Review of East West

Introduction

The promise of a better life is always something to aspire towards and when Russian emigrants are targeted with news of a good future they are naturally interested. So much so that they decide to leave France and head back home. It`s all propaganda; life is not `better` as promised and you suddenly have this queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. There`s no way out, they`ve got you, and if you try and fight you`ll most likely get shot. One young family face these circumstances. The hand reaching out for freedom is violently slapped back and you face a depressing life. Do you let the fires within you die or do you continue to struggle to find liberation against all odds? Times are extremely hard when your every move is watched and everything you say is noted.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic video transfer, the quality is good. There is however some edge enhancement visible in certain scenes as contrast looks like it`s been boosted a bit, but it`s not too bad. Colours are what you might expect for a bleak Russian setting with little actual bright primary colours being used. Despite this intentional feel, the film does play well in other areas to make up for this lack of vibrancy. There`s minimal dirt and grain.

Audio

French Dolby Digital 2.0 is the order of the day and there are no problems with the soundtrack. It`s loud, clear and sounds good with dialogue and music coming out well. There is a subtle musical score that does its job and provides some much needed tension, which had me well and truly in the middle of the scene.

Features

There are trailers for East West as well as a few other world cinema titles. No bios or facts pertaining to the film, which is a shame since the back of the box states, "Star and Director filmographies".

Conclusion

East West is one of those films that I put off watching for two reasons. One, it`s subtitled and I have to be in a certain mood to sit, watch and concentrate with subtitled films. Two, it`s set in 40s/50s Russia against the oppressive Russian regime. It sounds like hard work but I was pleasantly surprised in that I couldn`t turn myself away from the film. In the shadow of the depressing Stalin era, we have a love story trying to battle against all odds with quite a few tense filled moments. It brings home how brutal the Russians were in spying and persecuting all immigrants, including their own Russian`s.

In our story the promise of a new life back home in Russia is so alluring that Russian doctor Alexie (Oleg Minchikov), with his French wife Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and son head back. How quickly things descend into a spiral of lies, threats and oppression once Russian soil is reached. You lose your identity and `belong` to Mother Russia; there`s no escape, you have no passport and if you`re not Russian then the chances are that very special attention is being paid to your movements. If you so much as speak any tongue other than Russian, chances are you`ll be labelled as a spy.

There are spies everywhere, which is enough to give you some serious mental anguish. Promise of the good life is shattered; Marie is trapped and can`t find a way to escape the clutches of the country she`s come to despise in just one day. She`s a fighter though and won`t give up trying to get back to the west. She loves her family and finds it hard to deal with her husband`s seeming complacency in `fitting in` with the Russian way of life and giving up the fight for freedom; this estranges her into the arms of a young man who loves her and her ideals.

The quest for freedom against all odds, no matter how slim, is interesting and this has its fair share of nail biting moments. There`s more that goes on but it would be a shame to spill it all out here. Needless to say that I was hooked from scene one and watched as two hours flew by effortlessly. It`s a well-made, well-told story, which covers a time of about ten years without making the film seem disjointed.

I don`t know how historically accurate the film is and remember very little of my Russian history, however the film is enjoyable. The cast play well together and can hold my attention. Though it`s a shame there are no extras on the disc, this shouldn`t put you off the film. East West is well worth seeing.