Piter FM

Piter FM was really cool. It had a feminine touch on it. By that, I guess I just mean it was sensitive and a little romantic. But it was really cool too! Maksim was mellow, not much to say, a guy to relate too. The modernization along with opening credits give it quite a technical aspect.
Probably my favorite part of the film was when Masha breaks off the wedding with her fiance. Strictly because I really, really, liked his reaction. Pause...click pen, click pen......then he wants to stab her for a second. I'm pretty sure that's the feeling for somebody who has had this happen to them. Confusion then RAGE, and finally just walks off. That's a realistic line to me, "I'm ok.....I'm ok....I'm ok..."
The ending could be seen in different ways. It's artsy the way it ends. You just don't quite know what happens. But thank God, there's hope after the call he makes to the radio station,
Those were really sweet scene wipes. It just flashes the buildings in strips. It was pretty sweet. But other than that, I don't really have much to say about this film.

NightWatch

Didn't like it. There, I said it.
I can't stand this storyline strictly because I've seen it 100 times before. When I learned that the plot involved 'Darkness and Light,' I lost interest. Which is like two mintues into the film. Storyline wise, I hated it. I don't like vampire story lines at all.
I don't like the way Anton drink the blood from the cup. It's so damn cheezy. Because of the glasses he's wearing, and the discussion he has with the butcher. "It's pigs blood." My expression was not, "Oh, wow! That's so crazy! He...he's doin it...he's drinking pig blood! Ahhh so cool!" More like..."please tell me why you're hesitating on drinking the only things that feeds you."
BUT, something about the cinematography interested me. I enjoyed the way they would go through those quick montage sequences with simple things. For instance, the drink in the beginning being made. It keeps a sort of motion in the scene. It really reminds me of Hot Fuzz. That British comedy about the cop who moves out to the country.
I liked how the ending was different. I expected the light side to win. It always does. Maybe it will win in the next movies...
I also couldn't help but notice that one of the books this movie is based off of is called Twilight Watch. A book about vampire books with Twilight in it, that's not Twilight? MMM.
Please. Go ahead, tell me how wrong I am about this movie. Tell me that it actually interested me. Haha. This movie was just not for me. I guess I'm getting over the action movies. I'm getting old i______i
But I'm glad we watched the first big blockbuster in Russia. Sorta historical when you think about it.

The Return (of children possibly scarred for life) from a Wonderful Fishing Trip!

Great. Now I'd like to call my parents and tell them I appreciate them.
When I think of this movie, I think of blue and lots of it. There's blue hue that overs the whole screen for the entire film. Either a blue filter or it's just done digitally. I don't think St. Petersburg isn't that blue in real life. After all, it can be Sepia sometimes. Hahaha, it changes along to the mood. It's a magic town. But not really.
It could be possible that without the blue hue over it, I could still think blue because of the immense amount of water. Water, blue sky, rain, dark clouds, and storms. This movie is so nautical!
First off, I just need to get one thing out of the way. The Father is Jesus. Well, at least, he resemble an exact painting of Jesus Christ(at least I'm sure it's Jesus) I've seen. It's a painting where he's like lying on a bed in sheets. It's unique because of the perspective, which shows his feet in front and they look big because of the realistic perspective. That's just how the father looked when we first see him. THEN when he's lying in the boat, he looks just like it again! YOU CAN'T FOOL ME ZVYAGINTSEV.
This father is far from Jesus. So, so far. Arguing with the fathers intentions is....pointless. You see, to me, I see him being nice...and then...not, for obvious reasons. Sometimes I see the Father simply teaching the boys to be men, and grow. Examples of this include the caught thief, the rowing of the boat, and the stuck car. With this, he teaches the boys to capture the ones who have wronged them, using their muscles despite how weak they are, and how to get out of mud when stuck. Their failed attempts frustrate him as Ivan and Andrei are not what he expects and maybe...could blame himself for their weakness. He has been absent, so they have no male role model. Just themselves.
But the father is TOO frustrated, and is highly abusive and he's not getting the award for the father of the year. While Ivan is also at fault due to his complaining. Now I'm not saying that he deserves to get stranded in the rain, but it's not as if they haven't done anything. The Father is much, much too extreme.
With this film, I got much less excited when I heard of the Father. I feel like we've watched a lot of films with a terrible, parent or husband. Guardians who have left the main characters at times in their life or they are just awful and cause conflict or argument. Examples: Little Vera- Drunken, stabbing father, Moscow does not believe in Tears - Rudolph, Mirror - The Father, Brother - the husband to the older woman. And if that's true in Russian life, then I'll shut up.
The father on the trip is doing something that we are totally unsure of. For some reason, the object he took out of the chest looked like a battery, for like...the motor. I thought that was a really smart idea! But no, a battery like that wouldn't go into a motor.
The result of their Father's death makes them stronger. As they carry him into the boat. Few lines that they say are repeat from their fathers such as "little hands." It seems to me this words really stuck.
Also, I really liked those photographs at the end.

