Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1/23/19)
In the past I've complained about when a character gets introduced into a film halfway or further into the movie. But today when Goga got introduced I really didn't care too much. It almost fit his bizarre character to sort of stumble into the plot an hour and a half after it's been going on. This movie just made me feel good. While there were some questionable 70's era comments relating to sex and abuse and some scenes in the first half were legitimately hard to watch, the fact that everyone sort of got what was coming to them in the end resulted in a good feeling of Catharsis. Like even Lyudmila, who I thought got off a little bit too easily for seemingly ruining Katya's life earlier in the film got what was coming to her in a way even though she ended up in the exact same position she started in. I liked the complexity and variety in their relationships. I think it demonstrated a lot of bad sides of relationships and just romantic culture in general without getting too heavy handed. Nothing was too serious the whole film had an air of lightheartedness and that was really appreciated. I'm happy that a film like this could show some really tough subjects like a rape (or something very close to it), attempted abortion, and abandonment, while still speckling comedy into these scenes as well and keeping the tone overall lighthearted.
I loved seeing Katya get successful and I loved seeing her get back at her ex-lover, it felt so satisfying especially in the way that they sort of had history repeat itself in a lot of ways. Scenes from the first half played out again yet reversed in the second, even some lines were repeated. This was clever and a really good way to sort of visually show revenge in a way. The mirroring of scenes where before our hero was hurt we now see them triumph in the same setting it was very interesting and a good technique.
One thing that I found interesting was the emphasis on intelligence in the film. It reminded me of Chapaev in some ways, where Chapaev and his Commisar would sort of get into intellectual pissing contests. It was humorous then and it is humorous in this film as well. The sort of awkwardness that the athlete feels at the table full of scientists and artists is a good example. He gets praised while having never gone to school and was so far removed from academia he felt most out of place at that dinner party. After he is praised it cuts to the old fashioned professor, or scientist, I can't remember what he was, he had money and represented times that have passed. A spirit of competition was really alive in this film and I think this plays into the odd mentions of intellectualism. From the opening shots of the Olympic stadium, to the inclusion of an athlete character, even to the odd spirit of Lyudmila going after the best man she could get her hands on.
The three main themes for me in this film were, competition, inversion, and revenge. These all play into each other in quite interesting ways and while the film itself is about relationships and life and all that, but these themes come up time and time again. An instance of competition I like is the awkward dance scene with the two girls and all their gentlemen suitors and the old man who feels out of place keeps trying to impress them but is so quickly shunned to the background he finds himself hiding in the bathroom on multiple occasions. A good example of inversion I liked is the funny that happens with Katya where at first she has to hide her low position in life from the cameraman to at the end having to hide her higher position at the factory from Goga. Finally, while there are so many examples of revenge and Catharsis, my favorite has to be when Katya leaves the cameraman on the same park bench where she left him. This scene encompasses all three main themes. He didn't want her before but now that she is better he is all over her, he left her on the bench then, she left him on the bench now, and the revenge aspect which I have mentioned.
I enjoyed this film a lot and while I did not see too much symbolism aside from gender issues as well as interesting ideas into generational relations, one idea really stood out to me and it ties into the whole intellectual aspect that plays into this film heavily. That is the idea as TV as the bad guy. The cameraman represents TV, he is loud and mean, and he just advertises everywhere he goes. He boasts that the TV will wipe everything out, we know now that it really didn't to the extent that he was talking of, but him as the embodiment of TV, sort of wiped everything else out in his own life. He has so much faith in the TV that he has no faith left for himself. I just liked the arguments that he started when he claimed that there would be no books or films in the future, and how all the women complained that men only watched TV nowadays. The fact that the cameraman was essentially the villain of the film, tells me that TV is the villain in this world we are seeing. It steals the men and corrupts the youth and it threatens everything we hold dear. Sort of like the cameraman in this film. I think this also adds a level or revenge and catharsis to this film, as it is a movie being shown in cinemas it is sort of a testament against what the cameraman is preaching. It is a film standing in defiance of the boast that TV will kill all other entertainment and I found this very interesting.
Overall I really enjoyed this film. I loved the characters, I enjoyed the dialogue and the jokes, the setting was wonderful and the pain all felt real. I felt more emotional "gutpunches" in this film than in Ballad of a Soldier and that is what the criticisms and reviews wouldn't shut up about. This film was colorful and showed the importance of bad times if we ever want have really good ones and I think that is an incredible message. One thing that I really enjoyed as well that I didn't mention earlier is the shot in the car riding back from Goga's picnic there is a sort of Graduate-esque shot where Goga can't keep his eyes off her and I really enjoyed that scene. I loved its detailed depiction of some colorful and lesser known Russian traditions that made the film feel all the more real. Also one last note I had is that this film really reminded me of the film Brooklyn in a very good way and i found that interesting as in that film it is yet another reversal where the woman almost hurts the man first. I enjoyed Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and I can very much see why it is a popular film, it is loaded with moments of catharsis and who doesn't love that.
