A charming film
Written: Sep 27 '00 (Updated Oct 01 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Funny, charming, with a touch of political and social commentary
Cons: None (unless you dislike subtitles)
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| imbrium's Full Review: Window to Paris |
Window to Paris is the movie I show to friends and family who claim that all Russian movies are dark and depressing. It is a sweet, light-hearted film with some subtle political and social commentary. The main character, Nikolai, is a music teacher at a business high school in St. Petersburg. He is extremely popular with the children but is let go from his job because "music is not an important subject" at this business-oriented school. The city has just granted Nikolai a small, dingy room in a run-down communal apartment. The room previously belonged to an elderly lady who disappeared suddenly the previous year. Despite her long unexplained absence, Nikolai finds her cat, fat and healthy, sitting in his room. Nikolai and his neighbors ignore the cat and set about numbing the pain of life with vodka.
Nikolai and his neighbors pass out in his bedroom. They are awoken by when the elderly former tenant climbs out of the closet and calls for her cat, Maxi. She finds her cat and returns to the closet. Nikolai and company stagger through the closet and onto a rooftop. They do not realize they have left St. Petersburg and there are some genuinely funny moments as they stumble around the streets of Paris.
The next morning, they realize what happened and return to Paris to do what they do best...They transport pianos through the closet and sell them in the streets of Paris. They sell Russian souvenirs. They take anything that isn't nailed down (up to and including a car (a Citroen).
Nikolai finds romance with the French woman who lives in the rooftop apartment bordering the Russians' "window to Paris". It takes her some time to warm up to the Russians who are using her fire escape and traipsing through her apartment without her consent (she even goes to the extreme of getting a dictionary of Russian slang and telling them, in no uncertain terms, how she feels).
As mentioned above, I found some subtle political and social topics in the movie. The Russian adults, despite their difficult, impoverished lives, are not tempted to stay in Paris; they clearly view Russia, troubled as it is, as their home.
There is some demonstration of the friction between the old, communist Russia and the new, capitalistic Russia. There is also an amusing bit showing that while Russians can flourish in Paris, Parisians might not fare so well in the Russia's harsh conditions.
The most touching moment, for me, was the very last scene, which I took to mean a desire to tear down the barriers holding them (and their country) from prosperity.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
imbrium
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Member: Deborah Flores
Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I love reading, languages and zoology. So many interests, so little time.
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