Give Me Liberty

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.

Anyone who has the ability to say "no" to people who try to take advantage of them will find this movie at times intolerable.

I don't happen to come from an overbearing family who expect me to orient my entire life around helping them, so I had trouble relating to the main character in this movie or to feel any sympathy for him. That main character is Vic, a young man who spends his days shuttling people with disabilities to one place and another. Some of these people are sweet and kind, but many of them are jerks. On the particular day on which this movie is set, he also agrees as a favor to taxi a group of old, horrible people to a funeral (apparently taxis, Lyfts, and public transportation don't exist in Milwaukee) and adds Dima, the movie's most noxious character, to his passenger list. Dima is a gross, hairy dude who aggressively makes sexual advances at every woman he comes across (Vic's sister among them) despite being told "no," until every woman eventually finds him so irresistible that they give in (nice message). The film is one prolonged note of chaos, as Vic valiantly tries to go about his duties while everyone yells at him, complains about how he's doing things, and makes you wonder why he doesn't drive them all off a cliff.

Vic also has a mom, who calls him over to her apartment to move a sofa in the middle of his work day and then proceeds to berate him about how he has no direction in life and should get a better job.

The film has the feel of a personal memoir, and I'm assuming this was life to a certain extent as experienced by it's writer and director. But I spent the whole movie wondering why Vic didn't just grow a pair, kick all of the freeloaders off his van (or better yet, never offer to give them a ride in the first place) and get on with his life.

There are good things about the movie. It's assuredly directed (except for the ending, an implausible mess of a scene set at a jail protest) and it's well acted by a group of unknowns. It clearly wants to bring awareness to the marginalized, and I welcome any stories that put front and center those who society normally pushes to the fringes. But it's too undisciplined and one-note to wholeheartedly recommend.

Grade: B

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!

Deep, kind and sad movie because of its reality. Feels like its just one day from our lives and doesnt matter where are you - in usa or russia, or somewhere else. Not because of drama, but because of little details so close for everyone from daily ruthin (especially Russian, of course). Amazing operators work.

A perfect surrealistic picture of life as it is. With all its diversity, sadness, happiness, loyalty, compassion and love. A film that moves you and gives you hope, makes you think and reconsider a number of things in life. Ad leaves you with this sweet feeling that in the end of the day love will save us all.