Le clan des gangsters

I love John Malkovich and every time he is on screen the movie lights up. The way he portrays the character makes you almost forget about the characters talking English for no good reason (with an accent but still). It would have made sense if they talked in their native language. Obviously something Malkovich wouldn't be able to do. Still the movie has to say something about "education" and life itself. Boys will be boys ... until they grow up.

They can take different roads though, depending on the path they choose. It's obvious where this leads, though you have a distraction or two along the way (plus a time jumping theme all over the movie). That will either confuse some people (not me and a lot of others here on IMDb) or make them big fans of the movie itself. So it sets high goals, but doesn't achieve all of them. Life lessons for some, a nice story for others.

I've been a member here for years. And i never wrote a review. But after watching this movie, even though there are bad reviews, I've just had to do a short review.

This movie surprised me extremely. Its not perfect. But there's so much love to detail, its just art. Im not a big fan of movies about Russia nor do i like john malkowich very much. I've always thought of him as a pretty weird actor. In this movie: he was just perfect!

Lower your expectations, watch this movie and i hope you will be positively surprised like i was. Somehow i hope there will be a sequel to this movie :) I got tired of the Italian mafia movies, Chinese marshal arts movies or American movies with big special effects... This was a welcome refreshment!

P.S Im sorry for my weird English, it has been years since I've talked to anyone or written in English. I just watch movies with English audio a lot. :)

I enjoyed this little fictional piece because it's a story about an imaginary clan of criminals in a fictitious province in the USSR that was supposed to have been an open air prison for criminal families from all over the USSR. It isn't meant to be true or true-to-life.

Before seeing this film, I had never liked John Malkovich's characters in any of his films. This character of his was likable. I also liked Peter Stormare's character , Ink, the tattoo artist. The rest of the characters weren't really memorable, but the film was humorous in spots and entertaining on other levels.

Most of the 1 and 2 star reviews attack the story for not being an accurate depiction of life in Siberia. It isn't set in Siberia, it just focuses on a fictitious clan of criminals who were said to have been sent there from Siberia. I'm sure that all of those reviewers feel very self righteous and self satisfied for having set the record straight. Reviewers like those would probably write an entry for the Goofs section that reads: "The guy who is called Grandfather Kuzya is John Malkovich, not Grandfather Kuzya." Enough.

Assassins as well had a childhood, that's the moral groundwork for this Siberian Education, directed by the Italian Gabriele Salvatores (Mediterraneo); the story forcefully describes the early years of a future Russian mobster and soldier, growing up in a terrible town created by Stalin for criminal outcasts. The film is basically an engrossing duet between the young hero and his. Based on a much-translated book by Nicolai Lilin it stars John Malkovich, resembling a lot Marlon Brando after retrieving from the mafia and certainly being the strength of the film. It was shot in Latvia though set in the former Soviet Union (current Transinistria, part of Moldavia), a location managing to describe properly those years and those tower block estates in the most deprived and dangerous areas. Eleanor Tomlinson too is superb.

While I appreciate the technical skill of the cinematography, the dialogue, character development, and editing must have been created through an alcoholic haze fueled by bad potato Vodka. It's too bad the cinematographer was not involved in a project that included a competent director and production team. How John Malcovich took on this role must be a fascinating and convoluted story. His performance was no "stretch" and Malcovich's abilities as an actor are not on display in Deadly Code or whatever name this ersatz piece of filming wants to use. The plot is trite and there is nothing fresh or revealing in this "comic book tale" of organized ethnic crime in Russia. This subject matter, when focusing on the transformation of the USSR to the current 15 republics, provides fodder for great movie making. However, this particular story is ludicrous, inexplicable, and simply makes no sense. Malcovich's acting is an over the top campy goof, but the other performances are so weak, especially Kolya's the young lead, that Malcovich's thespian romp seems Olivierarian in comparison. The only redeeming part of this movie, as I mentioned, is the cinematography. Thus, if you are an aspiring film maker, watch this with the sound off. It's the only way to tolerate it.