The Vanished Empire

The film is set in 70s during the peak of communism in Russia. The budding adults in the movie however are in to all things hip i.e. from the west. They dabble in the black market harking behind Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and western fashion. The whole society seems very progressive on the whole in contrast to the dreary world Russia was painted to be. With this backdrop, the film follows the travails of a group of young adults as they come of age. Petty rivalry, skirt chasing and staying cool seems to be their focus like most people their age all over the world. If the aim of the movie was to show that kids in Russia were just like their western counterparts, then it sure hit the bull's-eye. Other than that it’s just another drab coming of age film.

Rating: *+

12

Take  12 Angry Men and distill it with some fine vodka and you have the Russian version of the film. Need I say more...

Rating: * * +

House of Fools

A true story set in an asylum that is abandonded by the doctors and nurses during the Chechen war. Recommended by Zeminky who I think is taking revenge for making him watch good movies. The turd lover shall pay dearly for this.

Rating: +

4

Two men and women meet in a bar in Moscow and spin wild lie tales about their asses lives and what they do in it. They disband back to their mundane lives which director Ilya Khrjanovsky views through a pair of mundane and surrealistic lens. At the end of which you are left wondering what drug the director was on.

Rating: *

Dnevnoy Dozor

Day Watch picks up where Night Watch left off. Our unlikely heroes plod on in their fight against the Dark Ones. As gritty as its predecessor, the midsection of this trilogy continues to keep you on the edge of your seat but not for long. Sadly after a while you slide down waiting for inevitable end. A huge let down for a film that promised so much.

Rating: * +

Nochnoy Dozor

Known as 'Night Watch' in english and has been on my watch list for sometime. A fantasy film set in modern day Moscow where battlelines are drawn between the nighttime and daytime forces. Spectacularly made movie that keeps you entertained right through.

Rating: * * +