This only could be a product of a French artist - and a 'serious' one at that. 'Mon voyage d'hiver' comes to my mind as another example of such product.
Now watching your beloved one helplessly slipping out of your hand and eventually see him destroying himself is very heartbreaking. The director finally trying to come to terms with it is understandable and admirable... But of course, he had to go all the way to the barren land of Siberia to do that.
The saving grace of this film is the interviews with local Russians. They respond pretty straightforwardly and sometimes surprisingly insightfully to the questions of the stranger probing about their love and pain - I don't think they were ever asked about such subjects. The director's questions often shows his biased notion of romantic love, but I think it's somewhat inevitable we are all bound to certain bias.
But the director's reminiscent of his lost love is muddled with metaphors, cultural references and fancy strings of words. In contrast to his interviewees' simple and straightforward words, they feel too elaborate and fail to resonate. I hope he learned to face his pain and loss through the journey and encounters in Siberia, but I'm left unsure even after nearly 3 hour long inner-journey has ended.
Now watching your beloved one helplessly slipping out of your hand and eventually see him destroying himself is very heartbreaking. The director finally trying to come to terms with it is understandable and admirable... But of course, he had to go all the way to the barren land of Siberia to do that.
The saving grace of this film is the interviews with local Russians. They respond pretty straightforwardly and sometimes surprisingly insightfully to the questions of the stranger probing about their love and pain - I don't think they were ever asked about such subjects. The director's questions often shows his biased notion of romantic love, but I think it's somewhat inevitable we are all bound to certain bias.
But the director's reminiscent of his lost love is muddled with metaphors, cultural references and fancy strings of words. In contrast to his interviewees' simple and straightforward words, they feel too elaborate and fail to resonate. I hope he learned to face his pain and loss through the journey and encounters in Siberia, but I'm left unsure even after nearly 3 hour long inner-journey has ended.
