NO-ONE

The 2018 Israeli-Ukrainian film No-One, directed and written by Lev Prudkin and Vladimir Prudkin, brings to light the grimy, unclean party of Soviet society present in the global superpower shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Amidst the distress of a crumpling political system, in which some characters are directly involved, the film intertwines marital disloyalty with the inklings of political unrest. Produced in 2018, the film is eerily accurate at times, reflecting the sad reality that would, at times, turn out to be true in 2022, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The film by itself is eerie, at times making the viewer uncomfortable with long pauses and stiff, awkward exchanges between characters. Given the circumstances of the plot and the setting, I believe this move was not only accurate but deliberate for the general feel of the movie. The directors did a fantastic job at reflecting the simmering distrust and discomfort planted within the hearts and minds of the average Soviet citizen, with concern on the horizon about the well-being and existence of the state, and of the lives of its citizens. Especially for the characters involved in politics, the presence of the unknown is almost like the Grim Reaper, present in most scenes, lurking in the background or seemingly creeping up behind the main characters, waiting to strike. In a way, this figurative Grim Reaper affects the viewer too, causing him or her to grow anxious, waiting for the scene to end, and thus relieve the built-up pressure and suspense caused by this relationship. The dim colors and often spotty light heighten this effect, this mood of death creeping around the corner, never completely out of sight. Even in sunny scenes, such as when the characters are seen on the beach, there is still a strong sense of distrust and stiffness. Again, I believe that this is a deliberate, as well as a smart move by the producer, as it really seals the deal on the discomfort the characters feel given their situation.

At just under two hours long, this movie does drag on at times, and although the effects caused by this add a layer of depth to the situation, at times the movie is unnecessarily long. The opening scene, mainly an interaction between two of the main characters, Oleg Sergeyevich, General of the KGB and his nephew Vlad, holds importance to setting the stage for the rest of the film, although it seems excessively long.

In terms of production value, and of the quality of the picture during the scenes, I feel this film does exceptionally well. Dark angles and sharp contrasts create a stark scene in almost every part of the movie. Even when the sun is out, there is not significant stress present, the producers make the setting uncomfortable, almost inhabitable. In scenes where the viewer would traditionally expect something, for example a laugh or some form of communication, this film is silent, emotionless, and dim. In a way this is presumably realistic, especially in the Soviet Union during this time. In some sex scenes, the mood is barren of emotion, sometimes just showing two naked bodies after finishing to convey the meaning of what happened instead of showing. This causes a cold feeling, almost a shiver in the spine, to see how mechanical and robotic an act like this can be when done amidst sad circumstances.

Despite the ending becoming predictable after watching about half of the movie, due to the general tone and mood of the plot up to that point, the ending still manages to emit an additional groan of pain. Like a Shakespearean comedy ending, the characters appear to get what they deserved for all of their desperate, fleeting attempts to find meaning and purpose in their crumbling life and country. In a film where power is taken rather than given, the main characters of the plot find that their happiness, it seems, cannot be taken. Despite all of their attempts to find meaning through lust, deception, and disloyalty, they all, for the most part, meet the same fate.

Interesting, longish, and thought-provoking, I enjoyed this unique and eerily-accurate movie. Although the length and boredom of some scenes detract from the overall score, the honest and wonderful camera work made this movie worth the watch. 7/10.

The film is set against the backdrop of the August 1991 coup d'état. The nephew of a KGB general makes amateur movies with his uncle's wife, and there is no doubt that he is destined for a career as a diplomat.

There are mixed feelings after the film and it leaves you thinking for a while. Maybe not everyone will be able to understand it.

But thanks to one of the main characters, Oleg Sergeyevich.

Who reveals himself in a special way in the film, gives us a chance to think.

He has his own special view of the world - a view from above. He knows everything, what was before, what will be after, he sees the whole world and the whole country at the same time, he understands all the difficulties and is puzzled why people are so picky.

Generations like this are an unforgettable era. They grew up in one country and live in another. The hero of the film is also the kind of person willing to jump from one train to another-imagine him in the 2000s. It's not true that his fate was so glorious that he was able to reach the position of power he has today. As a rule, these are people from the 1990s. Either they became successful oligarchs themselves, or they served these people closely and reliably. They stepped aside and even moved away from the state. But then somebody took a step back.

So for reflection and pondering, I advise to watch It is up to you to decide what you will see in this film for yourself.

This movie is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's work Othello framed amidst the downfall of the Soviet Union. The beginning of the film was hard to get into as it seemed slow and overdramatic. There are many monologues in this film which makes sense as an adaptation of a play but still they leave me waiting for the long scenes to move on.

As with other Shakespearean adaptions, there are many times where you can feel the struggle of transforming a play into a movie. The story picked up the pace about a third of the way through and I found myself laughing and holding my breath in anticipation during certain scenes. The wife is a compelling character and by the end of the movie I wondered if she was intended to be a metaphor for Russia. The husband's speech to his nephew towards the end about the wonderful nature of his wife and his disgust towards anyone who would use her for their own means held my attention and had me reflecting on this film long after it ended.

Overall, this isn't an incredibly entertaining movie for the general public but I do think it is a great film for certain audiences who can appreciate the modern retelling of an old classic. By the end of the movie I was anxious to learn the fate of the characters. I appreciated the use of foreshadowing that was highly impactful and satisfying at the end. I will probably never watch this film again but I would mention it to anyone I know that enjoys Shakespearean adaptations.

No-One is an art house movie that does a lot of telling versus showing. The tone is set by the long opening narration that could be done with a series of photos and actual footage over the opening credits instead. I wanted to like the movie, but I just couldn't find anyone to root for. Ultimately, I never connected with anyone and couldn't tell if there was supposed to be a main character. At times, the cinematography was visually impactful, but it was inconsistent due to editing.

There were plenty of soliloquies while the actors stared into the camera to simulate experiencing a play. That added a little character to the film, but the dialogue wasn't compelling enough for me to enjoy the trick.

For the characters, there was a lack of growth; no arcs. Everyone does what was expected of them based on their introductions in the movie. The sleazy guy stays sleazy up through the end. The cheater cheats, the spy spies, the killer kills. There is a severe lack of emotion throughout that seems to be on purpose. Unfortunately, it backfires in the viewer not making any connections to the characters. And when the lack of emotion comes to a breaking point, the outbursts seem melodramatic by comparison.

This movie takes place at a time that was difficult for the Soviet Union. The main character is the wife of a high official and she seems to have been a lost soul. She is cheating on him and her lovers try to get revenge with her husband. There's a lot of sexuall activity in this movie. In the beginning there is a narrative about the time frame that the events are happening and then there is the the opening scene. The opening scene was an attention grabber. It caught my eye and I was ready to see what was next, but then it slowed down a bit. While it isn't the most exciting movie it has some interesting parts here and there. I was almost expecting something a little more educational but that was not the case. After the initial scene, it was slow, but then every now and then you'd get something to perk you up, some of the violent and torture scenes. I admit a lot of the dialogue was hard to follow at first, but the pieces started slowly coming together. Since it was in another language, I had to keep going back to catch some parts that I'd miss but that was not a deal breaker because of closed caption. The ending kind of made me think but I will watch it one more time to see if I can get more out of it the second time around. Overall, the movie was okay. You have to pay attention to really understand what is going on and when you do, it easier to see why things happen the way that they do.