This film reminded me of going to the zoo. Here you have a community of individuals that are captured by the thought of a longer life, freedom, and food, only when they arrive (like animals in zoo); they are shocked by the realism that it is not a vacation. Food will be served at your captor's convenience, your captors determine the chain of command as well, and finally, nobody can leave once they arrive. After WWII, under Stalin's regime, Russia invites all defectors back to their homeland, but it is a trick. Est-Ouest tells the story of one family's plight to escape a country that has transformed into a wall-less prison. With the KGB watching their every move, our heroes must risk everything to see the light of freedom once more. Living in a post 9/11 world, one cannot help but begin to see the similarities between what Alexei and Marie and the Arab world in America. While not quite as harsh, we constantly are reminded about the vengeful eye of our government and the illustrious Patriot Act.
Est-Ouest is one of those films where you could either be excited and happy by the results or be bursting into an emotional sea of tears. From the opening credit sequence until the darkened words crept back on the screen, this film captivated me. With the powerful acting, the intense story, and the brilliant work behind the camera, Est-Ouest will pull hard on your emotions and not release you until the very end. Director Régis Wargnier has done a superb job of bringing the history of the characters, as well as the land, straight into your hearts. He does this with some of the most common techniques and a very simple story. This is a story about love and freedom. He uses these simplistic structures to keep us focused on the overall depth and tone of the film. There is this feeling of being in a non-barred cage, unable to escape, unable to be free due to the vengeful eye of your comrades. Wargnier forces you to feel for these characters, from the beginning until the end, because they are no different than you are I. They are placed in a situation like no other, yet somehow so real that we could witness it happen even today.
From our initial meeting with Alexei and Marie on the boat heading to Russia, we are bombarded with a sense of pride, love, and fear all at once. We are unfamiliar with the relationship between Alexei and Marie, but immediately take it as a loving one. Perhaps we are too haste with that decision, because as our story unfolds, as does the bond that connects these two individuals or at least that is what Wargnier would like us to think. Est-Ouest is more than just a story about escaping to freedom, it is a contrast between patience and immediate self-sacrifice. Marie wants to escape the cold world they inhabit immediately, she wants to see Paris again and taste its freedom, while Alexei does as well, just not quite as quickly. He understands the rules of the nation, and slowly sets in motion a plan that will give his wife all that he has promised. It took me until the end of the film to see this contrast between immediate escape and patience. While I thought that it was a great message to show, I felt as if the timing was a bit off throughout the film. I had trouble following the timeline, while I did realize that several years had passed between these horrific events, the only person that seemed to age was Alexei's son. I needed a stronger connection between these riveting scenes so that I could keep track in my mind the time that had passed.
The acting was gorgeous. Oleg Menshikov and Sandrine Bonnaire had such a powerful connection on screen that I could not keep my eyes off them. When they were together you wanted them to be, and when they were apart, you dreamt of them being back together. You cannot say that of many film characters. The late Sergei Bodrov Jr. reminded me of a Russian Brad Pitt. The way he carried himself and acted in this film was similar to that of Mr. Pitt. Together these three key players brought this film to life. While somehow Catherine Deneuve received top billing as well, she didn't seem to carry as much of the weight that I had hoped that she would. While she was vital to the story, I felt she could have brought more to her character. The depth behind her words just wasn't there or just didn't seem to match the emotion of everyone else.
The only other negative aspect that I have with this film was that I felt the story seemed incomplete. There were moments where we were given a nibble to enjoy, but never fully developed those nibbles into bites. There were elements of the story that needed to be developed further, such as the relationship between Sasha and Marie. While I did see some evolution when they were in Russia, it was later that I needed the follow-up. It just felt as if some strings were not tied at the end, but instead left frayed with questions looming in the air.
Overall, I thought this was a very tight drama. There were some flaws with may have caused it to loose its Oscar win in 1999, but nonetheless, the good did outweigh the bad. The characters were intense, the story (outside of the loose ends) was captivating, and being able to see a darker side of the world was thrilling. Simply put, this was a story about freedom and love, and those are themes that transcend throughout history. Est-Ouest is a story for seeing the destructive nature of Stalinism and its impact on humanity.
Grade: **** out of *****
Est-Ouest is one of those films where you could either be excited and happy by the results or be bursting into an emotional sea of tears. From the opening credit sequence until the darkened words crept back on the screen, this film captivated me. With the powerful acting, the intense story, and the brilliant work behind the camera, Est-Ouest will pull hard on your emotions and not release you until the very end. Director Régis Wargnier has done a superb job of bringing the history of the characters, as well as the land, straight into your hearts. He does this with some of the most common techniques and a very simple story. This is a story about love and freedom. He uses these simplistic structures to keep us focused on the overall depth and tone of the film. There is this feeling of being in a non-barred cage, unable to escape, unable to be free due to the vengeful eye of your comrades. Wargnier forces you to feel for these characters, from the beginning until the end, because they are no different than you are I. They are placed in a situation like no other, yet somehow so real that we could witness it happen even today.
From our initial meeting with Alexei and Marie on the boat heading to Russia, we are bombarded with a sense of pride, love, and fear all at once. We are unfamiliar with the relationship between Alexei and Marie, but immediately take it as a loving one. Perhaps we are too haste with that decision, because as our story unfolds, as does the bond that connects these two individuals or at least that is what Wargnier would like us to think. Est-Ouest is more than just a story about escaping to freedom, it is a contrast between patience and immediate self-sacrifice. Marie wants to escape the cold world they inhabit immediately, she wants to see Paris again and taste its freedom, while Alexei does as well, just not quite as quickly. He understands the rules of the nation, and slowly sets in motion a plan that will give his wife all that he has promised. It took me until the end of the film to see this contrast between immediate escape and patience. While I thought that it was a great message to show, I felt as if the timing was a bit off throughout the film. I had trouble following the timeline, while I did realize that several years had passed between these horrific events, the only person that seemed to age was Alexei's son. I needed a stronger connection between these riveting scenes so that I could keep track in my mind the time that had passed.
The acting was gorgeous. Oleg Menshikov and Sandrine Bonnaire had such a powerful connection on screen that I could not keep my eyes off them. When they were together you wanted them to be, and when they were apart, you dreamt of them being back together. You cannot say that of many film characters. The late Sergei Bodrov Jr. reminded me of a Russian Brad Pitt. The way he carried himself and acted in this film was similar to that of Mr. Pitt. Together these three key players brought this film to life. While somehow Catherine Deneuve received top billing as well, she didn't seem to carry as much of the weight that I had hoped that she would. While she was vital to the story, I felt she could have brought more to her character. The depth behind her words just wasn't there or just didn't seem to match the emotion of everyone else.
The only other negative aspect that I have with this film was that I felt the story seemed incomplete. There were moments where we were given a nibble to enjoy, but never fully developed those nibbles into bites. There were elements of the story that needed to be developed further, such as the relationship between Sasha and Marie. While I did see some evolution when they were in Russia, it was later that I needed the follow-up. It just felt as if some strings were not tied at the end, but instead left frayed with questions looming in the air.
Overall, I thought this was a very tight drama. There were some flaws with may have caused it to loose its Oscar win in 1999, but nonetheless, the good did outweigh the bad. The characters were intense, the story (outside of the loose ends) was captivating, and being able to see a darker side of the world was thrilling. Simply put, this was a story about freedom and love, and those are themes that transcend throughout history. Est-Ouest is a story for seeing the destructive nature of Stalinism and its impact on humanity.
Grade: **** out of *****