any films with similar concept of "automata".
I have. It's "Ghost in the Shell 2" by Oshii Mamoru.
While Oshii's film was still partly following plot of a detective hunting "rebel" androids like "Blade Runner", this film is almost completely free from human-centered plot. The last shot of sea is, of course, not real. It's a metaphor of LIFE.
Suvorov (1941)
Little known brilliant biopic made in USSR
Unfortunately Vsevolod Pudovkin, the director of "Mother(Mat)"(1926) and "The end of St.Petersberh"(1927) is now usually mentioned as a master of "Soviet montage school" outdated after the commercial and artistic triumph of full-talkie movies. We, living outside Russia and the other countries that were a part of USSR, know very limited information about films like "Suvorov".
This film is a clear manifestation of the famous director's skill and talent not limited by the technology of silent era.
It was made in the first period of WW 2,apparently for raising patriotic pathos in the nation ( and 5 months after its release the German army attacked USSR). But how it was made!
Top level actors' performance, accurately clear and tight composition(unlike recent Hollywood dull lengthy "blockbusters"), Anatoli Golovnya's shooting on risky high mountains, and the masterful control over all of those elements by Pudovkin (though credit title tells it's co-directed with Mikhail Doller ,I think that was only some kind of formal excuse for Soviet authorities disliking "formalism"of montage school). "Suvorov" convinced me again that Pudovkin was not only an interesting theorist of cinema, but also a master of film art.
It's very sad that such a brilliant film,like many films during WW 2 made in other countries than USA and France (which represent 2 "mainstreams"of academic film studies ) now attract little attention of foreign film fans.
Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovor (1946)
Eisenstain has not only a great talent, but also sincerity and bravery
Although Eisenstein has never been among my favorite directors, I must admit his unfinished trilogy about Ivan the terrible proves his great talent, sincerity and bravery as a filmmaker.Part 2 of the trilogy was criticized by Stalin and banned, the production of part 3 was stopped.
Stalin,who idealized Ivan 4 as a founder and a leader of a powerful Russian State, suggested(namely, ordered) Eisenstein the biopic about him. Eisenstein planned to make it as a trilogy to make from "ordered" subject matter cinematic works of art.
As a whole trilogy must have been represent three stage of Ivan's life: the heroic youth of "Tsar of All Russia', his middle age with the suffering and the beginning of moral decline as a results of never-ending conspiracy, and the beginning of last period of his life with a massacre in Novgorod and battles in Livoian War,where all of his supporters were killed and he was left alone at last.
I've recently read the scenario of part 3 and found there both apparent similarities with previous parts and logical development of the plot after the events depicted previously. Among these 3 parts, the plot of part 2 is the pivotal one, so the contrast with part 1 naturally turned out to be very keen, and probably that's why Stalin and his fellows saw in it unpleasant contradiction with heroic part1.
The composition of the trilogy is so dramatic and complete in its tragic sense that somehow reminds me of "Godfather" trilogy, but it is based on historical facts. And author's intention seems to represent the tragic life of this unique historical person with no bias of propaganda. Eisenstein was so sincere as an artist that he couldn't simplify the complex and dramatic life of his hero. And he was so brave in front of real political power that no compromise was made in creating the most uneasy part 2.
Andrey Rublyov (1966)
Don't think "original version" was better, it's an unfinished one.
The film's final version, shown on Canne film festival and shown in many countries afterwards, is titled "Andrei Rublev". So-called "original version" today was titled "Passion according to Andrei"(Страсти по Андрею). I think that they are different films, and all shortcomings that many reviewers of "Andrei Rublev" pointed out are far more obvious in that "original version" (which was released on DVD,unfortunately, by "Criterion", famous level among cinema lovers).
Tarkovsky himself, after his emigration to West, never complained as if Soviet authorities had spoiled his film by forcing him to re-edit it.
Of course he knew that the long period of re-editing, which was really annoying for him at first, allowed him to clear up surplus shots and episodes(including those of lengthy animal abusing, of wrestling of Great Prince with his younger brother on snow) and to correct inadequate editing(especially that of "Bell").
