User Reviews

In 1946, Stalin invites Russian émigrés to return, in patriotic fervor, to help rebuild from WWII. Unbeknownst to them, all returnees are considered imperialists and spies, and are to be treated accordingly. "East-West" explores this nightmare scenario through the eyes of a family who returned; a Russian doctor, his French wife and their young son. Because of his doctoring skills he is spared the Gulag or execution, but his life in Kiev is certainly not what his wife is used to. The collision of cultures, the hardships, and the Stalinist tyranny all take a deep toll as they struggle to survive and escape.

Dark, and claustrophobic, this is a gripping tale from beginning to end. And it is in the end a great love story, of devotion and sacrifice. At the showing I attended the tears flowed freely in the audience. I recommend it highly.

"East/West" ventures into a time (post WWII) when the Iron Curtain shrouded Stalin's Soviet Union and a curtain of suspicion and distrust shrouded every soviet life. The film follows a French family of three as the patriarch returns to his Russian homeland where he and his family are held prisoners of conscience by communism. The film focuses on the characters, their silent suffering and yearning for freedom while living in a state of constant paranoia as it tears husband from wife, mother from son, and heroism emerges from the most unlikely places. "East/West" is an entertaining watch for all and, though fictional, offers a sense of what the Cold War was about.

Alexei, the young doctor who decides to go back to the Soviet Union after a generous invitation of Josef Satlin, should have had his head examined! After all, as a professional he seemed to have been doing well in France. With all the best intentions, he takes his wife and young son to the old country only to find himself trapped in a totalitarian system that made him and the family virtual prisoners.

"Est Ouest", directed by Regis Wargnier, shows in vivid detail what Alexei and Marie, his wife, have to endure when they are taken to Kiev, where he is assigned. Little did Alexei and Marie knew about the dismal housing problems of those years when the family is given a large room in an apartment that is being shared by five families!

The film concentrates in the eventual break down of the marriage caused by the environment. Alexei ends up having an affair with Olga, another flat mate, and Marie falls in love for the poor Sacha, a young man who is left alone in the world when his grandmother dies. Marie blames Alexei for all the misery they have to endure; she is regarded as a foreigner, but she can't even go back to her native France.

The film has an ironic end when Marie, helped by Gabrielle, a French actress, who is sympathetic to her fellow countryman. Marie realizes at the end of Alexei's tremendous sacrifice and ultimate punishment when she and her son are able to escape the communist hell that has imprisoned them.

Great acting in general by Sandrine Bonnaire, who as Marie, is totally credible. Oleg Menshikov, makes the best of Alexei, at times appearing uncaring and selfish, but who deeply cared for his wife. Sergei Bodrov Jr. is also excellent as Sacha, the young boy in love with Marie.

The film was shot in drab color, perhaps to emphasize the hard times during the Stalin regime. One gets only glimpses of some of the splendid, and opulent interiors, whenever the action takes place in one of those buildings or theaters. Unfortunately, the principals of this story never really had a chance to enjoy anything because the nightmare that became their lives under that totalitarian regime.

The cathartic nature of this film was such that found myself unable even to cry until the credits began their long slow march across the screen, and even then getting up out of my seat was not an option. I don't think any other film has made such a profound and immediate impact on me.

Set in the years following Stalin's invitation to former expatriates to return to their native Russia –a call many answered, blissfully unaware of the dire consequences their decision would have- it is filled with the Russian spirit that sees people stubbornly persevering, and touched with the French one that not only looks for escape but insists upon it.

Some films would be rendered incomprehensible simply by the sheer amount of quiet action that here, thankfully, only adds to the audience's investment in the film, without losing focus. It was unquestionably the best film I have seen in recent memory. It is the closest I have ever felt to experiencing a Gesamtkunstwerk in a movie theatre.

I went to this film without realizing that it told a story which had parallels in the history of my own Russian-emigrant family. My grandmother's brother repatriated under Stalin, had his goods and land confiscated, died in Siberia, and lost his two young sons to the Soviet Army.

The film is absorbing and disturbing. The most shooting is done at eye level. There is a true sense of witness for the viewer in a very elemental, unavoidable way. Strangely, I think this improved the experience of the predictable horrors of life in Stalin's USSR. It made the experience seem, for me, much more present and less sentimental.

The performances were very good. Ms. Bonnaire was totally believable and very likeable, despite the naivete and hysteria of her character. Mr. Menshikov played Alexei with great complexity and nuance, which allowed me to be less judgmental and to see his irrational need to belong among his own people as a very natural inclination. Mr. Bodrov, a Russian Brad-Pitt-alike, was very magnetic in his role as Sacha.

