Category

Ostrov

• 10.14.08
  Gruz 200’s religious message
  Gruz 200, Ostrov (0)

  I don't expect Cargo 200 to be given the sort of review that Sophie Scholl, Die Letzten Tage got in Christianity Today, or which Rod Dreher over at CrunchyCon gave to Ostrov. Pastors are not going to work it into their newsletter messages and encourage their parishioners to watch it. Not when it gets reviews like this: Aleksei Balabanov’s brutal, fetid vision of personal sadism and political policy intermingled is the only work of serious, modern social criticism in recent memory that actually made me want to puke. This is a compliment of the highest order. That only begins to describe how ...
  
  
• 07.11.08
  Ostrov
  Ostrov (0)

  Tonight we finished watching Ostrov. Some random comments: Some of the camera work (and scenery) reminded me of Vozvrashcheniye (The Return), which is the first Russian movie I watched, and which I still think is the best one I've seen. I'll give Ostrov a "5" at Netflix, too, though. This is the first film in which I've heard a Russian chorus, sacred or otherwise, singing off-key. I thought it perhaps wasn't possible. I was surprised that the big surprise near the end wasn't a lot more surprising for the participants. I presume it was done this ...
  
  
• 06.27.08
  Ostrov 1-6
  Ostrov (0)

  Tonight we got up to section 6 of Ostrov. It's reminding me a little bit of C.S. Lewis's, "The Great Divorce." Pilgrims come to Father Anatoly for prayers and healing, and he has a knack for finding the real problem, which is not necessarily the one they asked for help with. It's something the petitioners don't want to let go of, but which they need to do to find joy. (I say joy because it's a term one might find in a C.S. Lewis book. I'm not sure whether or not it'll ever appear in a Russian movie.) This is one ...
  
  
• 06.25.08
  Ostrov
  Ostrov (0)

  We started watching Ostrov tonight. (Especially in summer, we only have time for a little bit of movie-watching here and there -- maybe 20 minutes on those nights when we have time. On a weekend we might go crazy and watch a half-hour's worth.) I was surprised at the reference to abortion. I didn't know it was allowed to say things like that in movies, even in Russian movies. This YouTube clip shows the part I'm referring to. It doesn't have subtitles like the Netflix DVD does, but if I remember right, the girl wants to get a blessing from ...
  
  

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