Sepia Tone and Blackouts (sounds like a band)

I would really describe Danilla as an Anti- Hero. He has good intentions and wants to help the good of humanity…he’s just murderous, and very, very violent. He really doesn’t have any Godly morels which would be: talking things out. He doesn’t wish to be violent, he really just wants to help people, like his brother Viktor, who needed to Danilla to do a hit to save his life.
A comic book relation? Yes, there is that. He does really seem like this anti hero hit man crazy sob that can do anything. The way he invents this silencer out of ordinary materials? GENIUS. I’d say he could be hiding something. With the skills like that, I wonder what it must have been like at ‘HQ.’ But that of course is the beauty of it. The director wanted to introduce us to a character that is highly skilled for a reason we don’t why.
The two woman that he becomes involved with are almost opposite. Cat is a free spirit, punk rock, drug user who pretty much lives on the streets. Then there’s Sveta who’s enslaved to a violent man she doesn’t love, lives in an apartment and doesn’t seem to like Danilla’s music. The two of them could serve as balance for Danilla. Instead of going to one, he is countered by the other.
The Music. Can’t quite explain that. I guess it could be like his source for the outside world. He’s new to Petersburg and just doesn’t seem to be experienced in traveling. Or maybe he uses it to keep cool and keep his mind of things.
Foreigners are portrayed as not very bright. The tourists, and the Frenchman don’t understand Russian which is subject to Danilla insulting American Music.
It had an old school feel. The sepia sets a warm tone and gives it a more fiction look to it. The black outs seem dramatic and seem to me to show that every scene is very important.
Great movie. Reminded me of No Country for Old Men.

Little Vera

First off: Wear something else when you go out hunny. That striped shirt is getting very annoying.
Gritty and dark. So, so gritty. This film has a dark look on Russian life. If it’s realistic, then I don’t want to live there. If the film was portrayed very brightly and colorful, it certainly wouldn’t give the same feel. It would be nice, but we would just hate the main character even more than how much we really do.
Every location seems tight. As in, the shots really offer a closed, almost suffocating look. The shots in the apartment provided us with a sort of claustrophobic feel. Since the apartments can be small to begin with, it couldn’t be that hard to shoot.
A shot where we’re given a generally good view of Russia is the shot where Vera and Andrei are by the docks at that shipyard. In America, the view of a large body of water is typically seen as beautiful and positive. Towards the end, the family goes to the beach and it’s very depressing. It’s cloudy, and it rains. Vera is practically a recluse and she goes missing. When the Father and Victor go for swim, it seems to me to be the last thing I’d want to do.
Vera is a character that I’d say I wouldn’t like, but I couldn’t blame her. Life seems terrible and her bad attitude is no wonder. Her Father, on the other hand, is a reason as to why she would hate her parents or just life in general. Her father, the alcoholic, is insane. He destroys everything and is quite…the bastard.
Best. Scene. Ever. You know the scene. “STAB.” Caught EVERYBODY off guard. Vera’s scream is wonderful and spine chilling. I like how it’s just so casual and the fall of Sergei looked so realistic. If he was really dead, then it would be even so much more terrifying. Also, not being able to say that your own father stabbed your fiancé is unspeakable and insane . HA! Get it? Unspeakable?! Ha!

