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Reviews
Ezera Sonate (1977)
love by the lake
Laura's hubby is in prison for murder of a friend at a hunting accident. She lives by a picturesque lake with her two children and mother of her hubby and her sister in law. Then by comes a handsome doctor Rudolf, with a zhiguli car who rents her boat. Sparks fly. But this is a 1977 movie, so what would be the result?
A love drama, with typical no happy end of 1977. A Latvian classic. A very nostalgic movies if you were born about 1980s and like Latvian actors.
Dreymar við havið (2017)
not always by the sea is a fantastic life
First of all, this is not a lesbian drama or anything close. Two girls with different background meet on the islands and one influences, possibly, another, with a small brother and alcoholic, promiscuous mother, to consider a different life. That is all. The girls bond of course, but not in the sexual way. Some nice views, binges with boys, religious parents are in the background, but basically it is a grow-up movies of an average quality. Not bad. Not outstanding either.
Malchik russkiy (2019)
orchestra spoils all
A young Russian boy goes blind during a German gas attack somewhere in the Polish lands during WWI. His further short life is set with tribulations as he is treated as a stray dog by his own officers. But the ending is open and the quality of production sets in your memory. Why it had to be mixed with some modern background production of orchestra that is trying to play a symphony in the background and as a result irritates you immensely, I don't know. But this cacophony spoils impression from the entire movie, that would rather be a short formatted one.
Sputnik (2020)
not an Alien, but they tried
Set in the mid 1980s, two Soviet space pilots land in Kazakhstan, and one is dead, the other brings inside him something, that makes put him in a cage and study, calling a brain doctor from Moscow. No, it is not exactly a 25th exploitation of Alien topic, but somehow close. The first hour is indeed full of suspense as we are slowly told what creature is in Vyshnyakov' s body and how they coexist or try breaking the bond. Later it becomes more of a hit and run movies only to end up in, in my mind, only possible solution for symbiosis for such creatures, human and alien. Also there is an abandoned son of the spaceman whom Tanya, the brain doctor, tries to save to.
In general, a rather good, soberly colored attempt to the popular topic of alien vs human, watch it and you might be left satisfied. In the end, who knows, maybe this has already happened in any space mission?
Tvar (2019)
really not that bad
I can't understand derogative reviews of this movie. It is not worse than 85% of horror flicks made in other countries. It has a mystery, mood, suspense, some blood, a lot of family drama and quite a satisfying, explanatory endings. Definitely not slow and I'd rank it between 5 and 7.
A couple who have lost their 6 year old son (he was never found after a walk, but in the end of the movies we do understand what has happened to him, won't spoil you). They decide to adopt a child from childcare monastery, an abused, very weird boy who immediately starts to transform into their lost Vanya. But of course things don't go easy. He is wild, violent, the wife starts sees visions of the presumably dead Vanya and then she gets pregnant and the adopted child is a threat. Meanwhile her husband tries to understand ho the adopted "Vanya* really is and who was his mother, as he seems to never get old. and possesses quality of transformation of anything we lost or grieve about..
It is not a bad example of Russian horror movies and yes, Omen is more boring. Give it a try.
Les (2018)
Deep in the Russian forest...
Family whose son lusts over a neighbor' s wife whose husband is a dead drunkard, and father lusts after the same woman. Add is under local pressure from some mobs to buy out the wood plant from the father at any costs and everyday bog-like evenings for local teens who entertain themselves in fist fights and luring local teen girls for a ride that ends up in rape. All together is a wild mix that of course ends in a drama and crime. Another example of Russian depressive cinema that might be close to real life but none the less off putting.