I simply love to see Ms. Deneuve in any role, but her playing a mature French actress with admirable values was very moving for me. She carries her own maturity so regally. She was perfect for this role.

I think this film is a wonderful model of cross-cultural cinema. I would like to see more films of this type in the US.

Shot in dark tones of the Soviet popular colors, this movie will transport you right into the heart of the Communist system during the 1950's Stalin period. Within half an hour you'll be sorry that you came, because the director will make you fear for the unlikely heroes. You'll be holding to your chair and crave for the safety of your favorite TV soap.

To call it a political thriller is not doing justice to the emotional overtone of the story of Marie and her husband Alexey. Director's rendition of the Marie's courage hidden in the simplest acts is quite dazzling. That, and good acting is the major "special effect" of this film, theme of which cannot be dismissed as a history to be forgotten. A system similar to the Soviet communism may sprout in any country, and the fate of the condemned people may depend on the valour of both insiders and the citizen of the free world.

Don't worry, the movie is not moralizing. Do yourself a favor, go to see it - if the political system of your country permits you to do so (if it does not, smuggle it in and invite all your friends).

This is excellent-quality movie from technical and historical part. I also liked the realism of situation in post-World War II Soviet Union. I'm suggesting to watch that strong drama everyone who is interesting in history or good storyline. What I didn't like is too much time skipping in the second part of the movie and too slow-on-action part one. It seems like there were two different directors, who tried to bring together one plot. Another disadvantage is accent of some of international actors when they are speaking Russian, however actors play really good and naturally. Overall, I did enjoy the movies, however I didn't suggest it to the people who just want to see action or comedy. This is serious drama and your mood must be the same.

I sat in the cinema after the credits had rolled almost unable to bring myself to leave, get in my car and drive home. I was completely overwhelmed by this intense film and its in your face storyline. Whether the story the film was based on was true or not, I thought the performances of all the actors and actresses were exceptional, the photography was excellent and overall though not a film that could be called 'enjoyable' because it was so sad, I was intensely moved and gave it 9/10.

The aesthetic options this movie takes will make you immerse into the epoch. From the beginning, when they get down from the ship and the music and military marches don't sound as they should, but muffled and empty, you could see reality was going to take its toll on the couple's dreams.

While quite implausible (Sasha's crossing, Aleksei Golovin getting scots-free from all he did) the villains are not as dumb and cartoonish as in other films of, say, Nazy Germany.

Sandrine Bonnaire is fine. Unrecognizable from her half wit Sophie from La Cérémonie (1995) as well as the sleuth in Chabrol's Au coeur du mensonge, she's radiantly beautiful here. Only later, watching some scant pictures at IMDb, did I realize that her nose, for instance, isn't exactly "nice". Good for her, her smile erases our rationality :).

I found the film surprising, specially since the couple of main characters don't perform according to expectations. Aleksei, while the honest bright physician, falls in the clutches of a believable Olga (as Tatiana Doguileva) without much ado. And Marie is not immune to Russian charm either, forgetting her son at her charge to boot.

What I really didn't like is the heroic format of Catherine Deneuve's actress turned "freedom fighter" Gabrielle Develay. As if the director, writer etc. had to erase with one elbow what had been (well) written with the other one, this character comes out of the blue to be the only "hope of liberty at western capitalism". As one character says to her: "You hardly know this person you're risking your life for!". Besides the tricks for a Disney movie, the "last minute efforts", the stupidest guards on earth etc, I suspect the KGB didn't run the country or kill more than 20 million people and could have not realized that, for instance, once Marie first gave sure signs of "dissidence" and then did what she did (Sasha), she wasn't going to try more mischief. So Sasha's story, from his swimming talents (like a bad Hollywood movie), the state official realizing his family had all been traitors and him being let free to wander in the country, then his standing at the French Embassy like if somebody in his condition could really barter for anything (there were millions of people in the same condition).

The dismal housing problems are accurately depicted, as well as the troubles of "too many people living under a single roof". Of course, like in all big productions, visuals are fine (like Sasha's training at a beautiful cold river), as the epoch (the buildings, cars, clothing, the already mentioned crowded flat, even the "expensive Bulgarian hotel" looks, well... Sovietic and fadish!). The opulent interiors shot in drab color as jotix100 from New York writes at IMDb. Ah, the petty thiefs who "find chicken around the corner" and jewellry from a relative are sympa, they add some naive contrast to the dire Soviet conditions. Which were probably many times worse than what the film dares to show.

