At first I thought this film was like completely pointless and that the producer must have just made it for the sole purpose of being able to say she made a film. Actually initially I thought I got a foreign film without subtitles, but I knew it was made in Canada so I let it play and finally saw a couple subtitles and then some English. As the film progressed I began to see more and more that it might have some artistic merit. I think the title of this film is symbolic of the end of the silence of Darya as she gets to know Eddie and ultimately the end of the silence between Nora and Eddie. I found this film to be very abstract and I'm not sure there was a solid plot. The scene transitions weren't very obvious, and there were a few points where I really wasn't sure what was happening. The cinematography was very inconsistent, at times it seemed very amateur and then other times it was very artistic and there were angles that were original to me. A few angles led me to believe somebody was hiding behind the bush that was blocking my view, it was a little odd at times, but that could just be due to preconditioning from other films. I think that the acting was quite good for the most part and I guess I can't really complain, it was good for a low budget film.
4 Reviews
A Russian ballerina on tour in Toronto falls in love and struggles to express herself in spite of cultural and linguistic differences.
mary-shepard14 October 2006
The film is an excellent exercise in character study, but the characters, while interesting in and of themselves, become flat in a script that is too shallow to allow a mature development of the conflicts that result from the trials and tribulations of a foreigner trying to express herself in a land where she cannot speak the language, find a job, or even dance the ballet--her craft and passion. The camera experiments with darkly nuanced light and shadow and seldom allows the viewer a chance to see or feel any particular moment in space or time. These fleeting moments may actually reflect, intentionally, the film's theme, but the result is a loosely knitted sequence of film clips that result in a weakly developed plot instead of what could have been a much more powerful story.
A truly excellent film
ajb-1510 September 2006
This film is one of the best I've seen all year - of all genres and budgets. Forget about the fact that it's an independent Canadian feature. I'm typically a harsh critic but I felt all aspects of this film were brilliant.
It's based on a beautiful story, the acting was nearly perfect and I for one liked the documentarian feel to the camera-work. The only catch for me is that I like the working title better than the title used for the release.
Anita Doran has proved that budget isn't an issue if you have passion and skill as a filmmaker.
Congratulations Anita, and to your cast and crew as well, for creating such a beautiful film.
It's based on a beautiful story, the acting was nearly perfect and I for one liked the documentarian feel to the camera-work. The only catch for me is that I like the working title better than the title used for the release.
Anita Doran has proved that budget isn't an issue if you have passion and skill as a filmmaker.
Congratulations Anita, and to your cast and crew as well, for creating such a beautiful film.
A wonderful Canadian film.
rps-215 October 2007
At last, a wonderful Canadian film and one that is set in Toronto as Toronto rather than as a stand-in for Pittsburgh or some such! This is a warm, heart tugging, sad, lovable, delicate love story without the Hollywood cliché ending. Ekaterinna Chtchelkanova is so lovable and vulnerable that you just want to grab her and hold her in your arms.Even the inevitable "humping scene" is done with taste and style that captures the passion without offending the eyes. Toronto is shown in winter. If Hollywood had done this, Toronto would be New York and it would be June rather than December. There's a wonderful European art film feel to this movie, at times gritty, at times opulent. But it's also a distinctive Canadian story. The cinematography, done by the director, is brilliant and innovative. There are endless artistic and original shots. But none of them are trite or gimmicky or out of place. They're visual poetry, genius behind the camera as well as in front of it and the icing on an already very tasty cake. It's a keeper!
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