Russian Cinema
Early films from the then Soviet Union had a shaky start due to the First World War and the October Revolution in 1917, but Lenin himself and later Stalin recognised the propaganda uses of the medium. At first, with the infrastructure in tatters and virtually no cinemas in which to screen films, shorts expounding communism were carried from place to place often accompanying live speakers. Once Moscow's first cinema was opened at the end of 1921, newsreels became common. But in 1924 Sergei Eisenstein's 'Strike' became the first true Soviet feature. The following year his 'Battleship Potemkin' was launched to great acclaim, highly propagandistic and towing the party line.
Tight restrictions on content continued up until Stalin's death in 1953 and it wasn't until the '60s and '70s that seminal Russian film makers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergo Paradjanov and Nikita Mikhalkov began to find their own voice.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the largely state-funded film industry all but disappeared and is only now beginning to find its feet once more. A few gems found their way to Alice's shelves from this period, such as 'Burnt By The Sun' (1994), 'Prisoner of the Mountains' (1996), and our one and only Estonian film is to be found in this section, for want of a better home, the darkly humourous 'Darkness in Tallinn' (1993). 2002 saw the release of 'Russian Ark' (pictured), shot in one take, it is the longest unedited film ever made.
Beginning (2020)
6.6/10
Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
In a sleepy provincial town, a Jehovah's Witness community is attacked by an extremist group. In the midst of this conflict, the familiar world of Yan... Read more
Cosmoball (2020)
4/10
An enormous spaceship hovers over Earth-this is a stadium, which hosts sports events that resemble soccer but at mind-boggling speeds. The name of the... Read more
The Conquest of Siberia (2019)
5.8/10
A young officer, Ivan Demarin, is sent to the depths of Siberia. Here Ivan meets his first love and, together with his regiment, finds himself drawn i... Read more
Beanpole (Blu-ray) (2019)
7.1/10
Director: Kantemir Balagov
1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women... Read more
Beanpole (2019)
7.1/10
Director: Kantemir Balagov
1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women... Read more
Ashes in the Snow (2018)
6.7/10
Director: Marius A. Markevicius
Starring: Sophie Cookson, Bel Powley
In 1941, a 16-year-old aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin's brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. One girl's pass... Read more
Iron Fury (T-34) (2018)
6.5/10
The Great Patriotic War is going on. Junior Lieutenant Nikolay Ivushkin in a small truck, along with the driver Vasya, barely survived, break away fro... Read more
Loveless (Nelyubov) (2017)
7.7/10
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Aleksey Rozin, Maryana Spivak, Matvei Novikov
Still living under the same roof, the Moscow couple of Boris and Zhenya is in the terrible final stages of a bitter divorce. Under those circumstances... Read more
Polina ( Polina, danser sa vie ) (2016)
6.8/10
Director: Angelin Preljocaj, Valerie Muller
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Anastasia Shevtsova, Alexsey Guskov
A young girl studies classical ballet. As a young woman she turns to modern dance and choreography. A modern dance piece like Fred Astaire and Gene Ke... Read more
Hardcore Henry (2015)
6.7/10
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Starring: Tim Roth, Haley Bennett, Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Andrei Dementiev
A man wakes up in a Moscow laboratory to learn that he's been brought back from the dead as a half-human, half-robotic hybrid. With no memory of his f... Read more