Moscow Does Not Believe in FEARS(Tears)

Go right ahead. List the many genres in this movie. Or more like, list all the moods you received in the movie. For me? Laughter,happiness, deep sorrow, anger or fristration, and a little bit of some thrills were put in there.
I knew from the beginning that I would focus on Katya(mainly because I thought she would be the same character, and, if there could only be one, she is.
They way it started out made me miss Spring and Summer. Just the way she walked down the street without a coat. I guess I just usually picture Russia with a lot of snow.
Followed by the Katya and Lyudmila watching the apartment, I was thinking the whole movie would take place there. As in, the movie would have a time span of 1 month.
I was very wrong.
When the girls call the guys, I was lead to believe that the girls would maintain these relationships with these guys throughout the whole movie. They would all fall in love, and eventually there would be a problem towards the end of the film which would eventually be solved.
Wrong again. Dead wrong.
Antonia stays with Nikolai through the whole film. I...don't quite recall seeing her before they get married.
BAM. The movie switches right when Katya says she pregnant. The movie isn't cute all of sudden, but DAMNIT, I REALLY CARE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY, GIRLS!! End of Part 1.
"Part 2. Okay, got my tea, and I'm ready to figure what's going to happen. OH. We're like...20 years later." When seeing everybody, it's very depressing to see what they have become. Characters seem lonely. Life isn't quite going the way everyone's wanted it to. But Katya has a stable job, which is up lifting. I enjoy how they are all still friends. Thank goodness they have each other.
I hated the part where she meets the ex boyfriend who has a family. It's kind of disturbing. At first I thought that it was the father of her child.
Wrong again.
But that part showed to me a change in Katya. I just feel that she wouldn't have done that when she was younger. Try and sleep with a married man. I'm glad she didn't go through with it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, which I'm sure that most of were waiting for him to come, Gosha arrives. At first, just by looking at him, he didn't seem like the perfect guy. I thought he was just some guy hitting on her.
Nope. Wrong again.
This guy ends up reminding me of 'the dreamy right man' the girl protagonist finds in American romantic comedies. He's just really weird, but certainly brings hilarity. "I yell in my sleep." Best line throughout the movie. His dialogue with Katya reminds me of the writing in a Wes Anderson movie. WHICH HAS SOME DAMN GOOD WRITING. He can cook, and he's the nicest guy ever. He just not the type of guy the girls have been hating throughout the whole film. He's an excellent role model. And just leaves me to look at him and say, "I wanna be like that guy!"
The 'thrill' in this movie just meant the fight he has with the guys. 2 to 5. Or would it be 3? Well, it was just hilarious, and the most masculine part in all of the 2 hours and 30 minutes.
When Rudolph re enters, it's awkward and he gives guys a bad a name. Not being able to recognize the woman you've impregnated...is really hard to think about. Luckily, Gosha is there.
A great film with a great ending line. "I've been waiting for you."

Ivan's Childhood

I’d say this was an alright movie. It holds a pretty cool story: A kid spy, but luckily, it isn’t Spy Kids…Geez I hate those movies.
What I liked about it was the acting of Ivan. That kid was a pretty good little actor. He really dictates anger pretty well. He has a lot of determination…for blood. Revenge is a motivation I’ve seen in a lot of movies. Sometimes, I get annoyed with it, but this didn’t bother me.
The movie really pulls you in. As in, “that kids floating in the sky, now we see his…mom? SCREEECH!! Then switch to him crawling across a swamp. Huh. Who IS this kid?” Now that I think about it, this is a plot that seems only existent in family comedies. Well, maybe not in WW2, but the idea can be the same. It’s really serious.
The ending is DARK. It’s scary to think about. The way they don’t really show Ivan dying is mysterious. When finding out about somebody who has just ‘disappeared,’ it gives chills. It's better to give the viewer imagination to use. Instead, if Tarkovsky showed a dramatic stab in Ivan's stomach and it sets off a dramatic crying scene, it give a TOTALLY different feel.
Also, that actress playing Masha was really cute! What was that actress's name anyway? And on that note, I take my leave.

The Mirror

I get it. It’s artsy. This was quite an interesting movie which I think I enjoyed. But I’d love to re watch it. After the first twenty minutes, I wanted nothing more than for this director to make horror movies. That would be so creepy and disturbing.
The moment I realized this movie would be different was when maybe the barn was burning, and if not, definitely when the mother was washing here hair. The way she pulls her long, wet hair over her head so slowly, looks so cool! In that position, you wouldn’t want to get water everywhere, but she seemed to be abstractly moving so slowly. First, the way her shoulders were arranged looked so cool! It makes you start to think, “is she staring right at me?!” When that was followed by the dream sequence of the ceiling falling, I wanted more and more. If this man did Horror, it could have been so terrifying, I wouldn’t have wet myself, I would simply marvel at how beautiful it would be.
Is Tarkovsky the Russian David Lynch? Just Russian and not horror is the only difference? Because they’re just both directors meant to not provide a story but give you an eerie experience. It’s a completely different reason to like a movie. Not because of the wonderful writing, or from the acting, but mostly done as a whole. What I mean is, in an experience film like this, everything fits together to make it a wonderful experience. It gives you an atmosphere that keeps you still, and makes you filled with rage if someone starts talking in the quietest of scenes.
For this movie, there’s nothing much to say. It’s another movie on my list that I don’t want to hear the opinions of others. Well, jus the opinions would be okay, but I don’t want to hear it broken down scientifically. Strictly because there’s no fact to really prove. It would just sound stupid if someone tries to tell us what to think. It’s an art film. I hope somebody doesn’t tear it down into elements. That’s science. Not art. We don’t do that here.

