Reviews

This film could have been done much better. There did not seem to be a realistic antagonistic relationship between the two men which is supposed to propel the plot. There is an excellent scene in the darkened woods involving the guys, and a scene at the falls that is well done. On the down side, there is no chemistry between the husband and wife. Why the guys are at lock-horns is a puzzle. The cinematography is good, and so is the music (although the music is ill-suited at times).

The film's plot does take interesting turns and is fairly intelligent, but the ending is troubling. Rent or buy Knife in the Water (the inspiration for this film) to gain an understanding of what Kaaterskill Falls was trying to do.

This French-Russian production is a visually stark and potent film about life in post-Soviet (and pre-Putin) Russia. The main character is Andrei, a young, anti-semitic Muscovite bodybuilder who is the leader of a gang whose goals is showing brute Russian strength. They live in Luna Park, an amusement park, a place of wild rollercoasters and distorting mirrors, where they regularly beat up on "non-Russians," the foreigners and Jews who come there. During a drunken confessional, a close relative tells Andrei that his father is a Jew and still alive in Moscow.

This fact turns Andrei's life upside-down, partly out of revulsion from whom he is descended, and partly because he wants to know (and be) with his father, and he must someway reconcile himself with this with discovery.

The film is not one necessarily of thoughtful, quiet introspection, but of hijinx, clashes, and turmoil, and interactions. Andrei vacillates between his role as the participatory leader of a brutal gang, and that of a son learning about his father. Without giving away too much information, Luna Park, the amusement park where the action begins, is where the climax happens, and is a metaphor for Russia and what it has to face.

"Luna Park" may not be a pretty film. There's the ugly side to the human nature depicted in the skinheads brutal actions and the decay of Russian society blamed on "non-Russians." But the majority of the film regards Oleg's journey and transformation as he gets to know his father, and this is the rewarding, and ultimately beautiful side of the film.

This French-Russian production is a visually stark and potent film about life in post-Communist (and pre-Putin) Russian. The main character is Oleg, a young, anti-semitic Muscovite bodybuilder who is the leader of a gang whose goals is showing brute Russian strength. They live in Luna Park, an amusement park, a place of wild rollercoasters and distorting mirrors, where they regularly beat up on foreigners and Jews who come there. During a drunken confessional, a close relative tells Oleg that his father is a Jew and still alive in Moscow.

This fact turns Oleg's life upside-down, partly out of revulsion from whom he is descended, and partly because he wants to know (and be) with his father, and he must someway reconcile himself with this with discovery.

The film is not one necessarily of thoughtful, quiet introspection, but of hi-jinx, clashes, and turmoil, and interactions. Oleg vacillates between his role as the participatory leader of a brutal gang, and that of a son learning about his father. Without giving away too much information, Luna Park, the amusement park where it begins, is where it ends, and is a metaphor for Russia and what it has to face.

"Luna Park" may not be a pretty film. There's the ugly side to human nature depicted in the brutal actions of the skinheads and the decay of Russian society that the skinheads blame on foreigners and Jews. But the majority of the film regards Oleg's journey and transformation as he gets to know his father, and this is the rewarding, and ultimately beautiful side of the film.

The film's message about the goodness and innocence of Setain, and the malice of Sargeant Galoup, is too subtle for the film's own good, and comes across as being undeveloped.

Why doesn't Galoup more deeply question his hatred for Setain? I was a bit dismayed that this wasn't questioned much, even if there weren't any answers. Also, the film's marketing makes the film sound lurid and sexual, whereas it is not. Perhaps to draw in more viewers for an otherwise dry and sparse depiction of man's senselessness.

The film initially shows a lot of promise. The interaction among the men is more comradeship than anything else. I was interested in the depiction of Legionnaire military life, especially from the various other countries.