Pegij Pyos Begushchij Krayem Morya

The first hour of the film is made like a documentary of rural life in an Eskimo-like community on the northern Siberian coast. The other part of the film is a slowly progressive drama about a boy, his father and two other men going out for a boat trip to hunt some seals on a remote island off the coast. They are travelling in a handmade wooden boat, with only the sky to navigate from. After a successful hunting they head back for the village. However they are surprised by bad weather and are swept into a heavy fog that will last for days. With nothing to eat and the water supply running out, the men are starting to sacrifice themselves one by one for the little boy. This is a slow film, with almost no dialogue, but this is a unique piece of authentic social anthropology. Of course it is also a nice coming of age portrait about the boy. The film was made in 1990, an the director is Karen Gevorkian.

        

Upcoming reviews (during july/beginning of august):

1. Country Teacher

- A very new Czech film about a middle aged teacher who is going to the countryside to work in the local school, at the same time struggling with his own acceptance of his homosexuality and with his falling in love with a teenage boy. A very rare and good film!

2. Nachttocht

-A Dutch coming-of-age story about a boy who is falling in love with his sports/canoe-teacher, who in turn is falling in love with the boy´s mom. A very nicely done and rare triangle drama about love and friendship. Similar to ”Country teacher”, though with totally different twists and also much older (but equally good!).

3. Gutta boys

- A Norwegian TV-series about a group of boys in a coming-of-age drama.

4. Russian film (rare)

- A rare film (so rare I have forgotten the title but will of course update you with that information later), about a boy who is struggling to survive a hazardous boat trip.

5. My uncle Antoine

- Considered to be the best Canadian coming-of-age film, and is about the developing consciousness of a young boy as he learns to deal with both sexuality and death.

6. Malena

- An Italian coming-of-age-story about a young boy who encounters the beautiful Malena, the dream of all men. Said to be an intense and very interesting film.

7. City of Men

- A Brazilian TV-series about kids in the slum of Rio de Janeiro.

8. Captain Abu Raed

-A new film, not yet released in my country, about an older man finding a new task in life and becoming a sort of father figure to a group of boys/children. Seems interesting on the trailer, more info will come later.

And some bonus reviews…..

1. ”Close to Leo”

2. ”This boys life”

3. ”The wizard”

4. ”Saving Shiloh”

Lessons at the end of spring

Another Russian coming of age film, this one from 1989, where you sometimes in the dialogue can sense the fall of the Soviet union, even if the film is pre-perestrojka. Like most other Russian coming of age films, this one is also of high class, with excellent performances from for example the thirteen year old boy (played by Danya Tolkachev), but also from the other characters. The story is well written and the soundtrack quiet ok, especially towards the end. The film is about a boy who gets imprisoned after having attending a street riot on his way to the cinemas. We will then follow his days in prison, which can be a harsh place to be at his age.

* Country: Soviet Union

* Release: 1989

* Director: Oleg Kavun

* Actors: Danya Tolkachev

* Award: Promotional award, Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema

       

Photo: *****(excellent)

Acting: ****(very good)

Story: ****(very good)

Soundtrack: ***(good)

Total: ****(very good)

This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of  “Lessons at the end of spring” .

Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!

Father And Son (Otets I Syn)

Here I would like to present for you a masterpiece in cinematography, unlike the film ”1900″ as I mentioned in a previous post. The Russian director Alexander Sokurov´s ”Father and Son” is a powerful work of intense beauty and emotion.

A father and son live together in a rooftop apartment, where for years they have shared a private world, filled with memories and daily rituals. The father, a retired officer of the air regiment, still struggles to cope with the loss of his wife. The son, enrolled in military school, feels inescapably tied to his father and estranged from his girlfriend. Both men possess an overwhelming love for the other, but also share the pain of their suffering. Although they can hardly imagine life apart, they realize that separation is inevitable.

100 Days Before The Command

Visually astonishing, erotically charged and emotionally jarring, 100 days before the command is Hussein Erkenov’s courageous and stinging indictment of Communism. Five young Red Army recruits struggle for survival against the merciless violence that surrounds them on a daily basis. Their only means of saving their dignity is by preserving the humanity and compassion they share for each other. Although not an overtly gay film, Erkenov’s 100 days before the command is remarkably direct in it’s homoerotic imagery and subtexts. The film includes scenes where the soldiers share an intimacy and tenderness that is far removed from the brutality of most of their waking hours. (Amazingly, all the roles are played by real-life soldiers except for one professional actor.) Banned by Soviet censors upon its initial release, Erkenov was forced to create his own sales company in order for the film to be screened at the 1995 Berlin Film Festival. 100 days before the command is a unique entry into the world of post-cold war filmmaking from behind the former Iron Curtain.

The Thief (Russian:Vor)

Russian coming of age-films are usually good. Other Russian films I´ve written about before are for example ”Ivan´s childhood”, ”Freedom is Paradise”, ”Father and Son” and ”The Return”. The main actors are excellent, the photo is often superb and the plot interesting. ”The Thief” is no exception to that rule. A single mother is travelling with her young son Sanya in Stalinist Russia of 1952, when she meets a handsome soldier on the train. They fall in love and move in together in a rental flat. Since his father died in the WWII, Sanya finds in the man some kind of a surrogate father. But instead of a normal family life, they soon find themselves forced into a life of crime.  I would highly recommend this film.

Director: Pavel Chukhraj

Cast: Misha Philipchuk (Sanya as a child) Born 18 Sep. 1988

Year: 1997

Koktebel

Following the death of his wife and loss of his job, a Russian engineer sets off from Moscow with his 11 year old son for his sister´s house, in the Black Sea resort of Koktebel. With no money or means of transport, they drift through Russia´s expansive and mesmerising landscape at the mercy of chance. For the father, the journey is an attempt to restore self respect, piece together his broken life and win back the trust of his son. For the boy, the mythical coastal town holds the key to a new life and emancipation. Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky´s critically acclaimed, award-winning road movie is a wonderfully acted, delicately observed and beautifully shot drama that has been favourably compared to the work of directors such as Terrence Malick, Andrei Tarkovsky and Francois Truffaut.

Directors:

-Boris Khlebnikov

-Alexei Popogrebsky

Cast:

-Gleb Puskepalis (the son)

-Igor Csernyevics (the father)

Year: 2003

Land of origin: Russia

Distributor: Artificial Eye