moonlite-r Reviews

Flights in Dreams and in Reality (1983)

An underdiagnosed disorder

[11 September 2023]

I can't think of another well-made and realistic depiction of borderline personality disorder in men more convincing than this one. It's like a psychiatry textbook classic case. And while the disorder has been frequently shown in films, it's been almost exclusively a female role.

And who can fit as a male patient of BPD more than the charming Yankovsky. Charismatic, flirtatious, energetic, impulsive, feeling lonely in groups with multiple intense interpersonal relationships, unstable self-image, risk-taking behaviour with potential self harm, episodes of intense mood swings and neediness. Almost all scenes are eloquently illustrative and diagnostic..The typical hysterical peformance when he fell to the ground to avoid being abandoned by his young lover..the moment he held his kid assuring his paternity to himself...All were fabulously performed by Yankovsky. The skillful director together with Yankovsky's superb talent and unmatched acting skills must have been supplemented by observation of multiple examples of the disorder .. Didn't he once say how he watched his cat staring at him and slowly closing his eyes carefully in order to put a similar scene in one of his upcoming films...A good actor ,just like a good doctor, must be a good observer.

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980)

Astonishingly overrated

[2 December 2022]

Why too many people liked this is beyond my comprehension.

Artistically too dull..script is boring to death..I had to split it over 3 days because couldnt bear more than half an hour of this at a time.. A story about a punch of irrational & mostly stupid people who are meant to be heroes or I dont know maybe role models.. The take home message is: if you are unable to make a single right decision about your personal life, it's absolutely fine..just cope with it & even make a worse idiot of yourself & if you had a single e.g. Career success just get rid of it you are not worthy of it.

Not a single character did good to him/herself..A presumably talented football player sank into alcoholism..an idiotic blonde crook desperate to find a guy to marry, ended up as a penniless divorcee. A tv show making socialite got himself a standstill career with an unethical self-centred and failing personal life.

The heroine who managed to finally lead a reasonable life after being misled into a messy life for a long time, first by her liar friend then by a total stranger whom she knew only for a few nights though made her pregnant. She had to meet another total stranger in order to finish her up and make her finally realise that she is not worthy of any pride or respect. The stranger. Himself who for some unknown reason is supposed to be the prince charming, is more like an ageing thug, who for a vaguely said (but actually obvious) reason had his wife abandoning him and is preying for another wife in hope of solving his psychologic issues (happily found).

The most, somehow, normal couple is the shy girl who married an average country boy and seem to have a decent humble life, in the most balanced relationship among all those losers.

Delo bylo v Penkove (1958)

Ordinary story..but great performance

[4 October 2022]

Watching this in the 2000s, the story seems so traditional & ordinary, especially given the expected end (particularly at that period of time). But if one is fond of skillful acting and is enthusiastic about watching a gifted actor, this one isn't to be missed. Of course it's a must watch for Slava Tikhonov fans. But those who have watched him only in the epic Bondrachuk "war & peace" or in his most famous spy role in "seventeen moments of spring" would be surprised to find out how he's such a talent to make a totally remote role; a mischievous, barely educated & impulsive peasant, yet with an outstanding romance performance. The story was revolutionary in those conservative early soviet times, given its subtle criticism of system bureaucracy as well as the then perceived daring realistic romantic scenes in which Tikhonov with help of the director discovered some of his powerful, yet delicate emotional gestures. He definitely put a lot of time & effort to make such a different character from himself convincing. Watching him eating, spitting, joking, refusing discipline and sarcastically reacting to criticism is entertaining in itself.

War and Peace, Part I: Andrei Bolkonsky (1965)

Most splendid war & peace

[29 September 2022]

In addition to being the most faithful adaptation of the novel, this work is really a marvelous masterpiece of direction. Not only the battle scenes were realistic and fascinating, but the detailed portrayal of Moscow's looting, destruction, vandalism and humiliation at the hands of the invaders was striking and expensively arranged that I played those scenes repeatedly to mark all the details.

Bondrachuk as Besukhov was so fit in the role that one forgets he's in fact the director.

The only thing I could never comprehend is why Slava Tikhonov considered this as his worst performance that he thought to quit acting and was surprised when Bondrachuk offered him another role afterwards ... I believe he made a fine Andrey, definitely better than all other known versions. Of course not his own best role but that's related to both the novel itself as well as to the overwhelming cinematographic visuals which make any individual performance just a tiny drop in the ocean of splendid scenes.

