shamborovsky Reviews

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

perfe\cly done intersection of reality and delusion

[10/10 · 26 September 2018]

In the history of the world literature there not a lot of works that can be regarded as magnus opus of an author. I mean now just life lasting huge in volume piece of writing, but a book, you touch once and "life will never be the same". Plato, Aristotle, Marcel Proust are coming to my mind.

Don Quixote stands separately. It if undoubtedly magnus opus pf the whole Spain and Spanish literature. Don Quixote was heavily interpreted by philosophers, artists, novelists etc - Ortega, Unamuno - the most impressive among them.

You have to be prepared to encounter Don Quixote in you life either via original book or mediation or movie. Be careful - Don Quixote undoubtedly will leave trace in your soul.

Really great movie where director has attempted to reveal to the screen this complex, multi layer correlation between Don Quixote and the world, between reality and allusions, between you and me, between humdrum reality & a dream that can come true.

I like movies, where you feel like in a boat on a river riding towards unforgettable experience. In case of Terry Gilliam's film you not just float, from time to time you lose the sense of reality, you become absolutely engaged in the events happening in the movie without being confident where are you and what the f..k in happening :)

Great work, liked it very much!

Happy End (2017)

"I am stuck"

[7/10 · 29 January 2018]

Beautiful, tender as flower and " light" in terms of Haneke's style - I expected it to be hard & taught.

Movie appeared to be the life story of few generations that are stuck in life. Somebody succeeds to leave successfully, somebody - not. Those who stuck do not suffer - they just lead the regular life - betray wife, indulge in sexual experiments, fight with spoiled kids, try to help refugees, solve probs at work & at home - regular lifetime routine.

In some moments boring (by the way, as our everyday life) and in some extremely beautiful as the sea, movie is calm, tranquil and spectacular.

We are all stuck and it's up to us to decide which direction to go - to go in or to go out.

I would like to write about last episodes of the movie: touching, deep, white, bright sea and the seaside are reminding me Marcelle Proust and Balbec times of his novel...

One can watch and be bored from the watching- but, probably, this is exactly the effect Haneke is aiming to achieve.

The Red Turtle (2016)

Brilliant piece of art and philosophical masterpiece

[10/10 · 9 March 2017]

Before starting watching the movie I strongly recommend to listen or even better to watch Leonard Cohen's video clip "Dance Me to the End of Love". The animated movie as well as Cohen's clip is about life, obstacles, hardness, love, children, death - about the life as is. Sometimes lonely, sometimes happy, sometimes on the edge of death.

The plot is quite simple: the main hero appears on uninhabited island and first tries to survive, then to escape and then just just to live.

It is real philosophical piece of art about which one can write thesis after thesis. A scope of issues reveled for discussions is vast: about the purpose of life, about love, about loneliness, about striving of the youth for changes, desire to live, to die, nature, animals and much much more.

I was extremely touched with the few very nice moments: - First - when the main hero being on the uninhabited island but alive suddenly falls down from the rock inside the deep cave with water from which you can not get out. I physically feel myself uncomfortable from realizing the situation - to survive but appear on the island and immediately after to face danger of being helplessly drowned in the cave - Second - when woman is touching the face of the main hero after years or months of loneliness (heroes do not talk - you can see the time only by means of his beard only). Deeply touching moment - and once again, while sitting in the cinema you almost physically feel the tenderness of this touch. - Third - after the main hero met woman and set a family and they gave a birth to a child and child has grown up and it looked like "life is happy"drastic storm from the sea arrives and almost kills all of them.

And the final and the most beautiful moment, in my opinion: after their son left them and they reached old age (one can guess of it from the gray hairs om his and her) and it is obvious that soon they will die they "dance to the end of love" - again and again deeply touching and moving moment.

Very very beautiful movie - a must see piece of art for those who are fond of thought provoking movies.

Personal Shopper (2016)

much less then expected

[4/10 · 9 March 2017]

Before going to the cinema I have seen view reviews plus fact that movie was honored in Cannes made me expecting good quality work if not the masterpiece.

Unfortunately, I received nothing at all. The only beautiful moment I liked is the main hero of Kristen Stewart wearing breathtaking mirror-style dress...

I will explain why I did not like: - what is the movie about? One will say it is multi layer plot...I would say it excerpts of some layers each of them lacking complicity and not deep, not touching at all. You do not feel the movie, it neither makes you "floating in a boat" not making you sitting uncomfortable. - scenery: some critics praise movie for showing amazing Paris. Few shots of the streets make you feeling like in Paris but just compare to Woody Allen...

Waste of time. Unfortunately.

Bitter Harvest (2017)

sad movie about Russia's attempt to wipe out Ukrainians

[10/10 · 8 March 2017]

Although it is not right to write here about politics but one can not do without it while trying to explain this movie.

It is world known that in 1930s russians, governed by communists, attempted once again to destroy Ukraine and its people by creating artificial Famine. The purpose was very simple - to destroy peasants - the core population of Ukraine - the carries of national traditions, history and memory. Next step - to send to vacationed Ukrainian territories ethnic russians - basically this is the explanation of "russian-speaking" Ukraine & nowadays terrorists in the Eastern Ukraine.

Unfortunately, results were dreadful: up to 15M (according to American researchers) has died from famine. People were eating their children, each other.

Probably movie is not artistic masterpiece but it deeply and in details describes the total dismay and despair of people who were sent to death just because they were Ukrainians and wanted to live on their land, cultivate their land and raise their children in Ukrainian customs and traditions....

From the Land of the Moon (2016)

Good movie, amazing scenery

[8/10 · 20 February 2017]

I was waiting for this movie after I have watched "Youth" of Paolo Sorentino. The reason is quite simple from the first glance and extremely marvelous from my point of view. First time in my life, I am still with Youth, I realized what is the pure beauty of the nature….

Thus, what I found out that in the same location "Mal de pierres" was shout I was expecting to indulge once again into fascinating scenery of nature. And of course, I was expecting the other background - provided by the movie and the plot.

I would divide movie into three parts: part 1 - boring & typical, part 2 - natural eye opening and part 3: reasonable

The plot is exactly what is said about the movie on any poster: she does not love, he (looks like) loves, she is becoming crazy and mad in the naive searches of love from the book. And this is basically the first part of mine.

My second part starts with the trip to Schatzalp in Davos. At the end of the first part an idea stroke my mind - what if the movie is not about she and her sufferings of loving not the right people?.....My second part is the most beautiful - breathtaking views of Swiss Alps, love story of the main she male character - an affair with young lieutenant (by the way perfectly chosen youth + war - for sure must be inspired by Thomas Mann's "Der Zauberberg").

My third part - leaving Alps and coming back to humdrum reality and again waiting for a love. Same stupid, naive love from the novels… Beautifully playing actors, beautiful need and the search for the real love and even after realizing that this love can be nearby - may be not even love but "near & dear". Maybe we can call it to to grow up & become a woman ...finally.

But in my opinion, the main idea as well as the main character is not Gabriel. What if the key to decipher the movie lays in undistinguished Jose? Do you remember his sight at the beginning of the movie? I guess this is the sight of the man willing to die for his love…

In my opinion, the movie is about Jose and his love, about the man who sacrificed his life and was withstanding all the "whims" and finally received hope for love. I would call it "the silent fight" for the love.

Coming back to the movie, the film is nice and beautiful, but in some moments a bit boring and lacks some expression and deepness. But for sure, I personally received what I was expecting and definitely it is one of the best recent movies so far.