By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Ivan Vyrypayev
Starring: Maksim Ushakov | Mikhail Okunev | Polina Agureyeva
Original language title: Eyforiya
Country: russia
Year: 2007
Running time: 74
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847877/
Bruce says: “Aside from two or three lovely moments, EUPHORIA is a rather grim and dreary film. Filmed on the steppes of Russia, the terrain is bleak and the story, bleaker. After meeting Vera at a wedding months earlier, Pavel decides to go to her house and declare his love. The fact that she has a husband and a small child makes no difference.
“Pavel sets off on the Don River to go to her house. The terrain is flat with tall brown grasses trembling in the breeze. Vera is surprised to see Pavel and is somewhat passive about his advances. Pavel insists that he is coming back later to fetch her and he is true to his word. Vera acquiesces. Her husband Valeri (Mikhail Okunev) catches on quickly and is determined to hunt the lovebirds down with his shotgun.
“A beautiful nocturnal shot of Vera and Pavel floating down the Don in a boat with the stars reflected in the water around them is nothing short of breathtaking. However, EUPHORIA tends to romanticize even its most mundane moments. At times those efforts appear quite amateurish. Vyrpayev seems influenced by Sokurov (MOTHER AND SON) and Zvyagintsev (THE RETURN) and attempts to capture their thematic loneliness and their characters’ inner turmoil. Alas, he is not up to the task. 2 cats
“EUPHORIA screened at the 2007 New Directors/New Films festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”