Ballad of a Soldier

One of my favorite movies for this class. I love movies that are set in a short amount of time, and deal with the protagonist meeting many people.
When this film started off, I wouldn't quite say it caught my attention. The part about the mother, I mean. But the scene after that is really cool. But I think when I just look back on it, I don't remember it being that thrilling. But it sounds pretty cool. Shooting down two tanks in desperation. Sounds like some pretty sweet song lyrics.
The character Alyosha meets many people, and is nice to all of them. His weakness is his kindness, which is paid off when he misses trains and can only talk to his mother for five minutes which is heartbreaking.
I completely forgot the beginning, because didn't it say he never came home? I can't remember...
But I thought he was going to eventually come home for good, and get back with that chick he met, Shura. BUT NO. THIS IS REAL. WAR AIN'T NO HAPPY STORY.
This movie seemed to be realistic. But, it was the good side of real. There was drams like, about the man with the lost leg. But people would often joke around. Like the men on the train teasing the main character for shooting the tanks. But it's met with the one legged man's lover greeting him passionatly.
When seeing the wife of the soldier is unfaithful, I got angry, and really liked the way Alyosha reacted. "I'M TAKING THIS SOAP BACK." Haha. Then gave it to the father.
This movie was just very interesting, and I enjoyed it very much.

Ivan the Terrible

This is a film where I really enjoy how awesome the characters look. It’s a film where just by looking at it, I’m really intrigued. How did Eisenstein get make this film through tough times? The detail in the clothes, the characters, and especially the setting was nuts! I want to live there. In Moscow. In that palace, if that’s what it would be called.
The actor playing Ivan, Nikolai Cherkasov, was very interesting to look at. He just really looked the part of someone nicknamed ‘Terrible.’ This guy really gives this image of “don’t mess with me.” Which shows how brave those Boyars are that stood up against him. The men that stood tall and watched him were very distinctive looking. Well, they all had traits in common physical wise. But they were scary with their massive robes and big thick beards.
The leader of them, the man in all black, was very creepy. That expression he held upon his face was menacing. The black robe just seemed to never get highlighted, it was pitch black the whole time.
Anastasia was really beautiful and her love for Ivan was admirable. Her death was sad, which is good. Character development IS NICE. This movie doesn’t really have action, so it should help with building characters.
I just remember how much I loved that opening scene. Everything was so extravagant and royal! This costumes and all that jewelry!
Like Japanese Kabuki theatre? Yes, I’d like to think so. It has the royal clothing and make up worn by these high ranking betrayers. It’s really an interesting thing to adopt. He went overseas. Haha.
I also see some form of beautiful Roman Catholic art. But I guess it looks like that in an Moscow palace.

