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flomastr74
Reviews
S lyubovyu. Lilya (2003)
sorry no one in russia saw it
relatively simple, but beautiful film about a middle aged, working russian woman trying to find love. not since soviet cinema has there been a decent romantic comedy (though tragically russian) to come out of the country.
kama sutra scenes were impressive, especially if you've ever watched a former soviet babushka stare at a shelf full of porno trying to figure out why there is a line all the way around the corner.
great picture of average russian life, wonderful chicken factory shots. enjoyed the 'holiday on demand' just to meet up with a new man.
its a shame no one in russia has ever heard of it. (same goes for russian ark).
Stalker (1979)
take your time
I've sat through all of tarkovsky's movies except my name is ivan, because i haven't found it yet, mostly because my 'intelligent' russian friends consider him to be the master of film and time and space, and talking about film with them doesn't work if you haven't been through the ropes.
and he's not easy to watch.
but, all irony aside, stalker is possibly the most beautiful film i have ever seen, and definitely the best of tarkovsky's work.
the opening (if i recall correctly) shot of the bedroom is absolutely incredible. the color, the movement of actors and camera, the timing...all lead into feel of the entire movie. i think tarkovsky is all about the creation of mood through photography and timing, he's a photographer's film maker. he is nearly as twisted as philip k. dick. he is only slightly more comprehensible than david lynch, and that's likely because tarkovsky actually has something to say, we're just not quite sure what it is.
its eerie, its bizarre, its less 'exciting' than wwf wrestling. but it will scare the hell of of you when you begin to think you understand it, and then you get all confused again.
is it long? yes. will you think it drags on? if you're american, yes. will you ever understand it? probably not. is it worth seeing? absolutely!
heck, watch it twice back to back with your freaky druggie friends and try to figure out what the room is all about.
then watch solaris, then andrei rublyov, the others can wait.