All in all, I liked the film. But I feel it lost gravitas and depth due to concession to the ticket office.

For a guy who was a French communist until the age of 35, it was a hard movie to take, but it is a superb film, well acted and very realistic. My father was a french communist (the heart on the left and the wallet on the right) and he actually contempleted emigrating to the motherland of socialism when I was a kid, thank God, his wallet was heavier than his heart... Go to your video store and rent it, you won't regret it !

East/West bears light on the tragic outcome that happened to many emigres returning to Soviet Union in their help to rebuild it after the war. But at the same time, it just seemed that the husband/wife in this movie never had anything really solid in the first place for them to lose once they got there. I never really felt their gradual separation or the husband's shift from leaving the Soviets ASAP to building a life there.

All in all, the movie still brings to light one of the dark period of Soviet history through the perspective of someone experiencing it.

'Est Ouest' is an impressive production based upon the true story of family comprising a Russian émigré husband, French wife and a little boy.In the heyday of Coldwar, Stalin invites all émigrés who left the country in the time of 1917 Civil War.The émigrés are promised a heaven once they promote to the restoration of order and rehabilitation of the war-torn economy.This demand is no surprising in view of the fact that Soviet Russia was the country hit by the war the most in terms of human and material resources. Once euphoric, the returnees find themselves disillusioned by old-fashioned, paranoid and corrupt political and economic fabric.

The story is capturing sometimes thrilling. I have shared the excitement, fear and hope of heroes and heroines vividly. The music of the film pulls you vividly to understand how precious one's freedom can be.Unlike some criticism that the film misdirected reality,I would confidently maintain the belief that the story of the film is only one of the hundreds of tragedies in the Iron Curtain. Stalin's notorious reputation in employing violence and pressure is nothing but a historical truth. Eastern Europe is so beautiful..Kiev and Sofya..I shall never forget the dance scene at the hotel in Sofya. What is also worth-seeing is the entry of heroes to the Greek-Bulgarian boundary on the mountains capped with snow.This is the Balkans.. I must admit that I spent much time in trying to find this film as DVD.Swedem,Norway,Denmark,Germany,Belgium..nowhere..I did not have chance to request it online.I did not have credit cards..:)) Finally,I found it in mega store Virgin( Thanks Virgin)in Paris. I have soundtrack album of this unforgettable film too. If you haven't seen this film yet, you have missed a lot! By watching and- if possible- purchasing this film, you will have done a great contribution to movie industry which suffers from prevalence of crap movies. I am still under the influence of 'Est Ouest'.I hope u shall feel the same..

It's hard to criticize a movie which is based on true facts and in which people suffer great injustice. But I wonder if it does justice to the real events and the actual persons. It is overly melodramatic and somehow I felt it insulted my intelligence. When I am supposed to be outraged about something I would like to have a solid reason.

Perhaps the biggest flaw is the complete absence of motive. Why does a Russian French couple with a small son move from France to the Soviet Union in 1946? Idealism, patriotism, homesickness, love of Communism? And what exactly did they expect? They must have known that at that time almost every town in the Western Soviet Union was practically razed to the ground by the Germans. Entire cities along the river Dnepr were rebuilt practically from zero. So, seeing the family move into a shared flat in a comfortable apartment bloc in an intact neighborhood in the center of Kiev makes them come through as comparatively privileged and well embedded into the system. What else, what better could have happened to them?

It did not help either that the main character, the French woman, comes through as a self centered, bitchy, constantly nagging chauvinist, played by Sandrine Bonnaire, France's answer to Jessica Lange. There is not much there to like in her, and her air of superiority is pretty hard to bear. „At home we speak French", she on one occasion admonishes her son in an angry tone of voice, straining to make him understand their special situation, their being different, transferring her very private concerns to her son. It is not entirely surprising that her husband turns to another women after a while.

Probably the story closest to this one is „not without my daughter", which I have not read or seen on the screen. So maybe this is more a movie about a clash of cultures and less about historical realities.

