Review by Vincentiu

it can be a version of Stalker. same story of place, same search of the sense of existence. but Balabanov film remains different by Tarkovsky masterpiece. not for the difference of value or for the manner to present the story. but for its clothes.in this case, the film is a part of its director memory. not only because it is his last movie but because it represents essence of his art message. few people who desires make a dream real. a trip. and an answer. result - picture from a gray Russia. gray skin, gray soul. and strong need of innocence. for me, it is a religious film. a parable about salvation. a movie who has a lot of influences from Tchekov to Bergman but who has the courage to be an Alexei Balabanov creation. maybe, a form of his last will. a mirror - film. like many movies from East. a mirror with fugitive, fragile silhouettes, with a profound, powerful pray resonance, with traces of a society appetite for faith. after its end, the title sounds as cover of metamorphose. the desire who becomes duty. to be happy for to exist. a film who can be real useful for many of us.