The Ugly Swans

Nice extension from Dead Man’s Letters as it relates to the fate and future of children. This feels more polished and accessible. I always love Lopushansky’s philosophy so it’s kind of a bummer this film focuses less on that. In fact, the first half reminds me a bit of the languid start of Solaris, with an necessitated importance of some scientific event, here the Aquatters. I really liked it as it went on, especially the school itself. There’s a thick metaphor made toward the end from the protagonist’s daughter about essentially acting the same as everyone else, which I’m assuming links this to some critical post-soviet attitudes toward collectivism. Ultimately interesting but missing a bit of the transcendence I loved in Dead and Visitor.

Nice extension from Dead Man’s Letters as it relates to the fate and future of children. This feels more polished and accessible. I always love Lopushansky’s philosophy so it’s kind of a bummer this film focuses less on that. In fact, the first half reminds me a bit of the languid start of Solaris, with an necessitated importance of some scientific event, here the Aquatters. I really liked it as it went on, especially the school itself. There’s a thick metaphor made toward the end from the protagonist’s daughter about essentially acting the same as everyone else, which I’m assuming links this to some critical post-soviet attitudes toward collectivism. Ultimately interesting but missing a bit of the transcendence I loved in Dead and Visitor.

Love the premise! Even if it felt really cheap in the beginning, it became much more nuanced and engaging than I thought it would be and it had pretty compelling sequences and dialogue. This isn’t up to par with his other movies, but the storytelling and direction is still really solid, especially in the 2nd half. 

Overall,
Great premise, bleak and weird in a good way. Narratively and stylistically similar to another famous Russian director and heavy on the metaphors and symbolism. Feel like I need to watch it in better quality. Worth checking out!

Love the premise! Even if it felt really cheap in the beginning, it became much more nuanced and engaging than I thought it would be and it had pretty compelling sequences and dialogue. This isn’t up to par with his other movies, but the storytelling and direction is still really solid, especially in the 2nd half. 

Overall,
Great premise, bleak and weird in a good way. Narratively and stylistically similar to another famous Russian director and heavy on the metaphors and symbolism. Feel like I need to watch it in better quality. Worth checking out!