Ayka

Millions of migrants have been living in Moscow since mid 2000s. They take all kinds of work and receive wages that seem humiliating even to native Russians who are themselves mostly paid worse than anywhere in Europe. This movie is a well executed attempt to relive one of their mostly invisible lives, consciously ignored by both government and general public. This might be the only feature movie that puts some harsh, Dardenne-style light onto this part of life in Russia. It presents no answers or ideas, not even in a metaphorical way (almost). Instead it follows an indebted girl fighting with herself and recognizable features of modern Moscow: alienation, hypocrisy, absence of rule of law, acute social stratification. No person in the movie looks too horrible or too humane. The environment of the city however seems to be the thing that keeps everybody in a sort of struggling motion, depreciating hopes and turning them into little nightmares that further dissolve or turn into silent tragedies. No overdramatisation or extra lipstick is present however. Definitely something to watch.

"Ayka" is the main festival success of the year of Russian cinema. The director of the film, Sergei Dvortsevoy, worked for 7 long years about 7 short days in inhospitable Moscow of a woman migrant worker. A barely standing pregnant woman is struggling for life with all her strength, taking on any hard work. Absolutely fair award for the best female role of the Cannes Film Festival went to the wonderful Kazakh actress Samal Eslyamova. Sad fact: the Ministry of Culture of Russia annually distributes a huge amount of money for mediocre films, but can not forgive the debt of the director of this film, which glorified Russia.

We see a film that makes love to questions our souls seldom ask. The pain of attachment whispers to those of us finding love sacred, until we are all alone screaming in torment's silence.

A woman in Moscow attempting the forbidden, crossing the bridge of survival in the ice and snow of human apathy. As we are there with her, helplessness unflowering shock, the garden of our selfishness wants us to leave this immersion, are we drowning or escaping...Although we are the prisoner of our own denial, we would beg to lose the shackles of the woman in this film. Samal graces the river of my senses with a waterfall of paralysis. A rainbow of emotion awaits you. Become the fire of the sunrise. Or the darkness before the dawn. Fire does not burn. It illuminates. A film that blinds, that you may truly see and feel. Close to home...

Depressing depiction of the miserable life of the illegal immigrants in Moscow. Hardly any serious acting, many vulgar scenes, too much blood, and tiring move of the camera. Should have been some kind of a documentary, not a movie. I wonder how the hell it got so many awards and nominations. Being a movie fan for some decades, I can say with confidence now that minimum the 2/3 of any outsider movie with many awards and nominations are rubbish. Don't waste your time unless you are of the heavy cultural kind of person that applauds the below average films "because you found quality and hidden meanings" that the rest of us missed.

With 'Ayka', director Sergei Dvortsevoy has proven to be a contemporary master of the classic impetus of Russian art: depicting the depths of human suffering, despair, and the lengths at which one might go to simply remain alive. Leading actress Samal Yeslyamova goes beyond mere acting and gloriously succeeds in telling her story through minimal dialogue and maximal emotional performance. The story does stumble a bit throughout the first act, but it is sufficiently augmented by a gripping third act and an emotionally draining ending.