Lapsi (2018)
very original Russian mystery series
I honestly did not expect such a production from Russian TV, obsessed, as the rest of the world with talent shows, crime shows and melodrama of all kind of type. This story starts as a sudden explosion of exotic fever plagues the North eastern region of Russia (bordering with Finland) - Carelia. Two virusologists, Vera and Kolya, lovers in the past, are sent to investigate the village in the middle of the swamps but their way goes further, onto a mysterious island of Sariola, where people never gets sick and don't age but they must always be only 46 in the number, women can't bear children and there is a mysterious God Lapsi who turns people who break the laws of the islands into robot-like morloks. But this is just the skin-deep beginning of a very intriguing story going back - of course - into experiments of the 40s, modern medical intrigues, power games and indeed, an element of mystery implying the Eaarth is one live organism that has its own laws and character. I hope more people watch this show, it is on its 2nd season now and I am truly impressed with the story line. There are few special effects, some violence, a healthy amount of melodrama and scientific theories. I can't compare it with any foreign similar series, but I'm sure there is one.
La niebla y la doncella (2017)
boring
I won't go into the details of the plot or acting, as the previous two reviewers did it and the movies is not very wide spread, so head on to those reviews if you need details or spoilers. I' d say opinion of a middle viewer, I expected a thriller with more guts and action, this is a boring slow moving movies that never builds up to a climax and you just don't care about any of the characters. I did watch it because I often discover pearls among European crime dramas, but this was not worth it. It involves drugs and murder and some nice seaview vistas and the latter is the only thing that makes it watchable.
Kak Vitka Chesnok vyoz Lyokhu Shtyrya v dom invalidov (2017)
a road movie
Basically what you read in the review, is about the storyline: "Vitka Chesnok is an orphan who dreams about breaking free from his family life. Vitka meets his criminal handicapped father. He decides to take him to a nursing home. He doesn't have a clue of what adventures they are about to face." This is what a Russian Tarantino-wanna be would have made, only without a worthy soundtrack. E Tkachuk is indeed a charismatic actor. It is a good sample of not commercial Russian cinema. It is not easy to feel for such characters as these father and son, but eventually it is some fun to watch.
Pervye (2018)
a about many of the heroic pages
...in Russian history, when in 1742 Simon Cheluskin has discovered the most north point of Russia (and Eurasia). This movie is a good costume drama, but it is killed by pointless female heroine that elopes from unwanted bridegroom to the ship and of course becomes part of awkward love triangle. Most phrases she says, are just 2015, not 1742. Even when she tries to help, that is just awkward. But watch if you want some historical details and landscape views....
Yazichniki (2017)
believe it or not
I'd say this entire movie is built on the question of faith. And then how you percept the storyline. There is a disfunctional family of wanna-be musician Oleg and his wife Marina, who is a real eastate dealer and dress maker at once, who has been mostly earning them a living. There is a 16 year old daughter Kristina who is challenging, provoking and bad-hair looking late teen. There arrives Oleg's mother, who has spent last 20 years as a truly deep Orthodox believer and she hopes her arrival (or intrusion) would help this family gets itself together... What follows is tragedy that makes everybody question their faith and of course it touches the question if the Church can make business on trade and their rituals and how come it all makes sense with an African tribe mask?
This is a sample of new Russian cinema that does not lead the viewer to answers, but to more questions. Noone of its characters are likeable, but true to life. IMHO it lacks deep drama and the actress playing the daughter is mediocre, but watch for yourself!d
Tikhiy Don (2015)
a tear jerker in a good way
I have read this epic novel, awarded by Nobel prize, and watched it put to screen by different regimes. I think so far this is the best adaptation. It mixes extremely well the private life melodrama and horrors of civil war in the Cossak area of the Don river in the period of 1910-1920. At first you are involved in petty melodrama of love lines of the Melekhov Cossak family, but as episodes pile on, you can't take your eyes away from the enveloping drama. I am not of the crying type, and I have been crying aloud during the last several eps. All praise to Sergey Ursuljak, the famous Russian director and to some leading actors, whom at first I thought were not capable to play this drama. Just watch and feel the anvil of history pressing on these men and women and appreciate the Russian tv series that are qualitative and keeping close to the original of the great book.