So I recommend everyone to watch "re-edited"version, which is really "Andrei Rublev", and not to see lengthy 3 hours and 26 minutes "original version" which is half-made product. But if you are interested in the practical technique of editing film, maybe comparing these two films is useful.
My rating is for "Andrei Rublev", which was a favorite film of I. Bergman and is probably still so for many other filmmakers.
Walker (1987)
Madness & atrocity in the name of "Democracy"
This is probably one of the most underestimated art-house film on IMDb. It left me a great impression when I watched first time in the theater, at the time of its release. Then I watched it again on rental DVD about 10 years ago,and again today. My personal rating of "Walker" became higher every time I saw it.
The anachronism of this film as a artistic decision is not new(such an "estrangement" device was used 20 years before,in Glauber Rocha's "Antonio das Mortes").In addition,late 1980s were the time of "postmodernism" in film art(enough to remember the works of Peter Greenaway and Alexander Sokurov). Political satire is keen and actual. Alex cox'x insight is deep. Here Willam Walker is represented not only a historical figure, rather a symbolic character embodying American-style imperialism in the name of "democracy"and "freedom" of people. The process and outcome of this imperialism are always similar; after the civil war in the name of democracy and liberation of people, comes the enslaving of the nation and people by American dollar and troops, sometimes accompanied with atrocity, hypocritical preaching of Christian ethics by invaders, and at last,poverty struck, politically unstable society. With all of them, the country will gradually be integrated into "global economy", where English is "official"language and "Newsweek" or other media telling us "facts".
All characters in this film is well arranged to make clear the whole mechanism of the above mentioned American imperialism, the basic frame and process of which have been surprisingly consistent over these 150 years.
The satire by Alex cox has its own analytic consistency and logic to explore the above mentioned mechanism of imperialism,.So when on the screen appear helicopter to save only American citizens from the battlefield, television images showing Ronald Reagan, contemporary American soldiers and dead bodies of Nicaraguan people, they seems not at all ridiculous, but look totally "natural"conclusion of the film's artistic system.
Eastern Promises (2007)
It reminds me of Soviet propaganda films...
From the author of "Spider" and "Videodrome", I have expected from this film far deeper and more original study of the theme.
But watching "Eastern Promises", honestly say,left me an impression of total failure, or "propaganda" designed for audience of Western developed countries.
If you ask Why? I will point out the following moments;
1.Stereo-type characters of "bad guys" from "wild East"; not only Russians, but also Chechens... They are totally lacking of the psychological depth and even lacking of consistency in their behaviors(they say and do only what's needed for the development of the plot)
2.lack of dramatic tension.It's a natural result of the flatness and inconsistency of the characters.
3.Utterly unrealistic representation of various organizations(Russian mafia, Hospital,FSB and Scotland Yard). The large Russian restaurant with wealthy Russian speaking clients(are they so many of them in London?) and the owner is the boss of the mafia with the same title of a popular Soviet film of Perestroika period... National security organization which is so eager to punish the Russian mafia outside their own country as to sending their men into the mafia as a spy... And the hospital, as some reviewer has already pointed out, without any security measures to prevent suspicious outsiders from visiting their nurse or stealing a new-born child...
4.As many reviewers have pointed out, the plot is so flat and with little moments for our surprise, it's impossible to watch this film as an "entertainment", as an well-made "genre film"(from which we will not expect so much authenticity).
5. The shortcomings listed above, nevertheless, would not be so irritating, if this film doesn't pretend to be a serious drama.Its visual style is persuading the viewer to take it seriously, but of course we can't. If someone takes its story to be truthful, then the person must be a naive believer of the representation of the ethnic groups, the countries and their various organizations depicted in this film.
6.In the similar way Soviet propaganda films were made. Namely, they were made on totally one-sided view to "hostile", "different" human groups. Among them there are such genius films as "Battleship Potemkin" and such boring films as "Tractor drivers"(by Ivan Pyriev). The former is among masterpieces because of its formal discovery, humanistic belief and dramatic tension.If a film lacks all of them and has one-sided view to the "East", then what the difference between "Eastern Promises" and "Tractor drivers"?