I loved seeing Katya get successful and I loved seeing her get back at her ex-lover, it felt so satisfying especially in the way that they sort of had history repeat itself in a lot of ways. Scenes from the first half played out again yet reversed in the second, even some lines were repeated. This was clever and a really good way to sort of visually show revenge in a way. The mirroring of scenes where before our hero was hurt we now see them triumph in the same setting it was very interesting and a good technique.
One thing that I found interesting was the emphasis on intelligence in the film. It reminded me of Chapaev in some ways, where Chapaev and his Commisar would sort of get into intellectual pissing contests. It was humorous then and it is humorous in this film as well. The sort of awkwardness that the athlete feels at the table full of scientists and artists is a good example. He gets praised while having never gone to school and was so far removed from academia he felt most out of place at that dinner party. After he is praised it cuts to the old fashioned professor, or scientist, I can't remember what he was, he had money and represented times that have passed. A spirit of competition was really alive in this film and I think this plays into the odd mentions of intellectualism. From the opening shots of the Olympic stadium, to the inclusion of an athlete character, even to the odd spirit of Lyudmila going after the best man she could get her hands on.
The three main themes for me in this film were, competition, inversion, and revenge. These all play into each other in quite interesting ways and while the film itself is about relationships and life and all that, but these themes come up time and time again. An instance of competition I like is the awkward dance scene with the two girls and all their gentlemen suitors and the old man who feels out of place keeps trying to impress them but is so quickly shunned to the background he finds himself hiding in the bathroom on multiple occasions. A good example of inversion I liked is the funny that happens with Katya where at first she has to hide her low position in life from the cameraman to at the end having to hide her higher position at the factory from Goga. Finally, while there are so many examples of revenge and Catharsis, my favorite has to be when Katya leaves the cameraman on the same park bench where she left him. This scene encompasses all three main themes. He didn't want her before but now that she is better he is all over her, he left her on the bench then, she left him on the bench now, and the revenge aspect which I have mentioned.
I enjoyed this film a lot and while I did not see too much symbolism aside from gender issues as well as interesting ideas into generational relations, one idea really stood out to me and it ties into the whole intellectual aspect that plays into this film heavily. That is the idea as TV as the bad guy. The cameraman represents TV, he is loud and mean, and he just advertises everywhere he goes. He boasts that the TV will wipe everything out, we know now that it really didn't to the extent that he was talking of, but him as the embodiment of TV, sort of wiped everything else out in his own life. He has so much faith in the TV that he has no faith left for himself. I just liked the arguments that he started when he claimed that there would be no books or films in the future, and how all the women complained that men only watched TV nowadays. The fact that the cameraman was essentially the villain of the film, tells me that TV is the villain in this world we are seeing. It steals the men and corrupts the youth and it threatens everything we hold dear. Sort of like the cameraman in this film. I think this also adds a level or revenge and catharsis to this film, as it is a movie being shown in cinemas it is sort of a testament against what the cameraman is preaching. It is a film standing in defiance of the boast that TV will kill all other entertainment and I found this very interesting.
Overall I really enjoyed this film. I loved the characters, I enjoyed the dialogue and the jokes, the setting was wonderful and the pain all felt real. I felt more emotional "gutpunches" in this film than in Ballad of a Soldier and that is what the criticisms and reviews wouldn't shut up about. This film was colorful and showed the importance of bad times if we ever want have really good ones and I think that is an incredible message. One thing that I really enjoyed as well that I didn't mention earlier is the shot in the car riding back from Goga's picnic there is a sort of Graduate-esque shot where Goga can't keep his eyes off her and I really enjoyed that scene. I loved its detailed depiction of some colorful and lesser known Russian traditions that made the film feel all the more real. Also one last note I had is that this film really reminded me of the film Brooklyn in a very good way and i found that interesting as in that film it is yet another reversal where the woman almost hurts the man first. I enjoyed Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and I can very much see why it is a popular film, it is loaded with moments of catharsis and who doesn't love that.
I feel like Gosha was introduced at the perfect time. It showed all the failed relationships that Katya was involved in, and it ended up being some random dirty guy on a train that she fell in love with. I also feel like he didn't need much time to develop, since his personality was so bold.
ReplyDeleteAnd the film also does a very good job of setting the scene and the mood right before Gosha hits the scene. Indeed, it almost seems as if we've seen the tragic end of Katya's unfufilled life--and a connoisseur of Russian cinema could be forgiven if she or he thought that might be the end of the film! But there's a little bit of an Abraham-Sarah it's-never-too-late component that Gosha helps bring to things--along with the purpose, energy, and impulsiveness (for all of its flaws).
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Gosha showed up at the right time in the film, like you said above, to contrast the other failed relations, for me introducing characters later on in the film gives the narrative a sense of anxiety.
ReplyDelete