The very first moment I saw Garpastum I couldn't avoid thinking of other big directors: Michalkov and Tarkovskij. A story of a nation, a state at the moment of its(re)birth told through a simple story of boys and their compassion for soccer. (Garpastum comes from a Latin word "harpastum": a ball-game from which soccer origins.) The story is strangely both historical and ahistorical - it seems it could take place no matter when and where. In fact, it is not so. A small hints given in conversation (Gavrilo going to Sarajevo, a lion that escaped from the ZOO, socialist revolution..) create an exact time frame that is necessarily connected with the location of St. Petersburg. Taking place in some other time it would most probably lose its charm. The extraordinary capacity of Alexey German for capturing this era and its mood pleases the eye. Every picture, every scene is filmed very thoughtfully, keeping its poetry without losing rhythm and becoming only a slide of photographs with nothing to say.
5 Reviews
The film left me indifferent
paroles200011 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I found this film to be raw, or half-done. According to the director's comment about the main idea of his upcoming film made when the film was still in production, he wanted to portray young men who are by no means intellectuals, and whose obsession with a primitive thing like soccer lets them survive the awful times, while other youths, more refined intellectually do not survive. I think this idea is very interesting, but it is not executed in the movie. There are no intellectuals of the same age as the two main characters shown in the movie (except for, may be Andrei's future wife, but her line is underdeveloped). In general, the two main characters are so bleak I found myself thinking while watching this film that I absolutely don't care what happens to them or to their dream to buy a soccer field. I thought it would be refreshing to see Nikolai who finally found himself in the army to be killed, and then Andrei would start to "grow up", but no, this doesn't happen. Nikolai comes back and they start playing soccer just as before. There is absolutely no character development.
In general acting in this film is very poor. The two main characters are extremely wooden, even during the sex scenes. Casting of the actor for Aleksandr Blok's part seems very inappropriate: the great Russian poet shown in his most tragic days appears ridiculous and by the way, very well-fed during the times of starvation.
The character of the Serbian lady with a little boy is a "red herring": it does not add anything to the plot. Besides, the character is very badly written: why would a mother of a sick child flirt with the pharmacist and later spend time with a bunch of soccer bums instead of caring for her child? The long soccer-playing sequences are boring and lacking any drama, which would be important since these scenes are so long.
The director borrows extensively from the artistic palette of other directors, most noticeably from his own father (a great Russian director). And of course when a really fat teenager appears in a group of friends on the beach it's a Fellini déjà vu. As far as the cinematography is concerned, the movie is filmed beautifully, but it feels like a pretty frame with no painting inside.
The film was sponsored by the Russia's Soccer authorities. This fact probably accounts for some of the film's artistic problems, but not for all of them. The film is still poorly written, poorly acted and poorly directed.
In general acting in this film is very poor. The two main characters are extremely wooden, even during the sex scenes. Casting of the actor for Aleksandr Blok's part seems very inappropriate: the great Russian poet shown in his most tragic days appears ridiculous and by the way, very well-fed during the times of starvation.
The character of the Serbian lady with a little boy is a "red herring": it does not add anything to the plot. Besides, the character is very badly written: why would a mother of a sick child flirt with the pharmacist and later spend time with a bunch of soccer bums instead of caring for her child? The long soccer-playing sequences are boring and lacking any drama, which would be important since these scenes are so long.
The director borrows extensively from the artistic palette of other directors, most noticeably from his own father (a great Russian director). And of course when a really fat teenager appears in a group of friends on the beach it's a Fellini déjà vu. As far as the cinematography is concerned, the movie is filmed beautifully, but it feels like a pretty frame with no painting inside.
The film was sponsored by the Russia's Soccer authorities. This fact probably accounts for some of the film's artistic problems, but not for all of them. The film is still poorly written, poorly acted and poorly directed.
Russian cinematography at its best
scyrlin23 February 2006
This is a must see for every one, who enjoys beautiful cinematography in combination with winning actor performances, and masterful plot with unexpected turns and twists. It makes you cry, it makes you laugh, it makes you envy what is on the screen - it makes you feel. "Garpastum" is a film Hollywood would never have the guts nor brains to make, ever. It is not even European cinema. It is a film that has a vast niche of its own that stayed abandoned for a long time - a niche that was first created by Russian geniuses of cinematography such as Fromm and Tarkovskiy. It's Russian cinema and it comes just in time to save Russia's fall from grace with its 'Nochnoy Dozor' and the likes that follow in the steps of Hollywood. Turn back, turn back from that path before it's too late! "Garpastum" makes that turn.
Russian cinematography's triumphant return! 10/10
Russian cinematography's triumphant return! 10/10
Seattle International Film Festival - David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com
rdjeffers9 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Thursday June 8, 4:30pm The Egyptian
Saturday June 10, 9:15pm Pacific Place Cinema
A true test of quality is perfection in the simplest things. Garpastum is the simple story of two brothers, Andrei (Yevgeni Pronin) and Nikolai (Danil Kozlovsky) who live to play football. On the streets of St. Petersburg as World War I begins, they spend their time brawling, loving and dreaming of one day having their own playing field. They challenge students, clergy, dock workers and anyone with money to play, slowly saving enough to buy the field, but their plans fail when a friend is murdered and Nikolai joins the army. The screenplay is energetic and clever, "How's your soup?" "The soup is the color of a puddle. You're a saint and I'm in a muddle." Static images are presented like precious gems. Beautifully photographed using an indirect style that compels the audience to imagine what might otherwise be obvious Garpastum is a virtually perfect tale of war and peace.
Saturday June 10, 9:15pm Pacific Place Cinema
A true test of quality is perfection in the simplest things. Garpastum is the simple story of two brothers, Andrei (Yevgeni Pronin) and Nikolai (Danil Kozlovsky) who live to play football. On the streets of St. Petersburg as World War I begins, they spend their time brawling, loving and dreaming of one day having their own playing field. They challenge students, clergy, dock workers and anyone with money to play, slowly saving enough to buy the field, but their plans fail when a friend is murdered and Nikolai joins the army. The screenplay is energetic and clever, "How's your soup?" "The soup is the color of a puddle. You're a saint and I'm in a muddle." Static images are presented like precious gems. Beautifully photographed using an indirect style that compels the audience to imagine what might otherwise be obvious Garpastum is a virtually perfect tale of war and peace.
perfect movie for the selected
Larionova2 May 2006
Perfect movie! Unfortunately it doesn't worth watching for those who don't know Russian history, culture and literature at all. It depicts the whole epoch of the State's history just through the story of those young boys, who even don't realize that they live in one of the most important periods of Russian history, because they have their small problems which are more significant for them at the moment. The atmosphere and the spirit of that period are reconstructed with a desirable accuracy in every detail and a kind of a circular character of the movie (it begins and ends with the same scene) adds a feeling of completeness and makes you think on philosophic and historic topics.
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