Despite the fact that I was completely ignorant of the circumstances under which the characters suffered, I was swept away by this movie. All of the actors gave amazing performances, but I was most impressed by the way that Sandrine Bonnaire(Marie) and Oleg Menshikov (Alexei) were able to age their characters ten years using only their faces. Sergei Bodrov, Jr., was excellent as Sacha, the teenage lover of Marie. At the beginning of the movie he was scared and immature, but as the plot progressed I saw him evolve into a strong, determined man. The scenes of him swimming in the river involve some of the most captivating cinematography I've seen. I hold Bodrov's performance to be the best in the film. Not to be ignored is Catherine Denueve; though her role as a French actress, Gabrielle, determined to save Marie was small, it was critical, and she pulled it off brilliantly. East-West is a sweeping, engaging epic that will captivate even the most historically ignorant viewer.

This movie hit pretty close to home. I am a first generation American. Everyone else in my family left the USSR(Ukraine) in the 1970's.

One of the many reasons they left is because of the daily life problems that this movie depicts. People were afraid to say anything, or express their thoughts even remotely on how they felt about life in thing wrong with it. If they did so they would be either murdered thrown in jail or taken away never to be heard from again. East West is a well made and easy to understand film that can be enjoyed by a lot of mainstream audiences.

East West is a fantastic, beautiful film: part-love story, part-historical drama and part-Cold War thriller. It has elements of Frederick Forsyth, John le Carre and Boris Pasternak but surpasses them all by reaching the heightened realms of George Orwell. It really is that good.

Alexei (Oleg Menshikov) and the beautiful, sensational Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) are a married couple in France who naively believe the Soviet Union to be a socialist/communist paradise. They promptly pack their backs and emigrate, arriving in Odessa with their son to settle down and start a new life. But they realise almost immediately, however, their dreadful mistake: they have entered not socialist heaven but an Orwellian nightmare of totalitarianism, brutality and deprivation from which there appears no escape.

At this point, the film really takes off, becoming an awesome, intoxicating blend of Dr Zhivago, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, 1984 and Day of the Jackal. Only, it surpasses them all.

Perhaps it is the Russian contribution that makes the difference, turning this film into a masterpiece: Sergei Bodrov and Rustam Ibragimbekov providing a simply brilliant script. The acting is superb and the plot is riveting, even depending on the outcome of a swimming trial and the chance to travel to the West and defect.

The location filming is sublime and the Odessa depicted on screen has all of the faded charm of classical buildings and dachas decayed by years of communist neglect and overcrowding. It is just so realistic.

Sandrine has a bit of fun along the way, going to communist dances and concerts, enjoying a love affair with Sergei Bodrov Jnr, the master-swimmer, but, ultimately, is betrayed and undergoes severe torture and brainwashing, like something out of Arthur Koestler. That is before the denouement, however, which has all of the drama and pace of a John le Carre novel.

I liked this film because of It's plot, and some of It's characters. But not everything for me was completely likeable. I'm not sure what it is, but there was too much melodrama here. Mainly with the lead actress Sandrinne Bonnaire who throughout the film is saddend by the fact that she has to stay in Russia for so long. Not always bad, just maybe unpleasant. But, Oscar winner Regis Wargnier knows how to put a film together and this is a good example for foreign film fans of him or just the genre. B

Most people reviewing this excellent film by Regis Wargnier (Indochine) clearly understand the backdrop of a Soviet Union in the grip of a national paranoia that flowed from Stalin himself and infected everything from the highest positions of Party power to the most banal and mundane aspects of daily life. The film explores the destructive force that a monstrous ideology can have on ordinary people, artists, athletes, and even on love itself. Stalin's Soviet Union in 1946 was everything this movie portrays it as and worse. This is not some "anti-Soviet" propaganda film by any stretch, and people who think it is need to attend to some history of the time and place. Literally millions of returning Soviet émigrés and soldiers were either executed outright or sent to the gulags on various trumped-up charges like 'actions detrimental to the State' and espionage. There was no one as paranoid as Stalin, and he either believed his own fears, or he wanted everyone else to believe them. Probably both are true. That is why I welcomed this film which tells the story of a Russian émigré physician and his French wife and child who accept the deadly invitation of repatriation to the Motherland. Against this background of terror, repression, and despair we are made to watch what the pressures of the system can do to one family.

Alexei, Marie, and Serioia go from what must have been a comfortable, bourgeois life in France to a nightmare when they end up, thanks to Alexei's being a physician, in Kiev. The story goes into detail about how Alexei has to behave against his wife's expectations – unrealistic, it turns out, and very dangerous to boot – in order to fashion the possibility of escape. The film has a very real feel to it, and one can believe that what we are seeing is what really happened. I am a bit astonished that people today either know nothing of this period, or they actually think that the film is unfair to the Soviets. The preposterousness of this idea can only be cured with information, but the willfully blind will remain so regardless of hundreds of thousands of archival pages to the contrary. This film is true to its subject, and if you can sit through the nail-biting drama - where an NKVD agent seems to appear on every corner - you will be rewarded. An excellent movie full of the pain, heartbreak, and eventual triumph over evil.

