4

For me, it is one of the best Russian movies of the year 2005. It takes to what is called "collective unconscious" - but I guess only if y're Russian about 30 y.o. living in large city:) I was really amazed by Ilya Chrzhanovsky's astonishing work because it's his first full-length movie. Vladimir Sorokin, who wrote the script, is very scandalous author who loves to shock audience. Besides, he is obviously postmodernist, so his stories are always full of different layers of meaning, contain a lot of symbols. Often you can't understand for sure whether he is kidding or being serious. The last but not the least, the movie is brilliant at camera work and has an amazing soundtrack.

I am not sure about this movie. In the beginning there was a long conversation in a bar. This conversation was so amazingly good. It really intrigued me and kept my interest.

Though I was watching this movie on a Saturday night. Normally I can keep focused even when a movie is a bit boring. This movie though was so amazingly boring that none of us could keep focused.

While chatting with each other I saw only parts of the movie and saw some really interesting camera shots. Also there were really weird, shocking parts and funny parts. The movie is real slow though.

For what I saw I would recommend this movie to people who like B-movies, independent and artistic movies. Though even then you should watch it on a dull Sunday or something.

For all other people I just wouldn't recommend this movie, because they won't like it. Personally I might be watching this movie again sometime as I was intrigued by it and am still wondering what was the real clue of the movie.

Don't worry, I'm not going to give away the ending- couldn't even if I wanted to. Not really sure what the ending was, the screen went black & the house lights went up but that was the only clue I had the the "story" was over. Let me put it this way- during one scene an entire row of people got up and left muttering things like "This isn't a movie! I don't know what this was but how dare he!" and "Go back to Russia" That's when I knew that the director was really on to something. Again, not really sure what he is on to or into for that matter but this movie is definitely worth seeing. It's beautifully shot, one scene more enthralling than the previous one, the acting is great especially since I don't think any of the actors are actually actors & the sound & music brought on an acid flashback. All pluses in my book. It's not for the faint of heart or vegetarians. Good luck. (FYI- my spell check tells me that I write at a 6th grade level so what do I know-)

I liked "4" very much. Its nothing to Hollywood-addicts but it really uses the media in great way. If you accept that the story is in some way a spherical aberration there's are lots of scenes who are really spicy. It shows in a humoristic and absurd way some views of maybe Russians prejudice but also intensified. The long walk in the mud is relay long but a nice and artistic way to show it. The party and drinking with the old Russians woman are gorgeous. The long dialog in the beginning is interesting and it works... The theme 4 (things) is an entertaining thread and many very very fine just nice scenes with a great photo. It's a Russian "shortcut"

thank god ilya K made this film, even though it doesn't add up to anywhere near as much as it could have.

This is in many ways a very talented first-time directors art-house showcase film, pinching ideas willy nilly (not least from a certain Russian photographer) and rubbing the audience's face relentlessly, and to some degree a little unnecessarily, in his inventiveness. If it was calculated to make him the darling of festivals, which I'm sure was hardly the main point, it worked.

Does it hide its shock tactics structural weaknesses (the second half is a real, repetitive mess) behind notions of the auteur, of interpretive demands that must be made on an audience, on "social comment", and the usual avant=gardist stuff? Yeah, it does. That doesn't mean it's worthless. You just wish that Ilya K and Sorokin, apparently a great novelist, had thought a little more about cinematic narrative forms and what you can do with them.

That said, it's an unforgettable, beautiful mess of an artwork.