Gruz 200 is one of the most profound insights into the horror which the Soviet atheist and murderous era has delivered upon the Russian people and many other nations.
Balabanov shows this through an every-day human drama which seems to develop in a very non-dramatic way. But while you think you're watching a boring movie about Russian daily comings and goings of some boring people, you don't realize you're drawn into a penetrating story, a drama of much greater magnitude and meaning. The film is so thick with emotion, and blunt about the senselessness of life under communism, this great and beastly utopia, that when you are into it you are taking it in as if it were a nail-biting thriller.
This is a true horror story. It is based on true events.
You will be haunted and may not be able to sleep well after you watch it. Dumb zombie movies will seem like a stupid Hollywood scary feast of fake blood and guts compared to Gruz 200. There is no blood in this movie though, at least not in any gratuitous way.
The viewer would appreciate the optimistic ending. I would not call it a "happy ending."
Balabanov's genius is in his honesty. One who knows communism, its deceitfulness, its godlessness and the tremendous hatred for normalcy and honesty will appreciate this aspect of the director's approach.
I highly recommended this movie. Balabanov is a master story-teller, as one other reviewer appropriately noted - he is "heavy- handed" but his madness has a method. And that method delivers an unforgettable message, so does the cast.
I do not think I will be exaggerating, (basing my opinion on this and one more film of his) if I say that Balabanov may be compared to the great dissidents and authors that his nation has born from within their history laden with tyranny, cruelty and tragedy. He is presenting a picture which is so haunting because it is exposing the real face of a hateful and evil regime; therefore his message is optimistic and liberating.
Gruz 200 is a masterpiece.
Balabanov shows this through an every-day human drama which seems to develop in a very non-dramatic way. But while you think you're watching a boring movie about Russian daily comings and goings of some boring people, you don't realize you're drawn into a penetrating story, a drama of much greater magnitude and meaning. The film is so thick with emotion, and blunt about the senselessness of life under communism, this great and beastly utopia, that when you are into it you are taking it in as if it were a nail-biting thriller.
This is a true horror story. It is based on true events.
You will be haunted and may not be able to sleep well after you watch it. Dumb zombie movies will seem like a stupid Hollywood scary feast of fake blood and guts compared to Gruz 200. There is no blood in this movie though, at least not in any gratuitous way.
The viewer would appreciate the optimistic ending. I would not call it a "happy ending."
Balabanov's genius is in his honesty. One who knows communism, its deceitfulness, its godlessness and the tremendous hatred for normalcy and honesty will appreciate this aspect of the director's approach.
I highly recommended this movie. Balabanov is a master story-teller, as one other reviewer appropriately noted - he is "heavy- handed" but his madness has a method. And that method delivers an unforgettable message, so does the cast.
I do not think I will be exaggerating, (basing my opinion on this and one more film of his) if I say that Balabanov may be compared to the great dissidents and authors that his nation has born from within their history laden with tyranny, cruelty and tragedy. He is presenting a picture which is so haunting because it is exposing the real face of a hateful and evil regime; therefore his message is optimistic and liberating.
Gruz 200 is a masterpiece.