Post by davidhr on Apr 16, 2013 12:46:22 GMT -5
I've opened this thread as a place to provide reviews for this movie. I've started with mine; feel free to add yours, a full review, a comment, whatever...
David
Review of “Mademoiselle Zhivago”, the Movie
This is a beautifully produced, magical-looking production in which Alan Badoev has made Lara look more beautiful, and more haggard, than she ever has before. It is emotionally intense, so much so that even though it only runs 51 minutes (in the version made available on the Internet), it feels like a full meal. If given sufficient publicity it has the power to do what Badoev mentioned was a goal, to show people that 1)Lara can be a great actress; 2)Krutoy writes beautiful music; and 3)Badoev is a wonderfully accomplished director.
Although Lara has taken to saying this is not a movie, just a series of music videos, in fact there is an underlying theme that connects the disparate segments. Everyone agrees that it is supposed to represent different past lives of the same individual (Lara’s character). In Buddhist doctrine, the two fundamental components of reincarnation are balance and karma. What we do in one life is balanced by what we experience in another, and karma (literally, action in sanskrit) states that we reap what we sow.
The movie begins with Lara as a prostitute (song: Toccami) in which she feeds off of, and contributes to, the carnal lust of her male companions. This is followed by a life in which she is now the victim of her carnal appetite, as she cannot restrain herself from having an affair with a dashing stranger, leading to his death, and to hers (song: Desperate Housewife). In the process she hurts her (admittedly stuffy) husband; so in the next life shown, she is beaten by a husband (song: Llora). Having no power in that life, she goes for the maximum power in the next, as a vampire (song: Mademoiselle Hyde). What does she learn from all this? Detachment (a Buddhist goal). In the last video, while romantically involved (with Max Barskih), at his tragic accidental death, she has experienced enough to be able to walk away (song: Russian Fairytale).
In another cycle of events, in the clip that was not included in the free distribution but apparently is on the DVD, Lara abandons her child (song: Mama). So then in the concentration camp, she has her child taken from her (song: Lou). And having learned the value of children, she is made to fight for them, both her unborn child and a small boy, in the clip involving terrorism (song: Ever Ever Land). The result is that she successfully gives birth.
Violence and destruction is another cycle. She revels in it, as the vampire. She suffers from it, beaten by her husband, shot by concentration camp guards, the collateral damage of terrorists. It teaches her that it needs to be ended, for the sake of humans and the planet, a point she gets across to the children in school (song: Mr. President). Result: they put down their weapons.
Ultimately, the sequence of lives teaches her to love without excessive attachment and lust, the value of children, and the sanctity of life. Good lessons, learned through experience.
The cinematography and visual effects are quite stunning, a much higher quality than one would expect given the cost of the production (under $3,000,000). Lara is brilliant, beautifully depicting her characters’ extreme range of emotional contrasts, with a great deal of self-presence. The camera loves her, and one could easily see her being a quite successful actress. And the videos make the music stand out even more than they did on the CD.
The biggest complaint about the movie is that it is violent (true, and sometimes what may seem to be gratuitously so, although set to music, there is a certain poetry to even the most gruesome scenes). Badoev has said that he wanted to show events as they really are, things people want to avoid seeing. One could say that at times it is overdone, as in the concentration camp scene, where women are shot; but given that 6,000,000 Jews were killed in those camps, Badoev has a point.
Another complaint is that there is no obvious connection between the videos. That was addressed above conceptually, at least from my perspective, but in addition, stylistically the original movie reportedly contained ‘Ascolata la voce’ as a connecting link so that the lives grade into one another. Perhaps it will be restored on the DVD. And there was also a final video in which Lara remembers all the past lives, presumably emphasizing the lessons experienced along the way. Hopefully that too will be on the DVD.
Was this worth waiting for? In my opinion, viewing it is a meaningful experience, with the bonus that we get to see Lara in all sorts of situations, giving her vitality and presence to each scene. One looks for her. That alone would make it worthwhile, but the fact that it is so beautifully done cinematically, and is so engrossing, carries it above (my) expectations. It would be good to see the full movie, as might be available on a DVD in June (in Russia, at least), although this version gets across the main points, as Badoev himself has said. Hopefully Lara will eventually appreciate this; if not, she may have to live another life where she is forced to look at man’s cruelty to man directly!