Shapito-shou: Lyubov i druzhba (2011)
Brilliant film
Honestly, I haven't expected from the creators of rather experimental independent "Pyl" such a high artistic and at the same time entertaining film. "Shapito-shou" is so-called "art-house"film and "a film for wide audience" at the same time.
4 stories told successively but in fact developing at the same time, contain so deep and controversial meanings. Story named "Love" is not about love but about difficulty or impossibility of it. That can also be said concerning the following "Friendship", "Respect" and "Collaboration".
At first the film seems a typical "film for youth", romantic comedy developing during a summer vacation at Yalta. But as it turns out to be a nightmare or hallucination of people who are alienated and incapable of living with "love" and other human virtues listed by authors. The director Sergei Loban cites and makes parodies from many images and personalities of Cinema History and Soviet-Russia culture-from Victor Tsoi to Eisenshtein(an old video operator is named "Sergei Mikhailovich" ). Although one can find in its style rather apparent influence from Fellini and Lynch, Loban's self-control as an director is kept from the first to the last moments of the film.
Shortly, this film is "must see" for those who are interested in Russian cinema and for serious movie lovers.
Pickpocket (1959)
Best of all
Probably,I can forget all cinematographic masterpieces,without a few exceptions if I will lose hope to live at all and be in total solitude. Bresson's "Pickpocket" is certainly one of such exceptional works.
Between this film's mysterious instability of meanings(is it really an adaptation of "Crime and Punishment" or only it tells a story of young French men with curious behavior, freely reading in English and with Christ-like mask?)and complete solidness of the form(light,rhythmic composition and laconic plot development)one will be able to find what he sincerely need in the moment of despair. It may be called providence,or miracle in quite ordinary life. Salvation of a man, who find at last the hope and meaning to live and die. All is like a dream, but the dream is more truthful than miserable life. Without any sentiment,Bresson gave us only a hint, which is itself miraculous. Luis Malle,who was an assistant director in Bresson's previous film "The Man escaped",said that the release of "Pickpocket" is one of the four or five great days in the history of cinema(in "Robert Bresson" ed. by James Quandt,p.570). I agree with him. About 10 years ago,one Russian student in the class of scenario said to me that this film is that of genius. Another student,his rival said, "Andrei Rublyov" is so in all the history of Russian cinema. They are right, and I agree with them.
Greatness of spiritual artwork depends on the purity of author's faith in the moment of its creation. Because, as Nikolai Berdjaev wrote, "human nature is creative,because he is the image and the likeness of God". And Tarkovsky wrote, of all the human activities the creation of artwork is the most unselfish. Michel's pickpocketing in this film seems to be metaphor or image of human creation as a religious,unselfish activity.
Izgnanie (2007)
Another interpretation,another tradition
In "The Return" we saw a citation from renaissance painting by Andrea Mantenia,"The Lamentation over the Dead Christ", which had been cited also by Tarkovsky in "Soryalis". Then we saw also black and white photography,resembling in texture to that in "The Mirror(Zerkolo)",and tracking back into the forest from open space with the water("The Mirror" and "Sacrifice"). All these citations or reminiscences naturally reminded us of Tarkovsky's cinematographic tradition. So it's not strange that Zvyagintsev was then mentioned as his successor.
But in "Izgnanie" we can see also reminiscences of another,religious and one of the greatest director;Robert Bresson. Children with a little donkey from "Au hasard, Balthazar",the use of windows and doors as symbols of human isolation,framing of shots which make us feel not too close,not too distant form characters... As far as I remember, Bresson wrote about "ironed"shots as his ideal material for editing.For him,and for Zvyagintsev,cinema is not an instrument to "move" viewers' soul,but only a key, through which every viewer's mind must find the way to the higher Order. I would say that Bresson made religious novella in laconic prose, but Zvyagintsev makes religious fable with poetic language.
In this time too, we see reminiscences of Tarkovsky(the composition and camera movement of the first shot,for example),but here an another tradition,which the director follows, is clearly shown.
