Peter FM

This movie was the typical love story. Some one breaking off a marriage to be with a stranger seems like a story I've heard many times. Even though this isn't typically my favorite type of movie, I have to admit that I somewhat enjoyed it. Both the main characters is this movie are very likable. Although the ending of the movie was very typical and somewhat predictable. I thought this movie gave a unique view of St. Peterburgs. We really get to see all the sights and sounds of a city that to many of us is completely foreign.

Night Watch

At first I didn't think I would like this movie, but I have to admit that I was very wrong. This was a very well done movie. It almost seems like a combination of Lord of the Rings and The Matrix. Honestly the majority of Russian movies we've watched in class are not in as good of quality as western films. But this film is a exception to the rule. The special effects were very good. The looked very realisticbirds in the funnel, the vampires looked very realistic. Everything in this movie was very realistic.

I didn't realize that Anton was the same character at the beginning of the movie just with longer. That confused me for the first part ofthe movie because I didn't know what the point of that scene was. This was important because we learn that Anton didn't choose to be good, instead he was thrown into the world by a few mistakes he made.

I noticed that the Dark forces in this movie are all that evil. Yes they do eat people occasionally, but the forces of good let them fo this. They aren't bent on the destruction of the world they don't want to destroy the good forces. It seems like they just want live their own life and not be affected by anyone else. This was an interesting way to portray this group of people.

The return

This is a very gloomy movie. All the colors the director uses are very dark and bland. I can't ever remember him using a bright color. I thought this was a very good technique for the director to use in this movie. It you feel just as depressed as the boys. This setting is nothing like Brother, in fact i didn'r even know that this movie was shot by St. Petersburg.

There's not much to say about the mother because we only see her during two scenes. She seems to love her kids and did a decent job raising them. In some ways she's overwhelmed by the the two of them. Maybe thats why she asked her husband to come back to help raise them. Though she doesn't appear to be excited about the homecoming of hher husband.

The father is a very intriguing character. He the kind of person you want to hate, but at the same time you can understand what he's trying to do. I was almost waiting for him to do something really horrible so I can really hate him. He's very influental on Andrey, who almost starts acting like his father towards the end of the movie. Ivan doesn't become as infactuated with his father as Andrey. Ivan doesn't understand why his father waited twelve years before he saw them. This is something that will make Ivan hate his father throughout the movie.

Brother

This seemed like a very typical mobster movie for the 1990's. This movie reminded me a lot of lock stock a two smoking barrels, which was a movie about British gangsters set in the same time period. Both movie do some very cool things with their camera angles. The movies also have lead characters that despite all their faults still seem to be very likable characters. Both movies deal with the underworld's of two very notable cities.

Danila is good person with some very noticeable character flaws. In some ways his flaws make him a character that's easy to like. To me I almost understood why Danila was making those choices throughout the movie. Danila is a soldier and violence is the only way he knows how to solve problems. So he going to commit these crimes because there's no other way Danila can make money. Danila never kills anyone who isn't involved with the mob, this makes him appear to be more like hero than a thug. If Danila had been killing people who were innocent we probably wouldn't think so highly of him.

Russia of the 1990's seemed like a free for all. Since the oppressive Soviet government was gone everyone was trying to take a piece of the pie. It didn't seem like their was much law and order so obviously organized crime would thrive in this type of setting. It seems like Russia was and still is very confused about what direction their country will go.

Little Vera

Little Vera was not an enjoyable movie. Not saying it was a bad movie but it was so depressing that I really couldn't enjoy it. If this was a realistic look into Russian youth during this time, they have a lot of problems to deal with. This is a very destructive way for someone to live.

I can't say that I'm supportive of Vera's way. I honestly think most of the problems she creates herself. Marrying a scumbag like Sergei at such a young age is a very bad idea. Yet she seems to go through with it for some unknown reason. Neither of them seem to have any real love for each other. This means their relationship is doomed to fail. Vera seem very young and very stupid. Granted she hasn't gotten much support from her parents. Vera dad is an alcoholic and calls his daughter a bitch and slut throughout the movie. Her mother seems very overwhelmed by everything and never praises Vera but always praises her older brother. This makes Vera seem very insignificant. It's tough to say whether Vera creates most of her problems or if they come from her surroundings. In many ways it's a combination of both.

The director always seems to portray this movie in a very dark and gloomy matter. Most of the shots are very dark and gloomy and shows a very polluted area. This helps make the movie much more gloomy.

Moscow does not believe in Tears

Nothing really seemed all that different between the time periods. Odviously the girls had become much wealthier and have moved out of the workers dormitory. I also noticed that in the 1970's there appeared to be alot more of the high rises up and around Moscow than there were in the 1950's.

In the first part of the movie the girls seem both confused and mesmerized by the city of Moscow. They all have basic career goals but there all not really sure how they'll be able to accomplish them. In some ways they don't really care because all they care about is finding a man to love and marry. In fact Lyudmilla's only goal seems to be to marry a rich famous man, which she accomplish and that will end up being a disaster. We never really know Tonya career goal because she gets married right away and appears to quit so she can raise a family. Katya isn't able to find true love but in the process is impregnated. katya is devastated and it seems like everything is over. In part two it was somewhat surprising to learn that Katya has finished her degree and become a very successful manager. Even though Katya career is going very well, she isn't happy with being old and single. Katya is then able to find love in a man who appears to be a little rough around the edges. This seems to make Katya a much happier women.

This movie seemed like a soap opera. We in America might call this a "Chick Flick". It seems very dramatic throughout the whole movie and in the end it all seems to work out, which to me was a little corney.

Ivan's childhood

This movie seemed a lot different than Tarkovsky's other film. Ivan's childhood actually had a plot and a point to the story. This movie was certainly much easier to follow than mirrors. To be honest this didn't feel like a Tarkovsky film, instead it reminded me alot of Ballad of a Soldier. Obviously both films deal with the Soviet Union's involvment in World War II. But both movies also deal with the relationship between the Characters. Like Shura and Alyosha we see Ivan and Lieutanant Galtsev grow to like and eachother. At first Ivan and Galtsev aren't very found of eachother, but as time goes on Galtsev seems to appreciate Ivan for all his hard work during the war. Ivan also seems to trust to Galtsev a little more as the war goes on. Ivan's childhood seems to deal with the realtionship between soldiers on the battlefield much more than Ballad of a Soldier. One relationship we see is the one between Galtsev and Captain which is very rocky throughout the movie because both of them are fighting for the affection of Masha.

I can't say that Tarkovsky is my favorite director. Although I understand that many things is considered to be the work of genius, hie movies just don't seem to relate to me ike other films do. If it tough for me to relate to a movie it's hard for me to really enjoy the film. Today's film wasn't too bad but there seems to be alot of things that Tarkovsky does that to me seem very strange. This just isn't something that appeals to me.