The Gun (From 6 to 7:30 p.m.)

Vladimir Alenikov's The Gun is a brilliant fiction take on the necessary evils and possibly deadly consequences of gun "ownership". Shot in 15 simple real-time takes, it quietly follows the gun through various people's hands over the course of 1 1/2 hours, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. It's like a "road movie" for a pistol which is found by a biker and pawned to the next slime bucket and misplaced by yet another directionless loser. Critics at the Montreal film festival disliked the "losers" element and found it difficult to connect to the cold, often listless characters such as the typical musician who can be summed up by the old joke: what do you call a musician without a girlfriend? Homeless. Characters both related and unrelated to each other are as intentionally disparate at the disengaged family members in Pasolini's Teorama. This brilliant fiction tale borders on the anti-gun sentiments in the Oscar-winning doc, Bowling for Columbine, yet its one female character (the protagonist's wife, Anna) has a stalker which makes one realize that guns are often a necessary evil in America, despite Michael Moore's convincing diatribe. The story unspools as slowly as Teorama which would be a detractor for action-seekers and a plus for those inclined to a deeper understanding of guns in America. And there is an incredibly erotic banana-eating scene that is worth the wait even you're an action buff. Terrific U.S. outing for Russian exile, writer, editor and director, Vladimir Alenikov. -- suze (former Variety film critic and current communications consultant)

Great! I am 100% agree with the President of Montreal World Film Festival Serge Losique who told: "The Gun" will be a great cult movie". What a movie!

I saw the movie twice in one day and I saw that the cinema language is definitely changing - technically and aesthetically. Good job, guys! Jimmy Dalt - professional

i was impressed by the movie, very well done and shot. very important subject too, makes the watchers think and analyze their life style and problems around them. highly recommended, actors are very good too,their very natural manner of acting makes one feel like being inside the movie and around the heroes in it. how do we live, do we make our life and other people's lives around us easier or do we use them and lose them? do we know how to love? are we able to love and make commitments? are we responsible for our decisions? who is? are we nice to people? are people nice to us? are we scared of people? are we in danger? do we feel like being in ganger? and therefore should ONE own a gun, and if "yes" how do we use it and when? now days it's a hard question, there is no exact answer to it, don't you think? at least the movie is an offer to a movie watcher to start thinking about this issue, if he or she never have before.

I thought the movie very powerfully reflected the gloomy, sinister and murderous nature of guns. The film expressed brilliantly the fact that guns inspire and cause murder. Period.

Vladimir Alenikov's film grabbed me immediately and kept me hostage for the whole duration. They way the film was shot (in real time) makes it feel very real, it's like you are watching the events happening in front of your eyes. The creepy character of a musician boy who takes possession of the Gun is outstanding; his crazy smile after he spooked first people with his power because he had the Gun still stands in my eyes and gives me goose bumps. Powerful movie! I wish we saw more films on the subject come out and in the US the viewing of this film, should be mandatory! Great Job! Masha Tsiklauri

The Gun is a compelling and thought-provoking thriller that captured my attention from the first scene. An amazing contribution to the Montreal Film Festival, each scene of the film was shot without any cuts. What an ingenious and inventive idea in filmaking! This revolutionary and novel approach to cinematography makes a viewer truly enter the film and revel in the real-time feel.

Throughout the film there were plenty of plot twists, which delivered a powerful message regarding guns in America.

This movie follows a gun, which in the opening scene of the movie, was dropped on the side of a dusty, deserted road. Soon picked up by a biker, the Gun finds itself in a myriad of situations. Follow the gun from 6:30 to 7:30 and you will find yourself caught in the midst of an exceptional, exciting film.