Burnt by the Sun

I really liked this movie. It’s how dramas should be! Starting off heartwarming and ends up so downhill you wish to watch some comedy. It was slow paced but that’s just how some films are.
For me I just really enjoyed the setting in which it took place, almost like ‘The Dying Swan.’ I loved the forestry and gardens. The house in which most of the film took place was very big and detailed and didn’t become irritating. Sometimes I feel like viewers can grow sick of the setting or props or something like that.
Next thing I started off liking right away was the protagonist. Col. Kotov was a character of high respect, tough but loving. The way he commanded the tanks to back off was just interesting because I like to look at a character who knows what’s going on, I guess. He seemed very harsh and insulting to the young cadets, but the humor the writing created at the end of their conversation was enjoyable. I thought he was going to kill someone because it was his day off. I don’t know…
This is a movie that when someone watches it, it tries to show you how well these people in the house know and love each other. It sets itself up for an intense back story. Like, if you didn’t know ANYTHING about the movie, you ask “Is this a sequel to some television show?” They tell many stories and they keep reminding you, “Is it not wonderful how well developed this place and these people are?!”
I bet when you watch this film a second time, you think how the movie is given a huge push right when Dmetri arrives. Learning that Nadya is actually his baby, and ending with a simple car ride. The entire movie assures you how great people are up front, until in war, people are different on the inside and in the past. Dmetri is really close to Nadya but he’s cold blooded at the end when they take away Kotov. It’s all so sad.
Being burnt by the sun, I’m assuming means people who have been scarred by war, or maybe the Soviet Union. I bet that’s pretty basic, but that’s the message I’m getting. It means that the sun burns away your real beliefs and tells you to worship it. Kotov is arrested for spying on the Soviets for Germany and plotting against Stalin. That is what he really wanted, but he’s been burned by the Sun that sits over the country and locks the people in and makes them worship it.
I’d say it’s directed to an international audience because there are more than Soviet citizens who are forced to worship their land. All the people who are burned by the truths of other people are dedicated this movie.

MMM Circus

A comedy?! WHOA.
It's okay, this movie sparked a few laughs, but not as much as I thought there would be. I'm starting to think that all of Russian comedy is nothing like American comedy. This comedy is just very lighthearted and positive, but with some sad drama elements. It's almost like how there were only Comedies and tradgedies. Comedy wasn't even funny, it just meant that it had held a happy ending. Sure this movie had laughs, but maybe it's just because it's super old. Like basically humor nowadays is leaning towards the tasteless side. Jokes that end with the listener saying "AHH I CANT BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!HAHAHhaha" or "THAT'S TERRIBLE!" It's really nice when you find stuff that's witty. I guess I appreciate it more. Huh. That's pretty much all I can think of for humor. There's: Tasteless, Witty, slapstick, and random. I shouldn't limit such a good category...
Not going to lie. I hated the main character. I just did not like her. I really did not like her singing. For some reason I got a little frustrated every time she came on screen.
I really didn't like the singing. The singing was too much. Too loud and high pitched. The movie concluded with the singing as I'm wondering, "why isn't this over yet?"
My favorite part was when the subtitles read "I LOVES YOU." And Petrovich did a dance. That's a sign of random happy feeling that I'm sure most of us would get if someone told us that.
The circus element was a different change. It didn't tell us....WAR. This just gave a more relaxed nice feeling.
Also, elephants. With Lions were nice. It gave more...I want to say 'coziness.' But that doesn't seem like the best word. But I'll use it anyway.

Chapaev

I can see how this film IS different from 'Battleship.' It doesn't quite seem so full of propaganda. Since it develops side stories and such.
This movie differs by offering many identifiable characters. Such as Chapaev, who's a character that some people can relate to. He offers heroism, and he's nice to look up to. Not to mention he's pretty funny.
In this film, there's back story such as the characters romantically involved. This is a different feeling from Potemkin which almost lacks soft feelings. Instead of feelings for an entire population, you think of single individuals with identity.
People also love SOUND. Sound is great. It's usually pretty sweet. This helps us see peoples feelings without actually thinking about it. Which really only causes a second of hesitation.
I think I enjoyed Potemkin probably because it's full of motion from start to finish. It never stopped moving with it's massive population. Chapaev started off so slow i lost interest. Something tells me the viewer needs to know a certain amount of history to watch this film.

The Man with the Movie Camera

This movie was pretty sweet. When I read that this was an experimental film, I was wondering if this was going to be a trip. Almost literally, it was. It shows hustle and bustle of natural Odessa and nothing seems scripted.
No relatable characters, no dialogue and no story. The only recurring character that we identify is the cameraman who is all over the city watching with his camera.
By comparing this to Eisenstenin, THEY ARE SO DIFFERENT! Eisenstein has identifiable charcters. At least, people set more into categories: Sailors, citizens, admirals etc. But 'movie camera' has people are over the place that only occur at once.
My favorite part in the film was the bustle music playing until it stops suddenly and plays that eerie ambiance which escapes back into more business.
But I think that maybe in the middle it starts to drag on a bit. The repeated imagery gets at tad repetitive and I lost attention.