Anna German (2012–2013)

A real-life tragic epic that was skillfully retouched

[6 June 2021]

I have been listening to a few songs of «Anna German» for a while before watching this. Her vibrant smile and powerful voice rendered me totally unsuspecting of an underlying tragedy.

Her life story can actually make a stand-alone sensational drama with no much effort. However; the making was so fine that it turned it into an absorbing piece.

The smart intro of each episode gradually completing the picture, the smooth transition between different periods and places, the costumes, the shooting and the acting. Everything was touching and convincing.

Several moral, political, psychological and spiritual questions arise throughout Anna's life journey with many human choices been made in response. Those questions and choices were not deeply discussed, judged or answered, instead their sequelae were traced to the very end. Racism, persecution, war, post-war, obsessive love, unconditional love, sacrifice in love, religion, family, fear of audiences, artists abuse and exploitation, the dark side of fame and publicity, the triumph of business over true art, and still a long list of issues, all in a single woman's life.

The real-life timeless fairy-tale of her and husband together with her true voice in the songs used, both add a heart-warming touch.

One can watch this over and over even if not familiar with the lovely singer.

Enti Meen (2019)

A surprisingly well-made Lebanese drama

[23 August 2019]

Interesting work. The writer got a smart approach to both the Lebanese civil war era as well as the contemporary life of ordinary Lebanese people. No patriarchal take-home messages about the war period..and no "ivory tower" Lebanese elite's stories.

The writer who is also a lead actress, dare to avoid the overdone look commonly observed among Lebanese actresses.. looking convincing as an ordinary struggling woman.

It's a bit of a critical review of the civil war.. a bit of a portrayal of the socioeconomic difficulties within modern Lebanon plus a "light" psychological tinge.. all in a nice rom-com setting.

Price of Passion (2017–2018)

Not another Turkish-Style stereotype romance

[17 June 2018]

Black and White Love is not an ordinary love story of two young people attracted to each other, walk along the beach holding each other's hands, exchange some silly jokes and kisses and have some intimate scenes to tickle the audience's desires before a villain enters their "utopia" spilling ink and setting fire forcing them to fight back or unnecessarily suffer with lengthy boring cycles of unconvincing reconciliation and separation over hundreds of episodes.

"Siyah Beyaz Ask" is rather a tense and an unusual encounter between two apparently different people who by no means could have been partners otherwise. Having to know each other and to live with each other sparked an inner battle inside each of them with his own mind and feelings, expressed as a battle with one another as well as with others.

Knowing each other was the only way to learn about themselves, their fears, their possibilities and their soles. On their journey towards love they are mainly fighting themselves rather than fighting villains and their love had to get through a lot of questioning, insecurities, sacrifices and crises before being the major and most fixed fact of their lives.

The outline of the characters is finely written (thanks to the two initial writers), yet the main credit goes to the actors and the third (script) writer : Ibrahim Celikkol put too much heart and power into every scene, and whether he is a killer in action, a lover in great despair, an estranged brother, a human being at war with his own feelings or a devastated person in a crisis of fury.. in all these he just acted like nobody. None of his other roles compares to his portrayal of Ferhat Aslan. Most importantly he added new aspects to the main character "Ferhat" both inside and outwards, starting with his vigorous portrayal of Ferhat's silent inner torment and not ending with the major effort he did to add a self-developed vocal tone to match Ferhat's specialised vocabulary and idioms.

Birce had been particularly excellent for the screwball comedy romance scenes as well as for the awakening dialogues when her character "Asli" touched deep into Ferhat's wounds (actually can't imagine any other Turkish actress for these particular types of scenes).

Despite being good-looking, and unlike other well-known Turkish actors, both actors didn't rely much on the way they look (apart from two intruding and unnecessary scenes of Ferhat's body boxing and bathing.) They rather dare appear in an unpleasant look (as when Ferhat tried to impersonate a beast "Çirkin" when he had been looking at himself in the mirror).

The third script writer "Erkan Birgören" did a great job writing sarcastic and powerful dialogues instead of the commonly used romantic dialogues under a starry night's moon or the philosophical conversations about love that no real lover uses. He was a real bonus for the series.

I rarely give a 9-10 but I believe a 9-10 for this series is well earned.