Marshrut postroen (2016)
not bad
OK, Ill start with a caveat that Russians only start to produce their own horror movies, and in this genre, it is hard to tell anything new, right? So don't go too hard on this road trip movie of a dysfunctional family of a cheating husband, a suspicious pills-addicted wife and a BMW car that has had a dismembered body of a woman hidden in it before. (the last part is true, it has been indeed a real crime). So you get the entire movie of ghosts visions, dark road speeding, psyched up conversations and spousal paranoia. All in all, the first hour is really good, but last twenty minutes feel like the makers have not decided who actually is guilty of all the crimes. But I'd still recommend to watch it as a really good suspense movie genre in the making. The actors are pretty well as well, and the highroad tripping does not feel like it is in Russia at all ;)
Odna voyna (2009)
a forgotten page
This is a touching story of several women who have been sent to a remote Northern location for having cohabited with Germans and born (out of romance or out of rape, the system did not care) children from the "damned occupants", set at the end of World War II. The movie offers stark, cool scenes from everyday colony of several women and small children, their limp ex-veteran supervisor, how they cope with harsh reality, talk, reminisce, and hope for the end of the War. But when it does end, it does not mean end of their sufferings, as an officer with his own drama arrives to decide their fate. This is a remarkable representative of new Russian movies, shot by an actress, famous of her own work, Vera Glagoleva, a very promising director and with a cast of subtle female performances, alongside with a famous Russian actor, Alexander Balyev.
Velikaya (2015)
textbook history
This magnificently shot, historically accurate, detail focused Russian show tells the story of one of the greatest characters of the Russian history: empress Catherine II the Great. Anyone can google her and find a fascinating tale of her suffering a bit of weak witted, fanatically German husband, becoming Russian to the core (being a German herself), her at first living in the shadow of another great Russian rule, daughter of Peter the Great: Elizabeth the 1st. How she won back the favor of the Russian army, won supporters through advisors, had a handful of lovers and eventually at the head of a coup, after Elizabeth's death, became Russian empress to reign gloriously from 1762 to 1796. These are dry facts, but watch this show of 12 eps to admire Russian architecture, costume, interiors and manners. A very qualitative Russian historical costume drama that features solid performances, has no over the top melodrama and makes you want to read or watch more about this remarkable woman.
Zimniy put (2013)
sticks to your memory
The movie is about a truly turbulent and very short lived (two day) relationship between Eric (a wanna-be opera singer, a drinking gay guy in a Russian nameless, backwater town) and Lyosha (a roguish petty homeless criminal in the same city who has little chance to find work in the town industry to soon to die of lung cancer or of skin cancer) who meet through a chain of circumstances and have a truly wonderful chemistry together. The latter is mostly thanks to Pyotr Tkachuk, a Russian actor I have never paid attention to in any episodic roles before, but who reminded me of a young David Bowie. It would be probably in three sentences what the movie is about, but better get it where you can and enjoy a tale of wordless attraction and excellent performances (and no happy end). The movie indeed makes you rewind a few scenes and hold your breathe. It took 3 years for the movie to be available for limited release in/out Russia. I hope you don't miss this gem among countless carbon-copy series about criminals, commissars and early 90s Russian mafia. Trule film festival material and I read it got some recognition but never among ordinary viewers, unfortunately.
Je, François Villon, voleur, assassin, poète (2010)
The man deserves oblivion
The movie is about a poet, rebel, thief and murderer who seems not to have any redeeming qualities the viewer would develop for him. Besides him getting somehow famous through the rare poems that survived ages since middle 15th century. The movie (I don't know how freely treating scarce historical facts we know about FV) creates a portrait of a talented man with imagination, son of a thief, raised by a priest. Too many temptations around, too little time and resistance to succumb. As a result the viewer is left puzzled why this man did not die earlier and another proof how little a human life cost or meant six hundred years ago. What is missing is some diagnosis for FV that could not be given to the poet at that time. Otherwise some of his actions is hard to rationalize. A movie for the history or poetry geek.