Statskiy sovetnik (2005)
The best of recent Russian"blockbusters"
As in Hollywood "classic"films of 1930-40s,anywhere in the world "blockbuster"films have common weakness--if not eclecticism of style,then noises-seemingly needless scenes and characters in dramaturgy."Statskiy sovetnik" isn't the exceptional case.
But here such flaws are less than any other Russian "blockbusters" in recent years.They are strategically included into the plot,so that they will look necessary elements of the drama(in fact,I think,not). Litovinova,an eccentric lady,strangely sympathetic to revolutionary movement,hating Ppojarskiy and falling in love with Fandorin,is utterly unnatural and inconsistent.But her character is charming in its way and her behavior partly helps the plot developing. The same can be said about the Japanese servant of Fandorin, Masa(again,utterly nonsense if consider the historical moment just before the 1905 revolution). But he also helps the plot developing, including Fandorin's affair with Litovinova and solving the case.
Weakness of style also can be pointed out.Director Philip Yankovsky so often uses dissolve, which make the temporal order of some scenes unclear at their beginning.
In spite of such flaws,"Statskiy sovetnik" is so far the best of Russian "blockbusters" made from 2003 to 2007. Its decent, even elegant look is undeniable. Dramatic elaboration of the "terrorisim" theme is excellent(it's one of the best element of this film),main actors' and operator's works are quite adequate. Some scenes are far above Hollywood analogue(especially,the scenes with tragic lovers:Green and Needle, and verbal duel of Fandorin and Pojarskiy).
As I believe that excellent genre films are far more precious for cinema as a whole than bad "arthouse"films, I rate this 8 of 10.
Letyat zhuravli (1957)
Classic of all the time
This film is undoubtedly one of the greatest landmarks in history of cinema. By seeing this film,we can only retrospectively notice that world cinema in 1950s had such a purely humanistic dramaturgy,such a strong and adequate use of sound-image montage,and almost religious admiration of ethical choices in human life. Cinema was then not only one form of arts. It was much higher than ordinary life and it gave many people hope to live after the tragic war. It is said, that even Picasso was moved and cried that such a work of art can appear only once in 100 years! Audience that time was also different. I read that after seeing Kurosawa's "Ikiru(Live)" in its first release, young couple quietly told each other,"It is a good film, isn't it?". I think,contemporary cinema, though technically developed and opened some new narrative perspective, has lost the most important---reliance of audience.Cienma was once really the most popular art from and, unlike modern fine arts and contemporary music,gave millions of people hope and ideals. In this point of view,"Letyat zhuravli" must be in the pantheon of classics of all the time, as "City light","Ikiru" and "La Strada".
Gadkie lebedi (2006)
Sophisticated warning of crisis of civilization
After the storm of "Globalization" and quick growing of "multiplex"theaters with their overwhelming taste-unifying power, Konstantin Lopushansky remains to be one of the most consistent and humanistic author-filmmakers. His films have always dealt with serious problems threatening human civilization. Global climate change after nuclear war and ecological catastrophe("Lettes from a Dead man" and "Visitor of a Museum"),people's indifference to children's fate and utter powerlessness of contemporary intelligentsiya in the moment of social destruction("Russian Symphoy").
Based on a novel of Strugatsky brothers, "Ugly Swans" shows a new step of Lopushansky's filmography. It is far more easy for ordinary film-goers for watching and understanding than previous works,because in "Ugly Swans" author's own intonation is deliberately concealed under the mask of "popular genre". Author's discourse here is near to that of rather anonymous storyteller, as that of Strugatsky brothers. The story is rather simple. It's of a tragic and desperate trial of Father-writer,representing the conscience of old generations and old civilization, to save his teenage daughter,who has passed through intellectual evolution with other teenagers and become superior,because they now are treated as a threat to the old human being and their civilization. Conservative people are trying to destroy the threat for human being. Children themselves don't want to return to the old world. They are living in some kind of supernatural ZONE,where they are taught by mutated adults called "Mokrytsy(wet people). Father can rescue children,including his own daughter,but outer world is found to be fatal for her in spiritual sense. Apparently, it's a allegory of contemporary cultural crisis embodied mainly by mass medias, which force new generations to stop their intellectual and spiritual development.
