Un endroit sur terre

This is a very powerful film. Admittedly parts of it are hard to watch, but it is an outstanding piece. In a nutshell, it is about a hippie commune that has been set up by someone who believes that the best way to help the homeless and often deranged cripples in Moscow is by offering them sexual love. I did not realise (because of the black and white, and the fact I watched this film before looking up to see when it was made) that this film was shot recently in Moscow, using real homeless people in their real situations. I assumed, because of the black and white, and the whole hippie commune idea, that this was the 70s. Shockingly, this includes his real-life footage of the current situation of the marginalised in Moscow, and that upset me to the core. Obviously some of the characters are actors (or, rather, are acting), but many are simply being shot in their everyday surroundings. Let's hope that some good comes out of films such as these, in the same way that Cathy Come Home helped change the situation for many in the UK all those years ago.... Is Aristakisyan Russia's new and very own Ken Loach? We shall have to wait and see.

Disgusting,just disgusting.By the way,who was the Chinese actor?How did it end?With Marija and the hippie headguy living together?I think it was quite moving in a way,because of the sad stories of the homeless Russians,but many scenes were really disgusting(like the one where the guy eats the dead rat,not mentioning the other hideous ones).

It´s very difficult to subscribe movie like this one in such small review. I think I would need big essay to say all of my emotions and opinions regarding "A Place On Earth". It was a pretty hard journey watching this movie, because of it´s explicit existential and philosophical visuals and themes, but the feeling I´ve got when I left the theater was astounding. Than I had time to think and realize what exactly did I just seen. "A Place On Earth" is a wonderful movie, brilliant study of a man´s place on earth (and in universe), complex mixture of religion, philosophy, psychology and myth, along, of course with the great directing from Russian director Aristakisian. The best films are those that stay with You forever, and this is one of them. I´ve seen this one in Sarajevo, Bosnia, at "8.Sarajevo Film Festival", august.2002., and the director Aristakisian was also at the projection, explaining that his movie we should explore as a book and not a piece of cinema. And he was right. Watching this I had a very literate feeling and I think that it´s what is the best about "A Place On earth". Surely a master-piece.