Zhest (2006) User Reviews

Had potential

[jherr · 4/10 · 12 January 2007]

The first half of the movie seems promising but the last half is just muddled and incoherent. By the end of the movie, I couldn't wait for it to end.

It could have been due to the quality of the .srt file I found, but the dialogue seemed really lame and pointless most of the time.

The idea of a abandoned dacha village was kind of interesting. The early scenes in the village reminded be of Deliverance, sort of.

In the end, character development for most of the characters was non-existent, causing one to care less about the what happened to them. Still, if you have nothing better to do, it is worth watching just for the fact that Babenko is in it.

Quite flat, leaves no after-taste

[polfin · 5/10 · 23 March 2006]

I would recommend to watch this movie only if you like colours and atmospheric scenes (you will understand what I mean after watching the movie). I would also note that temperature of used colours is somewhat i put +5, the script, actors play, music, idea, etc, does not worth a penny. But anyway Elena is luminously beautiful.

A few more words about the idea. First it is not clearly explained within the movie, but is so much obvious that you can not really understand whether it is really the whole point of the movie or not. The movie itself does make you think of something, it doesn't even make you feel something while you watch it. So decide, its your choice.

Clipmakers meets horror and fails with scenarist

[cocha · 2/10 · 22 March 2006]

Experienced and retired journalist is going to write another story about serial killer, but he suddenly runs out of clinic and hides in suburb «dacha»'s - deserted holiday village. She follows him and becomes lost in this kind of ghetto. Hard trip begins and everything becomes surreal. It seems that director and scenarist had so much to say and seen so much before that decided to put in this movie everything they saw - no matter is it needful or not. Dull dialogs and chaotic, muddled direction, but really good idea, good operator work, Efremov as a serial killer is really great, good sound and good attempt in general.

Sort of like a modern "Alice in Wonderland" as written by a schizophrenic on Quaaludes!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 16 June 2010]

This is a super-stylish film and technically speaking, it's every bit as advanced as anything coming out of Hollywood--perhaps even more. The cinematography, much of the direction and special effects were pretty amazing. However, as for the story and characters, they were a complete muddled mess...at best.

The film is, in many ways, like a modern evil version of "Alice in Wonderland" but instead of the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the like, this one is replete with serial killers, pedophiles, rapists and a guy who supposedly has no face who walks about in a weird otherworldly mask. None of it particularly makes any sense and it's all unpleasantness from start to finish. In this case, Alice is Miranda--and everyone seems to be ready to kill or rape her. In the end, there is a bizarre surreal twist that really make you feel as if you've just watched a movie written by someone with schizophrenia AND who was using hard-core drugs. The overall effect is completely confusing, violent, nihilistic and nasty. Never mind the male full-frontal nudity, this film is like brain porn due to its repellence from start to finish. Could you tell I didn't like the film?! By the way, I should point out that "Zhest" is translated in the English subtitled version as "Junk"--how fitting.

surprisingly good

[thesiouxfallskid · 10/10 · 10 June 2009]

Surprising and a film that has much more than some take it for provided the viewer is able to put it all together. It kept me riveted to the end. Excellent character development and the dialogue made very good sense to me. A superb ending. Not to spoil the film, I shall just mention a few things. The world can be (perhaps is would be better) a crazy place. A madman may be crazy or not crazy, and we may never know for sure, and the same may apply to society. And for those who care about right and wrong and truth versus fiction and whether one can make a difference, life can be very disappointing. Life is easier for those who do not think deeply. Truth can be very elusive. 10 stars.