As far as I know,previously Russian critics often blamed Lopushansky for his extreme seriousness and preachy approach to audience,but the situation seems to be changed after Lopuchansky's last work. And I heard that the Russian young audiences also saw it with sympathy in film-festivals and in Cinema Museum.
Yes,after the global mode of excessive indulgence in "entertainment" and "blockbusters",at last the time has come for new generation to think their own fate reflected in "serious" films.
Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
One of the most strange Japanese anime serial
Generally speaking,Japanese anime products,as its by-product known as "otaku" culture, are full of contradictions. First of all, anime's "artistic" level has never been adequately estimated in its homeland(namely by audience, critics and mass medias) and usually "discovered" by foreigners(most sad example is "Inoccence--Ghost in the shell", Mamoru Oshii's best and probably last artistic film). Secondally, anime's highest level in dramaturgy had been achieved before it was "discovered" by world film festivals and foreign audiences(French people is said to have believed "Candy Candy"'s not a Japanese serial, because it was so sophisticated).
"Serial experiment Lain" is a accidental postmodern masterpiece,made after anime's classical achievements("accidental", because no one had intended to make a work of art). "Lain" uses plenty of postmodern devices: citation from purely historical materials,stylish eclecticism,"open" ending or circular structure and showing its own media's limitation(many scenes are openly "two dimensional" and look like rather abstract "picture").
Having been made in the time of imitation and citation of past anime "classical "serials of 80s and later 70s, "Lain" is superb in its originality and the sense of the contemporary.After seeing this serial, "Evangelion" seems to be boring and too long(experimental works must be not so long as ordinary "genre" works,it is the rule from the time of silent era).
I recommend to compare this serial with "Kairo" by Kiyoshi Kurosawa,the latter will seem to be some kind of a little out-dated remake of this serial.
Sayat Nova (1969)
Beauty, overcoming Time
Almost everybody talks about the film's beauty and the difficulty of its understanding. It's true. But the difficulty is not from the director's pretension or other shortcomings.
When this film was first released in Soviet Union, it was shown in third-rated theaters and with limited number of prints. It was not an original version of Sergo Parajanov, because it was re-edited by another director(director's version is said to have been lost for ever, after frequent showing in professionals' circle).
The film's title was also changed--"The Color of Pomegranates" was the title which the administrators of USSR's cinema policy selected to deny "biographical" character of the film. In fact, we can see at the very first title that says "This film is not a biographical film about Sayat Nova...". In short, they didn't admit such an extraordinary approach in making a film about historical important persons.
Parajanov's artistic intention apparently went too far, ahead of his time. He wanted to identify the classic poet with himself through the magical play of cinematography, multi-layered mirror-like structure made of image and sound. "Sayat Nova"--it's me", wrote the director in his screenplay by his own hand.
Soviet censorship may have cut some shots or shortened some episodes, to make meanings and intention,which originally were clear,remain ambiguous. For example, Sayat Nova's anxiety for his Christian homeland threatened by Islamic enemies(this theme is clearly developed in the film's scenario recently published in Russian).Parajanv, an artist indifferent to politic issues, didn't think that religious theme, as well as aesthetic "anomaly", might be very dangerous for Soviet directors after the end of "time of thaw". Thus the film could'n be a full realization of authors's original scenario.
Nevertheless,the difficult situation didn't distort the film's concept and vision as a whole. "Sayat Nova" is still brilliant art of work,and, as many masterpieces of Cinema, will overcome Time by its beauty.
