East/West (1999)

Just perfect...

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Poor, poor Seryozha...He first goes to his father's homeland because his parents decided so. Upon arrival they barely get out alive, only to live in a very uncomfortable apartment in another town. But that's alright cause his parents' great love will get them through anything. But, no... His dad gets mixed up with a woman from the room across of theirs. He confesses it to Seryozha's mum because he's a man of principle. Mum kicks Dad because she's a woman of principle. He now lives with his new woman that Seryozha doesn't seem to be very fond of. Very soon Mum starts an affair with a 17-year old swimmer that she was so nice to let in their room, but she lies Seryozha's dad about that affair (she's got different principles, I guess). By the way, they both very much love their son. Small problem for Seryozha is that Mum wants him to only speak French in the house and Dad wants him to only speak Russian in the house. Once the swimmer gets out of the picture, and Dad gets enough of his new woman, he goes back to Mum, who generously accepts him. The happy family is reunited and stronger than ever! But the swimmer reappears and Mum is willing to try and escape to another country with him... Many more dramatic troubles turn up, but the liberal love of Seryozha's parents conquers and we get a pretty happy ending. Oh, boy...

I was actually a bit surprised to see a French film that realistically depicted the Soviet Union--particularly in the later years of the Stalin regime. That is because Communism is pretty widely accepted in France. So, it was nice to see intellectual honesty by showing how repressive and brutal Russian-style communism was.Sandrine Bonnaire gives an excellent performance as a French woman who agrees to emigrate to the USSR with her Russian husband following WWII. Stalin insisted all Russian expatriates would be warmly welcomed. However, once they arrived, most were either executed or sent to gulags to be worked to death. However, this woman and her family are allowed to stay--after she is savagely beaten by the secret police for being "an imperialist spy". Well, life is amazingly tough in the USSR and she desperately wants to escape back to the West. However, doing this WITH her son isn't easy. Plus it's made worse after she helps another Russian escape. After years in a re-education camp, she is released to her family. Fortunately, she has not given up hope. Will she escape? Will she be able to take her son and husband? Tune in and see for yourself.The film is extremely interesting and important historically--well worth a look by parents or teens (it's a little too adult for younger audiences).

East West is a fantastic, beautiful film: part-love story, part-historical drama and part-Cold War thriller. It has elements of Frederick Forsyth, John le Carre and Boris Pasternak but surpasses them all by reaching the heightened realms of George Orwell. It really is that good.Alexei (Oleg Menshikov) and the beautiful, sensational Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) are a married couple in France who naively believe the Soviet Union to be a socialist/communist paradise. They promptly pack their backs and emigrate, arriving in Odessa with their son to settle down and start a new life. But they realise almost immediately, however, their dreadful mistake: they have entered not socialist heaven but an Orwellian nightmare of totalitarianism, brutality and deprivation from which there appears no escape.At this point, the film really takes off, becoming an awesome, intoxicating blend of Dr Zhivago, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, 1984 and Day of the Jackal. Only, it surpasses them all.Perhaps it is the Russian contribution that makes the difference, turning this film into a masterpiece: Sergei Bodrov and Rustam Ibragimbekov providing a simply brilliant script. The acting is superb and the plot is riveting, even depending on the outcome of a swimming trial and the chance to travel to the West and defect.The location filming is sublime and the Odessa depicted on screen has all of the faded charm of classical buildings and dachas decayed by years of communist neglect and overcrowding. It is just so realistic.Sandrine has a bit of fun along the way, going to communist dances and concerts, enjoying a love affair with Sergei Bodrov Jnr, the master-swimmer, but, ultimately, is betrayed and undergoes severe torture and brainwashing, like something out of Arthur Koestler. That is before the denouement, however, which has all of the drama and pace of a John le Carre novel.

'Est Ouest' is an impressive production based upon the true story of family comprising a Russian émigré husband, French wife and a little boy.In the heyday of Coldwar, Stalin invites all émigrés who left the country in the time of 1917 Civil War.The émigrés are promised a heaven once they promote to the restoration of order and rehabilitation of the war-torn economy.This demand is no surprising in view of the fact that Soviet Russia was the country hit by the war the most in terms of human and material resources. Once euphoric, the returnees find themselves disillusioned by old-fashioned, paranoid and corrupt political and economic fabric.The story is capturing sometimes thrilling. I have shared the excitement, fear and hope of heroes and heroines vividly. The music of the film pulls you vividly to understand how precious one's freedom can be.Unlike some criticism that the film misdirected reality,I would confidently maintain the belief that the story of the film is only one of the hundreds of tragedies in the Iron Curtain. Stalin's notorious reputation in employing violence and pressure is nothing but a historical truth. Eastern Europe is so beautiful..Kiev and Sofya..I shall never forget the dance scene at the hotel in Sofya. What is also worth-seeing is the entry of heroes to the Greek-Bulgarian boundary on the mountains capped with snow.This is the Balkans.. I must admit that I spent much time in trying to find this film as DVD.Swedem,Norway,Denmark,Germany,Belgium..nowhere..I did not have chance to request it online.I did not have credit cards..:)) Finally,I found it in mega store Virgin( Thanks Virgin)in Paris. I have soundtrack album of this unforgettable film too. If you haven't seen this film yet, you have missed a lot! By watching and- if possible- purchasing this film, you will have done a great contribution to movie industry which suffers from prevalence of crap movies. I am still under the influence of 'Est Ouest'.I hope u shall feel the same..