Okraina

In current times,the merits and strengths of Russian cinema are properly assessed only by those foreign critics and viewers who have also evaluated the artistic brilliance of other national cinemas.It is important to know that this trend is happening at a time when for some peculiar reasons Russian audiences have started to ignore the heritage of their own domestic cinema in order to appreciate films from different types of dead woods namely Bollywood and Hollywood.This small review is an earnest attempt to discuss the greatness of Russian cinema.Apart from water,land is recognized as one of the most recognizable universal concepts.As a film, Pyotr Lutsik's Okraina is based on the universal theme of land but chooses to depict an oddball case of land grabbing and its consequences on hapless peasants.This might appear simple to digest but Okraina is absolutely impossible to pigeonhole.Blackest of all black comedies would be the nearest brief plausible description of this film.The film's TOUR DE FORCE consists of some violent scenes which have an absolutely surreal charm.For example- proper attention must be paid to a scene wherein a man disappears in thin air under the ice to reappear after some time from the other side.The film is replete with several humorous scenes of this kind which shock the viewer in a positive sense.It is for this reason that an astute viewer has to marvel at indefatigable efforts by director Pyotr Lutsik who teamed up with his screenwriter colleague late Aleksei Samoryadov(1962-1994).Lastly a word of advice from film critic Mr.Lalit Rao-If a viewer has appreciated this film then the next best step would be to watch Boris Barnet's original Okraina which is considered as one of Russian cinema's greatest classics.

Having read the few other comments i have clearly missed most of the Russian cultural significance and jokes in this film. However, as a new zealander who enjoys all kinds of film i saw this at one of our festivals and absolutely loved it.

as mentioned in the title, to a non Russian eye it moved like slapstick in slow motion. Plenty of accessible deadpan, morose humour was on show as well as some great backdrops and scenery.

i particularly enjoyed the long close-up shot/scene on the farm four wheel motorcycle thing. funny how such a pastoral setting can become so surreal.

towards the end it seemed to change gear and moved quite quickly to black comedy and on into b-grade style action - with an explosion and getaway worthy of ed wood. amongst all this is still managed to be quite gripping and had me keyed in wondering how their quest would turn out.

If you liked this film I would suggest seeing:

American Astronaut, The Beaver Trilogy

Definitely worth a look if you like something a bit different. Jacob.

Unfortunately if you do not live in Russia you'll hardly understand this film, which is totally postmodern. There are a lot of cultural codes in it. This film is not black humored - it's about dark Russian soul. Also you'll get perfect lesson of film-making here, Lytzyk uses first-class cinema language. If your dream is shooting (booth - camera work & killing people) - take a look.

Definitely a decent movie. Unfortunately, if you are not Russian, you will find very little substance in it because it is choke-full of distinctly Russian cultural/folklore references, gags etc. that you have to be familiar with to understand. Peter Lutsik created a post-modern Russian fairy tale and enhanced it with imagery straight out of Soviet movies from 1930's. Certain parallells to Jim Jarmusch, particularly "Dead Man," can be drawn, with Lutsik's post-modern approach, the use of black and white film, and beautiful shots of Ural nature. Once again, good movie, but it's not for everyone.

I thought this was a really beautiful movie. It is not the type of movie that can be a big commercial success, I don't think you have to be Russian to 'get it'. Actually in general I think it is wrong to try and understand a movie from the supposition that there is only one explanation and one correct interpretation. Obviously it tells us of a barren, vast country, where man struggles with the earth. The imagery is really powerful, it sticks in your head. The actors do a fabulous job. Lighting, decor and photography are just absolutely right there on perfection. I recommend this for people who want a feast for their eyes, mind and soul.