Word: alexei
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Alexei, played by Oleg Menshikov (Prisoner of the Mountains, Burnt by the Sun) leaves France to start a new life in Russia, the country where he was born, with his wife Marie and son Serioja. It doesn't take long for Alexei and Marie to realize they have made a huge mistake. Upon arriving in Russia, in a scene reminiscent of Hitler's concentration camps, Alexei and Marie watch as soldiers separate family members and then shoot a boy that attempts to rejoin his father. Events take a turn for the worse when a KGB officer accuses Marie of being...
...Alexei, in the meantime, adapts to the regime by joining the Communist Party and becomes romantically involved with a woman that shares their apartment. Marie eventually finds an ally in Sacha, a young man whose grandmother was arrested and killed after a neighbor overheard her speaking French with Marie and subsequently denounced her to the secret police...
...Wargnier's film is unrelentingly grim and one-dimensional. Millions of Russians managed to lead interesting and productive lives and even find happiness under Stalin's regime. By portraying Alexei's submission to the Party as a sacrifice he secretly undergoes to help Marie escape, Wargnier offers little more than a commentary on the brutality and rigidity of the Soviet Union. But we can't help wondering about brighter moments in the lives of Wargnier's protagonists...