Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev Stars: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov. A rather grim and bleak view of life in contemporary Russia, Loveless focuses on an unhappy family. Zhenya (Maryana Spivak in her feature film debut) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin, from Leviathan, etc) are a couple trapped in a loveless marriage and… Continue Reading »
RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL 2015 – interview with Nicholas Maksymow
by GREG KING The 12th annual Russian Resurrection Film Festival is screening around the country from October. This year the festival celebrates the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII with a retrospective screening of 6 classic Russian war films. To find out more about the lineup of films Greg spoke to festival director Nicholas… Continue Reading »
LEVIATHAN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev Stars: Alexey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovitchenko, Sergey Pokhodaev, Roman Madyanov. The David versus Goliath like Leviathan is a loose reworking of the Biblical story of Job, and explores how a man is systematically crushed and ground down by the unrelenting bureaucracy of modern day Russia. Kolya (played… Continue Reading »
RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL 2014 – interview with Nicholas Maximow
by GREG KING The 11th Russian Resurrection Film Festival is screening around Australia throughout October and November. It screens in Melbourne at ACMI cinemas from November 13 through until November 23. There are a number of Australian premier screenings. The opening night film is the epic Vasilisa, set during the Napoleonic Wars. There are also… Continue Reading »
HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Aleksei Popogrebsky Stars: Grigory Dobrygin, Sergei Puskepalis. The setting for this grim and downbeat psychological thriller is a remote meteorological research station at the northern most tip of Siberia. Pavel (Grigory Dobrygin, making his film debut) is a young graduate student gaining work experience. He is impetuous, impatient, irresponsible, technically… Continue Reading »