Nebyvalshchina (1984)
I like this unique film
Before watching this film, the best of Ovcharov's film for me was "Barabaniada". After this vivid funny film with less manipulated shots than later his works,"Nebyvalshchina" is my favorite,even though I could seen it only once. It's meaningless to explain how far Ovcharov's imagination had gone in this first feature-length film made before Perestroika,in the last days of "Stagnation".This film must be seen without any conventional criteria for art-house cinema, with willingness to laugh, as we were used to do so in our childhood when reading a funny folk story. Ovcharov here doesn't criticize Soviet regime, neither any concrete state or time, but Russian folklore is transformed into an universal technique for laughing at stupid human nature to wish the limitless wealth and endless happiness. So it's natural that this film's style echoes Alexsander Medvedkin's silent film "Happiness", which also uses folklore as a model for cinema to represent universal, simple, timeless truth.
Bumer: Film vtoroy (2006)
Far better than the first film
As a commercial film made by a young director with not at all famous actors,"Bumer 2" seems to be perfect. It's not simply a well-made criminal film. The plot development and acting are so dramatic,lyrical and natural at the same time,watching this film I couldn't believe that it's a sequel of not so well composed debut film of the same director. Sometimes this film seems a pure "arthouse"film,becouse of artistic completion of every shots and adequate atmosphere which fills up them.
It's not only the triumph of the young director Peter Buslov,but also so of the best producers of contemporary Russia(Sergei Selyanov and Sergei Chliyants) and of screenwriters(among them we can find the author of "Eiforiya",Ivan Vyrypaev). If on commercial base films of such a level continue to be made and to receive applause from ordinary moviegoers,Russian film industry will soon reach the top of the world cinema.
Zabytaya melodiya dlya fleyty (1987)
Maybe, Ryazanov's best
I've seen several of his films, from "Beware,the car" to recent "Silent abyss",but this is the only one film which made me not only laugh but also cry. This is a timeless story of love, maybe banal, but extremely sincerely told and performed.It will be very difficult to find such acting now in Hollywood films and in Europien "arthouse"films,as that of Leonid Filatov and Tatyana Dogileva. They seems to be utterly ordinary people whom we can see in any big city, but being so, they display us full range of emotions and feelings,and, to the end, even dignity of human being. The historical and social background is also interesting,as it is the time of hope and disappointment,the beginning of perestroika. But this film can be seen with laughter and tears without such context. This film evidenced that,melodrama,romantic comedy can be great work of art even today.
Nagai sanpo (2006)
Excellent film
I'm very glad to find this film much better than Japanese mass products and half-done "(quasi-)arthouse films", which became worse and more hypocritical in these 10 years. "Nagai sanpo" is a simple story, of parenthood, of neglect and abuse by parent on children and of repentance and spiritual rebirth. An old man and a little girl are shown here as the past and the present, as two contrast persons concerning the same problem. He is a man who harmed and ruined his wife's life and his daughter's childhood. She is the victim of her mother's neglect and abuse. He tries to save her life, giving her a sense of warmth and intimacy, in which her poor family life is lacking. But unfortunately, in the course of things it takes a form of kidnapping. Cinematography is very beautiful and clear,the original music sounds as if an organic part of these characters' state of mind. Not too long, not too slow,everything seems natural and--at the same time--very sad,because we know similar stories are going in reality, children and young people are dying or committing suicide every day because of neglect,abuse and violence of their own parents or their surrounding people.
Eyforiya (2006)
Expressive, interesting debut
"Eyforiya" is a very expressive film from cinematographic point of view.With its simple story and strategic composition of image and sound it reminds me of Sokurov's debut feature film "Lonely man's voice(Odinokiy golos cheloveka)". As Sokurov's film, here we notice poetic composition based on associations and "ostranenie"(enstrangement)of ordinary life. Also one can say about symbolic use of Elements of Nature(Sun,Water,Clouds)which can be observed in such Russian art films as "The Mirror(Zerkalo)" and "Return(Vozvrashcheniye)"
But here the total absence of religious motives and exposure of cultural and material poverty of Russian provincial village made it unique. We feel shocked by abrupt changes of different modes:from poetic one to ordinary,even banal one. Or the reverse movement. And this gap is even emphasized by music.
I think, in this ironic play with two contrary different modes is the director's original contribution to Russian poetic school.
