Luxembourg, Luxembourg

So this is not my very first experience of Antonio Lukich movies. His latest "My thoughts are quiet" surprised me in the way I couldn't have imagined. This guy knows how to portray a well written story, expend it with a situational humor and spice it up with a delicious soundtrack. This film is not an exclusion. You have pair of amazing twin characters taken from a typical Ukrainian countryside. You also get a dateless problem of relations between parents and kids, but with some fresh breath in it. And of course you cannot help, but avoid the tragedy of what's going to happen with these two. You're watching the comedy, but you feel this little sticky thing that haunts you throughout the movie. This thing is the understanding of what weight those two are carrying. I'm glad to everyone who took part in creating this film. Keep it up 👍🏿

Reall gem! I believe this is a type of a movie you need to watch a few times to fully understand it. At the beginning of the story it seems to be a simple comedy that makes you laugh all the time but as the story evolves it gets more and more complex. And when the final credits start, you might start questioning yourself if you really understood the main idea of the film, storyline and main characters per se.

As movie is mostly based in Ukraine it will also give you a hint to understanding Ukrainians and their everyday life, some traditions, culture, but at the same time won't come across as something totally 'exotic' or something you can't relate to.

Years ago, a Ukrainian woman went to Bosnia, where she found a gangster husband, returned home to her small town, and had twin boys. Eventually he left town and she remarried, though there seemed to be a legacy of respect for the father that followed the boys.

Years later, the boys have taken very different paths. Kolya is a bus driver, drug dealer, and petty thief. Vasily is an upright, heavy-on-duty policeman who tries to look out for Kolya. Both are married with one child, and both are a disappointment to their family. Kolya receives a call from the Ukrainian consulate in Luxembourg, informing himthat their father had an accident and is dying, and the brothers (and their mother) debate whether to rush to his side. Vasily and mother worry that their father may just leave troubles and debts, while Kolya dreams of riches.

Already in trouble with the bus company for an incident caused by his short temper, Kolya gets into further trouble by knocking down a woman with his bus, impeding his plan to go to Luxembourg. The brothers eventually work something out.

From the CBC news story, this film was shot before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the director had to return to Ukraine to complete post-production. The theme of growing up with an absent father is coincidentally timely, given the diaspora of Ukrainian refugee families of women-and-children. This is the only film from Ukraine at the Toronto International Film Festival, and I suspect could be next year's Ukrainian entry for the Foreign Language Film Oscar.

I'm not a movie fan and I rarely go to the cinema. But after the video about the premiere of the film Luxembourg, Luxembourg in the Ukrainian village of Blyznyuki (Twins), I decided that it must be watched. I am not disappointed, the film is excellent. It conveys the color and zeitgeist, the excellent performance of the actors, well-chosen soundtracks. More precisely, actors live, not play. It is impossible to translate jargon, a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian languages, surzhik as it is called. Many beautiful scenes, funny, comic and sad moments, which are also understandable to Ukrainians.

However, I didn't like two things - when the brothers go abroad, they end up in civilization from the dark forest. Ukraine is not so wild. And I still can't come to terms with Mykola's disgusting abuse of his mother. I understand that this often happens in life. But - respect your father and mother!!! It is felt that the director had difficulties in communicating with his mother, and this is visible in the female characters in the film. But Antonio is a talented director and will surely delight us with his works. I hope.

This was my first serious Ukrainian film. So I had no expectations before watching it. Perhaps, one needs to prepare for this movie mentally in advance. There's nothing in it that would make you cover your eyes, but it feels so real. That's why I wanted to give it a 10. Throughout the film, I kept seeing my parents, myself, and my fears about the future. I don't think foreigners would even feel half of it.

Let's break it down-what were they trying to show us? Two brothers. One always obeyed his mother, tried to please her, and followed her every word. We see this in his room, filled with awards and medals, and in how he «pressures» people just like his mother does. The other brother is just like his father-not a child, but a walking problem. Always looking for money, obsessed with «ponty», stuck in the '90s. The world has changed, but he hasn't.

Though, to be honest, it felt like no one had changed. At first, I thought their struggles were because of their financial situation, but no. Remember how difficult it was for Vasil to join the conversation with his wife's father, while his brother fit right in immediately? So the issue wasn't money. These two brothers are two extremes. What I took from this story is that you need to find a middle ground.

And I had another question: Did you get the impression that the cop brother was soft, despite refusing the bribe? I usually associate people like that with having an inner core, but he didn't seem to have one.

The central theme is the relationship between parents and children. Is it that the younger generation hasn't grown up yet, or that the older generation doesn't understand them? And yet, the father, whom no one had seen in 20 years, in a way, saved one of his sons. Despite being absent, he did more good than those who were present. Neither of these brothers truly listened to themselves and what they wanted. With the mama's boy, it's obvious, but the other one? He always wanted to be like his father.

But why didn't I give it the highest score? In the first half, I couldn't understand where the story was going. It felt like the characters were walking in circles, and the plot wasn't moving forward. Yes, this film deeply impressed me, but if it hadn't resonated with my life, what rating would I have given it then?

Choosing between being the perfect cop or the perfect errand boy is up to you, but spoiler alert-neither will work out.