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There are things you can hold against "Moscow on the Hudson". It is quiet and episodic rather than exciting in any way. Vladimir, the Russian main character is completely different from any Russian I ever actually met (although it can work since all individuals are different). Convinced Marxists will hate its all too truthful criticism of communism. The 2 sex scenes break up the movie´s otherwise family friendly tone. However, in spite of these details, which can be both pluses and minuses depending on one´s point of view, "Moscow on the Hudson" is a great movie - possibly even the best movie ever made about the immigrant experience. ( I should know because I was an immigrant to the U.S. myself.) It is perhaps even mislabled as a comedy since its dramatic aspects outweigh its comedic ones. Its essential point seems to be that if you have a positive attitude, you can actually connect with the strange people in a strange land. However, its other major point is that no matter how well you adapt, the home where your roots are is still your home and you will miss it no matter how awful life there was. And if you are like Vladimir, you will also have to deal with an unstable mix of odd jobs, friends who never stay in one place too long, your new country´s street scum, arrogant morons from your motherland, and a significant other who will not fully commit to you. However, Vladimir realizes that this is not too high a price to pay for freedom to speak your mind, travel, and really shop around at Bloomingdale´s. He also winds up appreciating America´s wealth of many different cultures and ethnic backgrounds, although the makers of this film were good enough to not bang the viewer over the head with this point. Rather, they present it as irreverently and matter of factly as Jim Jarmusch does in his best work. This all amounts to a movie that is very human (or humane) in a gentle way and rather realistic in its depiction of the less extreme varieties of human nature. Its low key approach is much better for expressing its points than the loads of melodrama which these kinds of movies usually have. The jazz music soundtrack is great too. Basically, if you´re sick of movies which are overblown and commercial, then you will especially appreciate this little gem.
score 9/10
Cherubin 27 November 2001
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0212762/ |
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22-3-2021 04:07:32