Wait...so...the bad guys are vampires?

As we delve more and more into the contemporary side of Russian cinema, one begins to notice more and more similarity between what we are used to today as film. The interesting world of the Night watch seemed to be a combination of a few different popular themes that we, as Americans, are used to: vampires, mystical epic movies, things of that sort. At first I was a little tentative about how the movie was going to play out, given that the first scene looked like the costumes could have been made using cardboard and super glue. Also, it seems that this was probably one of the first films in which Russians had CGI (computer generated image) technology, as it seems to be heavily used throughout the entire film. My initial feelings aside, I genuinely enjoyed the film, although this genre tends not be one of my particular favorites. The vampire plot, along with the initial battle with the two different teams, or guards, watching one another, seemed like it was trying a little too hard to incorporate EVERYTHING into one film, but overall the film was a classic epic film, utilizing new technology as well as new filming techniques, such as slow motion, and "screen magic".

Im Blue...

A striking portrayal of a newer version of art film, The Return chronicles two boys, as there father returns to spend time with them, at the behest of their mother. His awkward social graces and inability to connect with the boys automatically, as he wishes he would because of his long absence, is what causes his stern, inappropriate and confusing disciplinary actions towards his children distance one even farther away from him, but cause one son to take all the abuse in an attempt to connect with the father figure he so obviously yearns for. The odd characterization of the father is one that leads the audience to be confused as to how they should feel about him, whether to hate him for treating the children oddly, or to pity him, for not knowing what he is doing, and attempting to reconnect with them any way he knows how. the most striking cinematic characteristic in the film was that, as I whispered to Jake a few minutes in, "Everything is blue....". Uncertain of the particular reason for the color choice, needless to say everything in the film was tinted with it somehow. Perhaps it is meant to show a sort of melancholia, or to draw images of water into one's head. either way, it is a striking aspect of the film itself.

And, to quote the movie Se7en..."Whats in the box?"

Oh Brother...how awesome...

An interesting, and much more contemporary film, brother served to be quite nthe entertaining piece of gangster cinema, one set with Russian mobsters, as opposed to the Italian ones we here in America are used to. The beginning of the film, his detention after walking into the shot of a film, is an odd start to an otherwise straight forward movie. The film chronicles Danilia in his travel to see his brother, after his mother has become fed up with him. Dan soon finds that his brother has become a mobster, and is more than willing to help in his violent lifestyle. The filming style is one that is radically different from what we have seen before this point. as time passes, I suppose, the camera resolution becomes clearer and cleaner, moving away from they "home camera" look that the last film seemed to have. The use of music is also an interesting one. Rather than use a traditional score, a soundtrack of what sounds like contemporary Russian rock music, the kind enjoyed by Dan so much, is played in the background of almost every scene.

Not so little Vera...

Ever come across a movie that just tries too hard? That was myopinion of Little Vera. Steeped in the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" lifestyle, the movie seemed as if it was trying to add in every bit of dramatic plot as it could to keep young viewers interested. From the sex to the painkillers, everything seemed a little overdone. The stabbing and the alcoholism, once again, seemed to be things that were added in with the sole intent on making the film more "edgy". What put me off the most from the film was the actually filming style itself. The coarse, grainy picture quality, along with the block letter style of subtitles, and the cramped, enclosed setting of the house didn't make it any better. This film lacked the finesse and artistic quality of the previous films.

NO TEARS IN MOSCOW!!!!!...OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT...PRETTY MUCH JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY....

A film extremely similar to Irony of Fate, Moscow Does Not believe In Tears is a film that, not surprisingly, is a popular film with Russians, one that is still held dear to their hearts today, I am starting to see a trend in what Russians see as "classic" films. Both of them had to do with love. Where did this affinity for love stories come from? especially ones that include an exceedingly long story. Not that I was bothered by this, I love longer films, but both Irony and Tears were very long films, dealing with much exposition and quite a bit of character development. I suppose one could argue that their affinity for this comes from the fact that earlier films were forced to be very anti personal with the characters, allowing people to see them only as heroic and brave, never actually being able to know them inter personally. either way, the films are stories that allow you to escape and become lost in the characters and their problems.

This is the same guy that made Mirror?? Really????

Well, that's what it says on my sheet at least. But this and Mirror were two radically different films. Of course the main difference was one beiong narrative and the other being non-narrative, but even placing that aside, it is still amazing to watch a late film and then an early film. The story in Ivan's childhood is a touching one. It essentially shows the tale of a boy forced to grow up too quickly, as his mother and sister (father?) are killed by Nazi soldiers during WWII. Seeking revenge, he joins to help the Soviet army as a reconnisance soldier, helpful becuase of his small size.
The film is shown through an interesting narrative style where the story progresses as normal, however the young boy has dreams that reveal more and more of his past to us, one of the dreams being the one where his mother and sister are killed, thus showing us the motivation behind hos hate for Nazi's, and quest for revenge. The saddest part, however, has to be the ending in which, after the Soviets take control of Berlin, they find paper work saying that the boy had been captured and executed during their last mission, or the last one we see at least. The reason this is so striking is becuase of how anti-climactic it all was. the boy could have gone to school and become a military officer, or back to the work home and been adopted. instead, he insists on fighting and is killed, anti climactically. He would never live to see, what he would consider, the avenging of his mother and sister: the fall of the Third Reich.

That poor soldier...

...all he wanted was to fix the roof and see his mom.

This film is an interesting example of a war film, even though by today's standards one would not really imagine a war film to concern something like this, namely, a boy, and I use the term boy on purpose, and his trip home to try to see his mother before being forced to return. However he is side tracked the entire time, not of his own fault, and only is able to see his mother for a short period of time. The striking aspect of this film is the fact that there is little war in it at all. It does not chronicle battles, or heroic fights, but merely a young boy who is unable to see someone he cares for deeply because of the war. It is no surprise to me that the film was made during the thaw, as opposed to the Stalinist era, because it seems that after Stalin's death, people sense a freedom from him under the new command. I am not saying that the Government was not still oppressive and communist, but that the new leader saught to undo some of the horrible humanitarian tragedies that had befallen the Soviet Union under Stalin's rule.