Customer Reviews

At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among His Own

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just have to add interesting point about translation . Look at the name of this film . The wrong traslation killed the meaning of it and rythm it had . They translated the words not the meaning . That is why I work with professional translators on my books differently : I read them every frase and ecsplane the meaning of it , the feeling I wanted to give . Any other way will lose to much in transaction from one language to another .
The right translation of the film's name should be :
" An Enemy among the friends , A friend among the enemies "- se the differense ?

When I was told this film was a Russian "Western", my first response was, "could a Soviet director even do that?" But Mikhalkov, in this strong debut, pulled it off. The lovely score, which evokes Morricone(think "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"), the masculinity of the film,the natural cinematography, overhead views of the train crossing the steppes, and getaways on horseback through the hills, can easily fool one into thinking John Wayne will appear around the next corner.

In the context of this John Ford-influenced structure, Mikhalkov has constructed a complex, emotionally satisfying story. Friends who fought together during the Revolution are given an assignment to bring money to Moscow to help the hungry. Shirov is among them, but disappears, thought murdered. By the time he reappears, the money has been stolen and rather than joy, his presence brings suspicion. Shirov spends the rest of the movie among the bandits responsible, hoping to surreptitiously get the money to its intended beneficiaries. Along the way, he has some chances to gently chide his new friends about their selfish ways, and how they conflict with Marx's intentions of even distribution of wealth (thereby, no doubt, relieving censors who might be anxious about the US look of the film).

I gave the film 4 instead of 5 stars in part because in some ways it tried to do too much. Subplots and tales about each character threatened to overwhelm the main story line at times and made it difficult to follow. I also would have liked to have seen a few women among the main characters. However, these are minor concerns and I will enjoy watching "At Home Among Strangers, A Stranger Among His Own" again.

Extras: The DVD features the Russian language film with different versions subtitled in 10 or so different languages.

The movie is a debut of the world renowed director Nikita Mihalkov and his best film in my opinion.Mihalkov, who won an Academy Award for "Burnt by the Sun", made "At home among strangers.." at age of 29. You will love the breathtaking cinematography of Pavel Lebeshev, who is also a director of cinematography of "Prisoner of the Mountains" The film was shot on locations around the Chechen capital and in the plains of Azerbaijan. Great actors became international stars after the release of the movie. Yury Bogatyryov is unforgettable as the leading character Shilov. Sergey Shakurov later became known for his role in Konchalovsky's movie "Sibiriade".Alexsander Kaidanovsky you will enjoy seeing in "Stalker" directed by Tarkovsky.This movie is a beautiful tale about true friendship, generosity of human spirit and courage.

I loved it than , love it now . A must se film for everyone , interested in world sinema !
Russian Civil War is over ... all the combat friends - survivors
get on with building " new " Russia ... need to learn to live by the new ( civilian ) rules . The train with a lot of gold been robbed . The gold was ment to be used to buy bread abroad for the starving Russians ... 2 of the friends was framed for the robbery ... the other ones had to arrest them . One of the framed desided to escape to proove to his buddys - he didn't do it . But now it is not anouph...now he need to get inside the local partisan gang to find the gold ... Cann't tell you more - watch it .
But it is not just the story itself ... this film has so many unpredictable twists , such a good directing and camera work ! It defenatly deserves second place after " White Desert Sun " ! And just to se Konstantin Raikin shaved head already worse the price of this DVD !

Stick a lone gun on a horse and have him chase after a passel of bad guys and you've got the right ingredients for about half the westerns Hollywood has produced. AT HOME AMONG STRANGERS was directed by Oscar-winning Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov and, I guess, is a Russian western. I also guess that it's about the effect the civil war has on lifelong friendships.

The Whites battle the Reds in the civil conflict that followed the Russian Revolution (1917). Meanwhile, the League of Nations refuses to ship food to the Russia unless it's paid for in gold. The gold shipped by one outpost is stolen, soldier and gold-sitter Shilov is suspected of conspiring with the bandits. To clear his name, Shilov escapes custody and takes off after the bandits to recover the gold.

Of course, most westerns settle on a single hero, or a small group, and have them chase the bad guys and impose Justice. For those of us used to the Hollywood western AT HOME AMONG STRANGERS is going to take a bit of getting used to. Mikhalkov pays extended attention to all the characters in the oft - too-oft - seen flashbacks, and the dramatic contents suffers for it. Shilov is the one who gives chase, but this isn't Clint taking off after Eli Wallach. Shilov is just one of many characters affected by the war, and Mikhalkov is most interested in telling all their stories. Perhaps if I knew more about Russian history that aspect of the movie would have resonated more strongly than it does.

Well, it's Mikhalkov's movie, beautifully shot and edited. I especially liked the choreography of the train robbery scene. The disk I watched had instructions written in Russian, so I wasn't able to figure out how to watch it in Russian with subtitles. Fortunately, the default setting seems to be dubbed English.

Combine the hero-escapes-to-prove-his-own-innocence machinations of the best Hitchcock films with the stylized Western aesthetic of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and you have the winning formula for one of the most entertaining Russian films of the 1970's. It's just after the Revolution, and Russian soldier Shilov is guarding a hefty sum of gold on a journey by train. When the gold disappears and Shilov can remember nothing, he is presumed to be guilty and is sentenced to be shot, but he manages to free himself and sets out to discover who drugged him and got away with the loot. Will he find out the truth before his captors find him? Come along and see. Acclaimed director Nikita Mihalkov made his feature debut with this 1973 "ostern" (as Russian westerns are sometimes called), and he may never have topped it. Along with "White Sun of the Desert," one of the very best Russian films of the 70's. Great fun, and great art. A rare combination.