Quite frankly, this movie deserves a 10/10 for its wonderful portrayal of life in a mental institution caught in the crossfire between Russian and Chechen forces. But why oh why oh why did the (clearly intelligent and artful) director have to make such extensive use of Bryan Adams? I could have dealt with it if there was just one fantasy with him, or if most of the fantasies had been silent (rather than plagued with his sugary awful romance-pop), or even if (God forbid) they had used MORE THAN ONE BRYAN ADAMS SONG for these sequences. It's the same song over and over again. Ugh.
That said, this movie is a great treatise on the new imperialism that is threatening to destroy the world (not just in Russia, Americans might take note here). There's clearly a lot of Fellini to be found if you go looking for it -- the accordion-playing heroine, the colorful characters, and particularly the circus music which shows up from time to time. Also, I was very strongly reminded of Begnini's "Life Is Beautiful", another film which managed to find humanity and quirky warmth in the midst of a truly awful conflict and situation.
Even with Bryan Adams this movie gets an easy 8/10.
That said, this movie is a great treatise on the new imperialism that is threatening to destroy the world (not just in Russia, Americans might take note here). There's clearly a lot of Fellini to be found if you go looking for it -- the accordion-playing heroine, the colorful characters, and particularly the circus music which shows up from time to time. Also, I was very strongly reminded of Begnini's "Life Is Beautiful", another film which managed to find humanity and quirky warmth in the midst of a truly awful conflict and situation.
Even with Bryan Adams this movie gets an easy 8/10.