Magnolia (1999)
In fact,nothing new and exciting
I don't think this film is so bad,but totally disagree with the opinion that it's a masterpiece. The plot of the film seems to be made for 3 different themes and accordingly, the author must have made 3 different films. These 3 themes aren't new themselves;the importance of belief in love and reliance,the difficulty of relationship between mentally growing child and parents,the inevitability of payment for guilt over beloved people. Director Anderson introduced an additional forth theme; "coincidence as Providence", but it functions only as a formal element without resonance with main 3 themes,because these themes are presented as personal problems of weak people,which can be and must be resolved by themselves.(it is a great difference between Anderson's film and "Stalker" by Tarkovsky, where main characters are humiliated and disappointed by human beings or civilization as a whole,clearly unhappy from the very first scenes).
Namely, there is no justification of "deus ex machina"embodied by the rain of frogs. Presentation of "examples" of coincidences as framing episodes made the situation even worse.By them film became longer than it really needs, and more complex than it might have been,making the film even more inconsistent. Such formal "explanations" and "resolutions" for 3 hours fiction film I can't accept seriously.
Pyl (2005)
Funny, expressive and critical
"Pyl" is made with incredibly low budget(they said,3000 USD),but much more interesting than some recent Russian "comedies" or "melodramas". They are sometimes well-made,but don't surprise those who knows old Russian popular films in Soviet period.
The story develops around a young, not at all attractive, quite ordinary man Alyosha,whose troubles(including dangerous experiments on innocent citizens in the name of Nation) and simple desires can be understood by everybody in the world. But there is nothing "dramatic" between him and people around him. All that makes this film funny,expressive and critical is his inner vision and his lonely struggles for his own self-image. Probably no one has ever took such a story for a full-length fiction film after 1930s, when cinema began to depict people and its surroundings mainly from outside,to gorily, cherish or criticize visible world only by showing or reconstructing it more expressively than it really is(Sometimes filmmakers added voice-over narration for the same purpose).
In "Pyl", on the contrary, visible world looks boring,banal and hiding nothing spiritual behind it.Alyosha feels its total meaninglessness better than anybody because of his inferiority complex and the sense of powerlessness in it.But when this boring world is reflected in Alyosha's nightmare,it obtains strange charm of absurdity. So his choice of his own vision(ideal self-image)is not only psychologically justified,but also logical from aesthetic point of view. "It's an overall Hell",says the professor to him,warning the risk of death or getting madness. But our ordinary hero chooses his meaningful illusion than meaningless desert called "reality".
Director Sergei Loban,probably, doesn't approve Alyosha's regressive choice. So he added very interesting "postscript" when credit titles flow. Victor Tsoi's famous rock of Perestroika time "We're waiting for changes" sounds with the illustration of sigh languages by an unknown young man.
Svoya chuzhaya zhizn (2005)
It's not so-called "tele-serial", much higher art
Alexander Rogozhkin is probably one of the most underestimated Russian directors outside their own country.
"Svoya chuzhaya zhizn" is made as a serial for television,but it's rather a feature film in 5 parts,where author's struggles and experiences in film industry are reflected through a multi-layered narrative structure.
Contemporary St.Petersburg and Petrograd in early 1920s are contrasted as two opposite worlds. Miserable,banal reality around famous film-director Kalistratov and vital, cruel but romantic era of Communist aristocrats and genius poets(first years of NEP). The latter develops only in Kalistratov's imagination, when he's testing locations, young actors and writing scenario. He knows exactly who must play whom and what kind of details are needed for this project.
But he himself doesn't have any chance to realize it as a film. Big television channel has a right to decide, to make it as a tele-serial which their audience can understand. The producer foresees their decision and recommend Kalistratov to write another scenario. His real life is filled with such obstacles and inconsistency not because of his own faults, but of coincidences, happenings and most of all, will of media-magnates.
"Svoya chuzhaya zhizn" is an answer to contemporary Russian "blockbuters" like "72M" or "Night Watch", saying, "You, newcomers from television don't know what you are doing now.You are destroying Cinema and lives of its professionals".
It's not mere coincidence that this serial's producer, Sergei Sel'yanov was also an independent film-director from early 1980s.He is also on Cinema's side.