Thread: Reviews and discussions of Russian language films

Originally Posted by Hanna

What precisely was it that you found repulsive? I didn't see anything that particularly put me off?

I can't recall any specific point which put me off. But there also were no any point which would touch me. It is just not my type of movies.

Originally Posted by Hanna

The silly thing was that I wanted to watch a film about the 1990s in Russia -- but this is about the 1950s, just MADE in the 1990s.
Russia in the 1990s did not seem like an uplifting place from the outside. It seemed pretty grim to be honest. I wanted to see a realistic film from that decade, to understand what it was like.

I would certainly recommend "Brother" (the first movie only). Maybe it's too grim but it's a cult movie for that time.

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup [color=#008000

in the Big Film's Thread[/color]]
The movie "Brother" was really the cult movie in Russia. The level of cult was so high as to be compared with that of the "Godfather". Returning to the background impression, here it is mainly performed by the music of the cult Russian rock band "Nautilus" (in some scenes one can see the leader of this band). This music saturates the entire movie.

Originally Posted by Hanna

I wanted to see a realistic film from that decade, to understand what it was like.

Taxi Blues (1990)


(English subs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUE71zyywVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngi3x...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clPsj...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L884...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr7fl...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR1wU...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvoyq...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mQKC...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgWWN...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyKYP...eature=related

Very interesting! I will watch it.
What about something from 1991-2000 approx? Basically the Yeltsin era. Brat is the one film I've seen from that era so far.

About Taxi Blues, a reviewer on IMDB writes:

Originally Posted by IMDB

Besides this, I have only seen one movie by Pavel Lungin, namely Luna-park, which also comes off highly recommended. Taxi Blues is an excellent work all in itself. Lungin very well transcends the chaotic atmosphere in Russia during the late Perestroika period, and prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union itself. The tumultous relationship between two main characters represents bipolar parts of the Russian society, and shows degradation of the social fabric. Piotr Mamonov (who is also the leader of the well-known Moscow rock-band Zvuki Moo) turns in an impressive performance as Lyosha - a westernized, alcoholic Jewish mucisian. The rest of the characters are equally picturesqe, be it the strong willed, conservative, nationalistic taxi driver, or his neighbor, an old man of the Stalinist generation. The film's unsettling pacing and incessant moodswings further contribute to the overall picture. An excellent film from one of Russia's leading directors.

If someone doesn't like watching this on Youtube, then they can download the whole film. I discovered that there are subtitles available to download on subs sites. This is high up on my Russian-films-to-watch list.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Recently I watched the Russian film "Вор" (Thief) from 1997.

I first read it as [bop], you know, in English.

I liked "Вор"... Saw it a loooong time ago. I remember it was really touching. Children often seem the best actors because they are so natural. And Mashkov is a very charismatic actor. But I don't want to rewatch it ever again, it was just too sad and depressing.

The research team worked together to design a model in three dimensions and projects. In addition, the Union of artists of foreign partners who have contributed to the design of computers in several Hollywood films. Inhabited the island are extremely complex makeup. While characters in the film, dozens of variants of specific styles and makeup have been developed. It has been used in developing a unique technology that has no analogues in Russia. CGI is an important part of the film.

The most recent Russian film I watched was called Я люблю тебя (translated into English as "you I love", though I'm not sure why the word order was switched. Perhaps to make it stand out a bit more)



The reason I watched it was because I was intrigued to see what I believe is the first film in Russia to openly deal with the subject of homosexuality (someone correct me if I'm wrong), so I was curious to see how it would work.

Overall, I enjoyed the film though I wouldn't say it's anything particularly special except for its significance in Russian film history. The two main male actors are Damir Badmaaev as a Kalmyk day worker called Uloomji and Evgeny Koryakovsky as office worker Tim and they are very good. Well portrayed characters enhanced by the fact they are very contrasting, above all culturally. So, not only does the film deal with homosexuality in Russia, it also deals with cultural differences within Russia as well. Does it do this well? I'm not sure. I would have to be a native to be a true judge of that. The portrayal of Uloomji's culture is hardly flattering and I'm not sure whether this is an accurate portrayal of his traditionalist heritage or merely an outdated portrayal. Indeed, the whole "parents shamed by gay son" has become very cliché and, although such a storyline can be pulled off well, I don't think it's particulary good in this film. It ends up being very simplistic with very hollow portrayal's of Uloomji's family. In fact, they get in the way of what was already a decent story. I'd be fascinated to see what a native had to say about this particular film, so if anyone has seen it, I'm open to other reviews.

Another qualm I have with the film is that, despite being the first film to deal with homosexuality, the main character Tim is more bisexual, suggesting that Russia is not necessarily becoming more tolerant to homosexuality in itself. That is to say, homosexuality is fine as long as the man in question is also attracted to women. Then again, perhaps the film is a critique of this.

So, I did enjoy it, though I expect better films to come from Russia of this genre in the future.

Interesting review! I don't like films with a homosexual theme, so I am not going to watch this but it's interesting to learn that a films of this type are made in Russia.

I have no idea about the situation with homosexuality in Russia either but on the whole, I think Russia is a bit less "PC" than the rest of Northern Europe so I guess people think twice before coming out as gays there.

The Cranes are Flying / Летят журавли (1957)


I just have to add "The Cranes are Flying" (Летят журавли) to this thread.
I will not say anything about the complex story, but to summarise:

This is a war movie for women, and a very, very good one.

I never would have thought that I'd love a black/white 1950s Soviet war movie... but I did!

As you can see from the cover below, it is a Palm d'Or winner.





Incidentally everyone speaks very clearly and the subtitles are good.

One more comment: Someone below... say, 20.. is unlikely to appreciate this; it requires a bit of life experience....

Very touching and very well filmed. I think it's a masterpiece.