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Reviews
Tomiris (2019)
Excellent recreation of ancient world
Tomiris ruled nomadic tribes of the Great Steppe in the 5th century BC. Little is known about those times and about her in particular. Obviously, many details of the plot had to be concocted. However, the director A. Satayev was careful by not turning a historical drama into a tale or a fantasy. A source on the Internet says that they consulted historians about every little detail of that epoch: food, dresses and dwellings.
All steppe and desert pictures were filmed in Kazakhstan. Refined cloth on ordinary people in these harsh environments would look deceitful and inappropriate. Beautiful dress embellished with gold appears only twice: during Tomiris' wedding and during the burial of her husband and son. This also conforms to the many archaeological discoveries from the tombs of chiefs of the Saka tribes, the most recent one being in 2020. Unlike Nomad: The Warrior (2005), which is full of Hollywood clichés, this movie really takes you back 25 centuries. Authenticity - that's the feeling you get. They even tried to reproduce an ancient language, which I don't think was a good idea.
Herodotus, who first wrote about Tomiris almost 100 years after her death, says that the Persian king Cyrus II was killed by her warriors in his last battle, noting that this is only one of the versions of his death. The film follows this version. Almira Tursyn made her debut as Tomiris and did a great job. Her large eyes sparkle with rage as she explains the battle plan. To unite the scattered and independent nomadic tribes, Tomiris really had to be an outstanding leader.
The plot could be more dynamic and rich, and the characters more detailed. Babylon is sketchy; a better display of its wealth would emphasize the fact that a more advanced nation was defeated by nomads. Oddity: when Al-Farabi is writing about Tomiris in arabic in the 9th century AD, they show a map where Saki-Massagets are written in Russian.
Lyubov i golubi (1985)
A wise, warm and funny film.
This is one of those movies whose plot does not tell very much. You need to see it to fully appreciate its perfection. I saw it for the first time in the 1980's. Today, more than a quarter of a century later, the movie looks as fresh and entertaining as before. Those who don't speak Russian lose a lot by not watching this piece of art.
Every character is authentic and original. Sergei Yursky, one of the famous Russian comedians, is especially funny as Dyadya Mitya. Aleksandr Mikhailov, who in most other films plays a macho, here does an outstanding job as a simpleton Vasya. Fortunately, the director balanced well the contribution of Lyudmila Gurchenko, a veteran of the Soviet cinema, with that of the others. After watching the movie you have the feeling that you have lived together with the heroes.