The Battleship Potemkin

This film was in a way interesting. But when I heard of it, I pictured something else. This film wasn't what I expected. It was ok, but maybe I should watch it again at a time when I'm not so tired!
There were just parts that i became lost and confused in. But I don't blame the movie for that, just me being tired.
I guess a part I really liked was the way the Soldiers marched down that stairway and fired silently at the crowd. The Gillepsie book talked about the way those soldiers were illustrated: Faceless. When you don't see the face of something that sparks terror, it gives you more of an eerie feeling because you can not see who this 'thing that sparks terror' is. That's a problem that Horror movie trailers have these days. They immediately show the killer's face. And it looks just stupid.
That scene with the shooting just seemed very realistic. Maybe because EVERYONE was running. Some of them were like 200 feet away with crowds behind them, and they still ran. In really life, everyone would just run and run.

Three Films by Evegeni Bauer

The Dying Swan was my favorite of the three films. Specifically because of the music and setting.
The Setting seemed like something out of a fantasy. I'm sure it wasn't anything that special, of course, but it swept me away. In the beginning, the story starts on a beautiful shore. Up on the docks and on top of the rocks, it's all interesting to look at. Which is KEY to a silent film. In a silent film, I've learned it's harder to stay focused at what is going on. This is highly obvious...
But in this genre of film, you must pay attention to the movements of the actors, and who's mouth is moving to see who has the subtitle that appears. This category seems to deem well with the viewers eye and it should!
The setting is then moved onto a garden that seems to be out of civilization. It's just relaxing to watch. The rest of the film is set in city that lies on the shore of the ocean. It seemed infinite.
Then there was the awesome music. It was so powerful and switched into delicate. The sad violin rips the whole scene together and really helps the characters emotion and acting. One musical part I remember is the start of Gizelle's(protagonist!) nightmare. There was only the slow scary piano pounding. It almost sounded kind of rockish, but very eerie.
A director has the problem of really showing what's going on by only short liners, and massive amounts of...hand gestures. Even if the director thinks the whole movie is right on the story, he/she can't, since he/she knows the story already. So he/she can't quite tell if the movie will make sense.

The Irony of Fate or Enjoy You Bath! (part 2)

This movie is so romantic! I really enjoyed it. Movies in College are much better than that crap that we had to watch in High School.
This movie does have an immense repetition to it. It's far more repetitive than in part 1. An example of this is that damn doorbell! The Viewer really notices the interruption every time Zenhya and Nadya get close. In the end, they even express they're frustration towards this. It also creates excitement because Ippolic could be at the door ready to become angry, and all the viewer wants is for Nadya to have a nice evening without getting hit.
I'm sure I'm not alone when I think about the ending for Ippolic. I thought he was to stay out in the cold with only the burning of his anger at Zenhya to keep him warm! But that is most certainly not the end of his role. He completly switched roles into something as common to Zenhya. He gets completly SMASHED. He returns and basically tells what someone could call poetry. This is almost like a rebirth for him, because Zenhya has discussed with him that his strength is his flaw. He's too strong willed, and is left to not enjoy life and it's accidents. When he returns he curses the ways of life now and its utter boringness. He wished that lovers would climb to eachothers window and do everything for eachother. He really wants lovers to go crazy for eachother. He recapps the story for the two amd makes it seem like a legend.
The end really made me believe they would never see eachother again. Until the end when she returns, Zenhya asks her how she found her way, which is silly. His friends return to see him, making the conclusion of the move TOTOTOTOTALLY heartwarming.
Good Movie. Great Job.

The Irony of Fate or Enjoy You Bath! (part 1)

What I pictured for a Russian film that was made in the late 70’s was not what we watched. I thought the video on the film was to be very dated looking: Fuzziness and not really any clarity. I also thought the sound was to be very cryptic, but it really wasn’t. Instead the picture was really nice! By looking at it in a cinematography kind of way, it’s not too different from a modern American film. Repetitiv

The Humor seemed a lot different. In an American comedy, jokes are practically every minute. The whole thing can’t go too long without making humor. For a comedy, it doesn’t spark too many laughs. But that’s not because it’s just not funny, there’s just not too much. If someone looks at it like a romantic comedy or a light hearted drama, even though there’s more romance than comedy, it seems to play out pretty well. The movie isn’t truly funny until Zhenya is at the bathhouse with his friends. While this is going on, the viewer can’t help but feel worried that Zhenya will miss the meeting with his lover, Galya.

Over all, the movie is very interesting and enjoyable. If the viewer wanted to be ‘artsy,’ he/she would not even watch the second half and just enjoy the first, while using imagination to say who is at the door ringing the bell, and what could happen to Zhenya and Nadya.