David
David
Review of “Mademoiselle Zhivago”, the Movie
This is a beautifully produced, magical-looking production in which Alan Badoev has made Lara look more beautiful, and more haggard, than she ever has before. It is emotionally intense, so much so that even though it only runs 51 minutes (in the version made available on the Internet), it feels like a full meal. If given sufficient publicity it has the power to do what Badoev mentioned was a goal, to show people that 1)Lara can be a great actress; 2)Krutoy writes beautiful music; and 3)Badoev is a wonderfully accomplished director.
Although Lara has taken to saying this is not a movie, just a series of music videos, in fact there is an underlying theme that connects the disparate segments. Everyone agrees that it is supposed to represent different past lives of the same individual (Lara’s character). In Buddhist doctrine, the two fundamental components of reincarnation are balance and karma. What we do in one life is balanced by what we experience in another, and karma (literally, action in sanskrit) states that we reap what we sow.
The movie begins with Lara as a prostitute (song: Toccami) in which she feeds off of, and contributes to, the carnal lust of her male companions. This is followed by a life in which she is now the victim of her carnal appetite, as she cannot restrain herself from having an affair with a dashing stranger, leading to his death, and to hers (song: Desperate Housewife). In the process she hurts her (admittedly stuffy) husband; so in the next life shown, she is beaten by a husband (song: Llora). Having no power in that life, she goes for the maximum power in the next, as a vampire (song: Mademoiselle Hyde). What does she learn from all this? Detachment (a Buddhist goal). In the last video, while romantically involved (with Max Barskih), at his tragic accidental death, she has experienced enough to be able to walk away (song: Russian Fairytale).
In another cycle of events, in the clip that was not included in the free distribution but apparently is on the DVD, Lara abandons her child (song: Mama). So then in the concentration camp, she has her child taken from her (song: Lou). And having learned the value of children, she is made to fight for them, both her unborn child and a small boy, in the clip involving terrorism (song: Ever Ever Land). The result is that she successfully gives birth.
Violence and destruction is another cycle. She revels in it, as the vampire. She suffers from it, beaten by her husband, shot by concentration camp guards, the collateral damage of terrorists. It teaches her that it needs to be ended, for the sake of humans and the planet, a point she gets across to the children in school (song: Mr. President). Result: they put down their weapons.
Ultimately, the sequence of lives teaches her to love without excessive attachment and lust, the value of children, and the sanctity of life. Good lessons, learned through experience.
The cinematography and visual effects are quite stunning, a much higher quality than one would expect given the cost of the production (under $3,000,000). Lara is brilliant, beautifully depicting her characters’ extreme range of emotional contrasts, with a great deal of self-presence. The camera loves her, and one could easily see her being a quite successful actress. And the videos make the music stand out even more than they did on the CD.
The biggest complaint about the movie is that it is violent (true, and sometimes what may seem to be gratuitously so, although set to music, there is a certain poetry to even the most gruesome scenes). Badoev has said that he wanted to show events as they really are, things people want to avoid seeing. One could say that at times it is overdone, as in the concentration camp scene, where women are shot; but given that 6,000,000 Jews were killed in those camps, Badoev has a point.
Another complaint is that there is no obvious connection between the videos. That was addressed above conceptually, at least from my perspective, but in addition, stylistically the original movie reportedly contained ‘Ascolata la voce’ as a connecting link so that the lives grade into one another. Perhaps it will be restored on the DVD. And there was also a final video in which Lara remembers all the past lives, presumably emphasizing the lessons experienced along the way. Hopefully that too will be on the DVD.
Was this worth waiting for? In my opinion, viewing it is a meaningful experience, with the bonus that we get to see Lara in all sorts of situations, giving her vitality and presence to each scene. One looks for her. That alone would make it worthwhile, but the fact that it is so beautifully done cinematically, and is so engrossing, carries it above (my) expectations. It would be good to see the full movie, as might be available on a DVD in June (in Russia, at least), although this version gets across the main points, as Badoev himself has said. Hopefully Lara will eventually appreciate this; if not, she may have to live another life where she is forced to look at man’s cruelty to man directly!
David
