I saw A Russian Fairytale at the Mosaic World Film Festival at the weekend, which went on to win best documentary. It was completely gripping from the opening scene with the boy in the psychiatric hospital and leaves you hooked throughout. I was blown away by the end, as I think most of the audience were.
The film is undeniably sad, mainly because you like the characters very much, - gritty, urban, totally unconventional teenagers, living their own life way off the grid of 'normal' society. The way they talk about stealing, begging is so frank, it's sometimes just funny.
By the end of the film you realise all is not how it seems. Those you loved, you mistrust, those you thought were weak, are strong. You realise that this family they set up for themselves on the street is just as bad as the real families they ran away from as children... until the one who is holding it all together escapes and it all falls apart.
Stunning film... photography, visuals, storytelling. 9/10.
The film is undeniably sad, mainly because you like the characters very much, - gritty, urban, totally unconventional teenagers, living their own life way off the grid of 'normal' society. The way they talk about stealing, begging is so frank, it's sometimes just funny.
By the end of the film you realise all is not how it seems. Those you loved, you mistrust, those you thought were weak, are strong. You realise that this family they set up for themselves on the street is just as bad as the real families they ran away from as children... until the one who is holding it all together escapes and it all falls apart.
Stunning film... photography, visuals, storytelling. 9/10.
