Onegin (2024) User Reviews

New adaptation of the world famous novel

[boyar-jedi · 8/10 · 13 March 2024]

There have been several screen adaptations of Alexander Pushkin's famous novel 'Eugene Onegin', but the most recent was released in 1999. Therefore, a new version of this story has long been anticipated, and its director is Sarik Andreasyan. Although he has mostly directed comedy films in the past, he has become more interested in emotional and intense dramas in recent years. It is not surprising that he decided to take on 'Eugene Onegin'.

The movie's plot takes place in 19th century Russia and follows the story of Eugene Onegin, a young aristocrat who becomes disillusioned with the fast-paced life of St. Petersburg. He decides to leave the city and retreat to his uncle's countryside estate, where his uncle is gravely ill. Away from the bustle of the city, Onegin meets Tatiana Larina, a charming and beautiful girl. Initially, the hero ran away from his feelings for her, but love eventually caught up with him.

The plot and dramatic ending will be familiar to those who have read Pushkin's original novel. The movie's authors respected the beloved story and did not make any changes. In terms of plot development, everything is predictable, which is a good thing since the classics should remain indestructible.

I want to separately praise the cast, particularly Victor Dobronravov who played Eugene Onegin. He made the character interesting, emotionally challenging, which was captivating to watch.

Liza Moryak portrayed Tatiana Larina in the movie, the girl who attracted Onegin and evoked emotions he had never experienced before. Moryak's performance was confident and sensual, captivating the audience's attention.

In my opinion, 'Onegin' is a remarkable film and an outstanding adaptation of a timeless classic.

Adaptation by those hating the original novel

[tapilin · 1/10 · 8 June 2024]

As per Sarik Andreasyan, Pushkin's language is "unmanageable for the modern ear". I guess this is the key to understanding why the movie is so extremely boring and ... strange, putting it lightly. No, it is obvious that Pushkin can only appear "unmanageable" for a D student, who later became a mediocre director (with a very specific talent of scooping up government's money though), and who is still holding grievance to the author he was forced to learn at school. As Pushkin's language still sounds surprisingly modern, being ultimately succinct and vivid (taking into consideration Russian's millennials obsession with their "koroche" - that is condensed speech).

Dictum-factum, Sarik got rid of the most of the poetry (although Vdovichenko is reading some verses in a strange jack-in-the-box style), but he did not replace it with action, with emotions, with characters evolution and revolutions, with what we love and expect from a good movie. No, he is mercilessly (and very slowly) dragging you through the distorted and strangled story (by the way, Zaretsky is not an evil trickster here, it's all Onegin's fault), sometimes literally freezing the action.

So, first time I could not finish watching this pretentious and tedious mockery - the mockery of not even the novel, which the author didn't bother reading - but the 1999 adaptation. I still manage to force myself to watch the rest of the movie (for the sake of Pushkin's heritage, as we are not likely to see a new adaptation in the next 25 years), taking often tea breaks, which is obviously the only way to bear this torture.

All in all, don't waste your precious life on this dead thing; "Onegin" 1999 shines like unattainable jewels retroactively.