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Passazhir bez bagazha (2003)
Thin story but well told
If for you a thriller is all about the plot, this series will not suit you - because the plot stands out as the weakest element in this production. A young couple returns home from St-Petersburg in a night train. When the woman wakes up, her husband has left the compartment and is nowhere to be found. On arrival he is still missing. They find him in the toilet - dead. Is it suicide? Why? Why does the phone keep on ringing? Who is the woman he talked to the night before his death? The woman, not satisfied with the suicide theory, begins her own investigation and finds a bit more than she was looking for.... OK, characters all play well, suspense is built up neatly and the series offers a nice - if somewhat rosy - image of today's Russia and it's emerging middle-class. The end, the plot come as a huge disappointment. But the build up to the plot was rewarding in it self so your time will not be wasted watching this one.
Granitsa. Tayozhnyy roman (2000)
Movie, not a miniseries
This "movie" is listed as "mini" which means there are several versions. I borrowed a video from a friend which was 126 minutes, not the 400+ credited on the IMDb site and my grades apply to the movie, not the series. I do understand Russian but not enough to judge dialog. I can tell however that the story told is rather thin. It is a not very original story about two man and the one woman they both love. The love story is not very elaborate because a crime story is intertwined (but not adequately finished). Setting is unusual for the western viewer (the Russian far east, an army town) but we do not get many shots of the local scenery. Musical score is downright terrible (music, image and action never match properly) although a beautiful song by Lyube is used ("Prinesi menya reka") Actors perform well though.
Zavist bogov (2000)
Compelling drama
This story has been told many times. Married woman with half grown/up son falls in love with stranger and prepares to leave everything behind for this - last ? - great love. But the acting in this film is great, especially Vera Alentova, and the ending is heart-breaking. I also like the way in which the life of non-underground intellectuals in Moscow is depicted and the settings, the dream-like quality of the environment when life is like a dream. Like all Russian films, it tends to be a bit to long and the love of the absurd sometimes threatens to take over the story (again, when the main persons live their dream) but all in all it is such a well made and acted film it will 'stay with you' some days after you've seen it.
Spinning Boris (2003)
reality is worse
OK everybody is so enthused by this film I hardly dare add a negative review but I just did not enjoy this movie.
I have to say first I saw the film in Russian language overdub so I will have missed some dialog, but not much.
Nice things first. There are some hilarious moments (the Elvis impersonator for instance). Actors seem well casted, also the Russians. Efremova is great and Goldblum is very good. Which brings us to the downsides of this movie. First of all. There is hardly any story and the end we know already: Yeltsin wins. So no drama or suspense. They tried to solve this problem with an emerging affair between the actors mentioned above, but that story kind of evaporates.
More importantly, the film does not represent reality. The Russians at the level of politics and society portrayed in this movie are not funny, they are a serious and dangerous lot. I am willing to believe that flying in some spin-doctors from the states helped Yeltsin win his campaign, but the real interesting questions that should be addressed are: who financed the campaign, what did they get in return, how was the opposition handled apart from airing some commercials?
So what we have here is a film, loosely based on reality (but strangely avoiding anything that could make the film either historically relevant or just a very good political thriller) without plot or subplot.
Stille nacht (2004)
More a who wrote it then a whodunit
What keeps this movie going, to my mind, is the excellent performance of the actresses who all play very well, Victoria Koblenko being the most convincing. As for the story - there are so many holes in it I cant even begin to list them. Not only does the actual story make no sense, the development of the characters is strange and unexplained. To name but a few: Why is the "storyteller" visiting the psychiatrist really, I mean, what is her inner motive? Why should she say that, looking back on it, it is logical Josefien should have that idea? Locations and atmosphere are generally good, with a less few exceptions, actors perform well and there is an element of suspense. Should they have taken the trouble to add a better story it could have been a great film (for Dutch standards anyway) - now it's just not a bad film.