With World War II over, Stalin invited Soviet emigrants to return to the motherland. However, much of it was a scheme to arrest anyone suspected of anti-Soviet activities. Régis Wargnier's "Est - Ouest" ("East/West" in English) focuses on a Russian man (Oleg Menshikov) and his French wife (Sandrine Bonnaire) who return to the Soviet Union, but are not allowed to leave. They are essentially prisoners in their new country.

The focus is the people who experienced this in the USSR, but I saw it as an analogy to people anywhere who move to another country in search of a better life but find a whole new round of hardship, even in the United States. It's especially dangerous when the country is run by a fanatic (see what I'm getting at?).

It's certainly one of the grimmest movies that you'll ever see, but I recommend it. Mind you, it's not for the fainthearted. Also watch Wargnier's other collaboration with Catherine Deneuve, 1992's Oscar-winning "Indochine" (about 1930s Vietnam).

Having spent some time in Russia from 1973 to 1995, I was relieved to find that the details of the everyday life in the Soviet Union presented in the film mostly counteracted the stereotypic quality of the harsh interrogator. I found the scenes of the interaction among the inhabitants living in the communal apartment to ring the truest. The ability of the Russians to suffer and celebrate at the kitchen table also seemed humanly authentic and prepared me to accept the Dr. Zhivago story line. I found myself questioning if I or my wife would give up the comfortable life the family had found at the end for the freedom of one of us separating.

This unflinching look at the former Soviet Union just after WWII should be seen by all those who might still harbor some romantic feelings for the communist past. There is an almost Orwellian atmosphere to the film, which is supposedly a true story of a group of Russsian émigrés living in France who are invited to return to the USSR to help rebuild the war torn country. As soon as these ostensibly Russian patriots disembark on Soviet soil they are hurled into the madhouse world of Stalinist Russia. The similarity to the Nazis as families are separated, manhandled and killed is obvious and terrifying. The rest of the movie is concerned with the survivors' attempt at escape. The acting is first rate and the mise en scene on the button. This a truly harrowing and credible film, all the more so for being a French production. See it and tell some of your far leftist friends to see it as well.

I really didn't like this movie. It angers me that this thing recieved an academy award of some sort. Other than the simple political message this movie was about -- it was completely empty. The characters were shallow, and the plot typical. As a russian, I was angered by the movie's portrayal of the russian people and of russian society. Communist Russia was shown like Nazzi Germany is often shown in popular films. From the very beginning as the group of expatriates get off thee boat - they are separated into two groups like the newly arrived members of nazzi concentration camps. Corruption, fear, lies predominate in this film's depiction of Soviet society. The main character becomes friends with the the woman who used to be rich and whose apartement was made into a communal flat. i don't know. If you are going to watch foreign movies *about* Russia, you should at least do yourself the favor of also watching Soviet movies: there are plenty of them, russian movies about russia, from the 50s, the 60s, the 70s. Then maybe you'll get some idea about what russian society was like. Because this movie really just capitalizes about everything that was negative about the soviet system, and does not in any way paint a realistic picture... ok well... that's just my opinion.

For a system that endured about seventy years,it is amazing how so few movies have really given us a sense of what life there was like,and this movie does it brilliantly and flawlessly. While the background is the big falsehoods of soviet Russia,like baiting émigrés to return,only to take revenge for the sin of yearning freedom,the true power of the movie is in penetrating and superb description of everyday's life,the housing with shared common facilities,total lack of minimal privacy,"shopping"Russian style,and the pervasive drinking. I had the feeling of being and living in one of those housing units as I was watching the film. The plot is superb,full of surprising twists and the acting,all the way down to the smaller roles,is perfect. The movie is a true gem.The only achievement of the late Soviet regime is its success in hiding the true nature of life behind the Iron Curtain for so many years

The first thought was: "why would a successful doctor with the French wife decide to return to Stalin's Russia?" Nostalgia?. But then, when I was watching the movie, all events seemed so realistic. I'm truly believe that that's exactly what would have happened to them. No life, No escape, No future! The story is about sacrifice we all make for the people we love, but the price Marie and Alexei paid was too high.