Onegin

There have been several screen adaptations of Alexander Pushkin's famous novel 'Eugene Onegin', but the most recent was released in 1999. Therefore, a new version of this story has long been anticipated, and its director is Sarik Andreasyan. Although he has mostly directed comedy films in the past, he has become more interested in emotional and intense dramas in recent years. It is not surprising that he decided to take on 'Eugene Onegin'.

The movie's plot takes place in 19th century Russia and follows the story of Eugene Onegin, a young aristocrat who becomes disillusioned with the fast-paced life of St. Petersburg. He decides to leave the city and retreat to his uncle's countryside estate, where his uncle is gravely ill. Away from the bustle of the city, Onegin meets Tatiana Larina, a charming and beautiful girl. Initially, the hero ran away from his feelings for her, but love eventually caught up with him.

The plot and dramatic ending will be familiar to those who have read Pushkin's original novel. The movie's authors respected the beloved story and did not make any changes. In terms of plot development, everything is predictable, which is a good thing since the classics should remain indestructible.

I want to separately praise the cast, particularly Victor Dobronravov who played Eugene Onegin. He made the character interesting, emotionally challenging, which was captivating to watch.

Liza Moryak portrayed Tatiana Larina in the movie, the girl who attracted Onegin and evoked emotions he had never experienced before. Moryak's performance was confident and sensual, captivating the audience's attention.

In my opinion, 'Onegin' is a remarkable film and an outstanding adaptation of a timeless classic.

According to the director, Sarik Andreasyan, Pushkin's language is "unmanageable for the modern ear." I think this is the key to understanding why the movie is so excruciatingly boring and... strange, to put it mildly. No, it is evident, that Pushkin can only seem "unmanageable" to a D student who later became a mediocre director (with a specific talent for scooping up government money, however ) and who still harbors a grievance against the author he was forced to study in school. Pushkin's language remains surprisingly modern, being ultimately succinct and vivid (considering Russians' millennial obsession with their "koroche," or condensed speech).

Dictum-factum, Sarik eliminated most of the poetry (although Vdovichenko reads some verses in a strange jack-in-the-box style), but he did not substitute it with action, emotion, character evolution, or revolutions-elements we love and expect from a good movie. Instead, he relentlessly (and very slowly) drags you through the distorted and suffocated story (by the way, Zaretsky is not an evil trickster here; it's all Onegin's fault), occasionally freezing the action.

The first time, I could not finish watching this pretentious and tedious mockery - not even of the novel, which the author didn't bother to read, but of the 1999 adaptation. I still managed to force myself to watch the rest of the movie (for the sake of Pushkin's legacy, as we are unlikely to see a new adaptation in the next 25 years), often taking tea breaks, which is the only way to endure this torture.

In conclusion, don't waste your precious life on this dead thing; "Onegin" (1999) shines like unattainable jewels in retrospect.