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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Nicole Harpe
Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an amazing little film with a ridiculous name. I can't help but think with better promotion and a better title, it would have had more play.
The story of a Russian Godfather is interesting in and of itself, but Bodrov, the Director, has given this piece a unique visual quality. It is eerie and compelling. The scene between Oleg and Michael as they play cards is stunning. The smoke from their cigars and the extreme close-ups of the actors truly bring you into this relationship that may not be what it appears.
The film is occasionally narrated by Michael who starts the tale and ends it. Makes you wonder exactly who Michael is in the scheme of the story. I'm being cryptic, but there is a lot here to enjoy and I don't want to ruin it.
The music is also just lovely. It has a creepy, ethereal quality that gives this a foreign feel that works perfectly.
The cast is just about perfect. Vladmir Mashkov (Oleg) should be a big star. I'm not sure why he isn't. He's handsome and charismatic. Jennifer Jason Leigh does a fine job as "the quickie" and Dean Stockwell plays Michael with his usual understated style and here it is right on the mark. Leslie Anne Warren plays Oleg's mother, an aging diva who still remains a diva.
This is nicely done. If you enjoy quirky films with a lot of atmosphere, try this one. I have watched it several times and it bears repeated watchings. Something new comes to me each time I see it.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By M. Stott
Format:DVD
For those who prefer a cerebral type Godfather, I recommend they watch it asap. For fans of Rambo, this is not the right film.
The antihero is Oleg, razor-sharp Russian kingpin gangster, whose absence of a mother figure as a child - his mother having left him and his father at an early age - plagues him increasingly in a flawed world. In an uncut setting, we witness the vain efforts of a man attempting to recover a harmony that he believes he knew in childhood, in a world now that he finds as flawed as he is today.
His attempts to break out against the forces shaping his environment and back to this perceived harmony meet, ironically, with tragedy. To me, at least, the sensitive watcher is left not so much with bitterness against the harshness of the human existence (I ask anyone who considers their life perfect to refute this - and tell me how they do it), as the immense sadness and, perhaps, futility of going against the grain in an imperfect environment.
In parallel, this tense, volatile plot asks the eternal question of if one should knuckle down and accept every piece of bad luck that comes one's way, or live one's own life hell-for-leather, true to one's own priorities - including the intuitive importance of the family. For this watcher at least, the film answers "Better to regret something you have done than something you haven't".
The result, for this viewer, is not just - with a twist - that one has to make do with one's history but that one needs breathing space in this all too fragile and tender existence. If not, you probably have to suffer the consequences of having gone too far.
As mentioned above, this is not for the superficial or quick-thrill crowd.... Read more ›
The antihero is Oleg, razor-sharp Russian kingpin gangster, whose absence of a mother figure as a child - his mother having left him and his father at an early age - plagues him increasingly in a flawed world. In an uncut setting, we witness the vain efforts of a man attempting to recover a harmony that he believes he knew in childhood, in a world now that he finds as flawed as he is today.
His attempts to break out against the forces shaping his environment and back to this perceived harmony meet, ironically, with tragedy. To me, at least, the sensitive watcher is left not so much with bitterness against the harshness of the human existence (I ask anyone who considers their life perfect to refute this - and tell me how they do it), as the immense sadness and, perhaps, futility of going against the grain in an imperfect environment.
In parallel, this tense, volatile plot asks the eternal question of if one should knuckle down and accept every piece of bad luck that comes one's way, or live one's own life hell-for-leather, true to one's own priorities - including the intuitive importance of the family. For this watcher at least, the film answers "Better to regret something you have done than something you haven't".
The result, for this viewer, is not just - with a twist - that one has to make do with one's history but that one needs breathing space in this all too fragile and tender existence. If not, you probably have to suffer the consequences of having gone too far.
As mentioned above, this is not for the superficial or quick-thrill crowd.... Read more ›
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I've read thru the laudatory reviews below, and I hate to be the funny-colored "pickle" in the punchbowl, but I have to say that this movie is a complete mess. Many abstract elements, characters and sub-plots were intentionally written into the script to distract the viewer from discerning the film's major plot twist.
Unfortunately, the majority of these were poorly conceived, unnecessary and badly directed. Dean Stockwell's appearing/disappearing character & random narrative, and Lesley Ann Warren's bad Russian accent, are also major distractions.
Midway through the film, when most of the designed distractions just aren't making sense, and you realize you're being had, the film's main "is-she-or-isn't-she" plot device becomes all too obvious long before a pseudo-revelatory, anti-climatic final scene.
The film never forms any type of cohesive narrative. A more accomplished writer would have eliminated the extraneous characters and sub-plots and focused on developing the relationship, and creating an escalating tension, between the two leads.
Also, the full-frame presentation of the DVD is distracting. It makes the film look like a cheap Fox Network TV-movie-of-the-week. About the only positive thing I can state about this movie is the cast looks great, as they all appear in formal evening attire for the majority of the film.
Unfortunately, the majority of these were poorly conceived, unnecessary and badly directed. Dean Stockwell's appearing/disappearing character & random narrative, and Lesley Ann Warren's bad Russian accent, are also major distractions.
Midway through the film, when most of the designed distractions just aren't making sense, and you realize you're being had, the film's main "is-she-or-isn't-she" plot device becomes all too obvious long before a pseudo-revelatory, anti-climatic final scene.
The film never forms any type of cohesive narrative. A more accomplished writer would have eliminated the extraneous characters and sub-plots and focused on developing the relationship, and creating an escalating tension, between the two leads.
Also, the full-frame presentation of the DVD is distracting. It makes the film look like a cheap Fox Network TV-movie-of-the-week. About the only positive thing I can state about this movie is the cast looks great, as they all appear in formal evening attire for the majority of the film.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By "ishtarg"
Format:VHS Tape
Excellent movie which has the rare quality of being as moving upon successive viewings... Has a strange affinity in terms of the feeling it evokes to the classic "They Shoot Horses, Don't They"... The musical score is excellent both in itself and in the way it contributes to the portrayal of the characters involved.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By 1945
Format:DVD
I am a big fan of Vladimir Mashkov (especially after I watched "Likvidatsiya"), and I was not disappointed with this movie. It is not a version of Godfather. I would say it is love story. And Oleg is not Godfather, of course, he is just businessman of Russia's nineties (and it surely was very interesting and very dangerous time).
I also liked the girl.
It was a nice surprise for me that one of the characters (Dima Job Is Done) was played by Sergey Bodrov Jr. (God rest his soul).
I also liked the girl.
It was a nice surprise for me that one of the characters (Dima Job Is Done) was played by Sergey Bodrov Jr. (God rest his soul).
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