Give Me Liberty

Very kind and funny film about 1 day from Vic's life. A lot of unusual characters who wonderfully coexist in one frame. After the movie there is a feeling that everything will be ok.

The pacing of this movie reminds me of Good Time. Intense anxiety and things happening rapidly. I'm a very anxious person, so it's like an anxiety attack plastered onscreen. I can see how people wouldn't like it - actually I had high anxiety watching this - but it's also a strangely pleasant cathartic feeling.

It never delves too deep into the negative aspects of their lives. The movie seems more relevant today considering current US protests, but everything is surface level. If you're looking for deep dives into race, disability, poverty, etc. this probably isn't gonna do it for you. It's like one wide brush stroke on a canvas, but it's a beautiful brush stroke.

The main character Vic often takes a backseat to the other characters, sometimes disappearing into the background. The actors playing Tracy and Dima have very strong onscreen presences, although everyone does a great job. A large portion of the cast has some type of disability, but the movie plays it matter-of-factly and doesn't try to tug on your heartstrings. As Vic's confidant says, "it is what it is".

The movie is almost 2 hours long but I didn't find it dragged at all. One event passes into the next quickly (and in response to another review, the sauerkraut was such a small portion of the movie, it's a weird thing to focus on for taking too much time). At 2 hours long, there are a LOT of events.

I volunteers with seniors and this movie very realistically encapsulates how it's like trying to keep them happy, all together, and safely sent to their destination.

A lot of the reviews are either 1/10 or 10/10, so it seems a polarizing film. I was hoping it would come out in theatres where I'm at, but it didn't. Still, go watch it at home! I think it's a lovely little underrated gem.

Kirill Mikhanovsky's ambitious film (partially shot on 16mm) follows an eventful day in the life of a young accessibly van driver in Milwaukee. Vic (Chris Galust) is the young Russian immigrant who's daily pickup routine is sidetracked when a group of mostly elderly ex-Soviets need a ride to a funeral of one of their own. Along the way, Vic tries to maneuver his regular riders into the trip but keeps getting sidetracked. LIBERTY seems to be headed into farce territory, but, eventually reveals itself to have much more on its mind. Vic is still looking for what to do with his life. The members of his community may be all lumped together as "Russians", but, as the film amply shows, the old Soviet Union was a collection of different nations, factions and religions (as is the Milwaukee inner city where the story is set). One of the movie's most amusing lines is when the smooth-talking Dima (Maxim Stoyanov) compares the bitter cold Wisconsin weather to Siberia! Mikhanovsky (who co-writes with Alice Austen) is certainly audacious in trying to pack so much into a single day (including a full blown protest turned riot), but, it works more often than not. It's overlong, and certainly over-reaches from time to time, but, it has a cumulative effectiveness. The acting (which includes a good number of debuts) is engaging, particularly Lauren Spencer as one of Vic's riders, the wheel-chair bound Tracy. Despite having a lot on his plate, Mikhanovsky is smart enough to slow down the sometimes frenetic pace to capture the tinniest moments and intimate details. The heart-to-heart talks with a bed ridden elderly man - credited only as 'Vic's Confidant' (James Watson) - form a kind of an eloquent bookend to the film. They anchor the piece, even if the title ends up being more of a question mark (Give Me Liberty?) than a declarative statement.

Vic is of Russian origin and a medical transport driver in Milwaukee. A tiny problem: he is excessively adorable! He wants to please everyone and he is desperately unable to say 'no' even when it's the only correct answer. So, as riots erupt in the city, his day will quickly become nightmarish.

The actors Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer (Tracy), Chris Galust (Vic) and Maksim Stoyanov (Dima) are unknown (from me at least) but excellent. The director Kirill Mikhanovsky shows a deeply moving humanism with regard to these outcasts. An excellent Russian-American surprise!

Give Me Liberty (2019) was co-written and directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky. Chris Galust lays Vic, a young man who drives a medical transport van. Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer portrays Tracy, one of his passengers. Maxim Stoyanov is Dima, a giant of a man who may or may not be what he says he is.

The problem for Vic is that he does more for his clients than just drive them--he's sort of their social worker as well. He also does more for his grandfather's friends, who are older Jewish people from Russia, and who need transportation.

As the van goes careening down the Milwaukee streets, Vic keeps telling the dispatcher "I'm going to Eisenhower." I thought Eisenhower was a highway, but instead it's the Eisenhower Center vocational training program that helps people with disabilities. Some of the scenes are shot within the Eisenhower Center, and they present the clients in a positive and respectful way. That's one of the strengths of the movie.

The film has some funny scenes, but it also has some disturbing scenes of violent interactions between police and protestors. So, although in the very basic sense it's a love story, it's not for everyone.

Give Me Liberty would work well in a theater, but it was OK on the small screen. It has a dismal IMDb rating of 6.6. It's not a great movie, but I thought that rating was too low, and rated it 8.