russia Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Although the box office has been very kind to Borat, some feel the film might be a little too controversial and have subsequently banned it from playing in their country. That's right, I'm talking about Russia -- home to the cold, the snow, those big furry hats and tasty vodka. Pic was supposed to debut on November 30 through local distributor Gemini, who are linked to 20th Century Fox. However, the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography refuses to license the flick because it "contains material that some viewers may consider offensive to certain nationalities and religions."

The best part of this whole thing is that Borat would be the first non-pornographic film to be banned in the country. In fact, plenty of hardcore porn films are licensed by the agency each year. Wait, so Russian midget orgies are less offensive than Sacha Baron Cohen pretending to be a moronic Kazakhstani news reporter? Something is not right here. It's not like he's running around Russia making a fool out of the locals. No, he's making a fool out of Americans -- other countries should be itching to release this thing in their theaters. Isn't it sad that a country is so afraid its people do not have a sense of humor that they're going so far as to ban a comedy because stupid people might not get the jokes?

Ok, first of all, I had no idea that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was even alive, let alone negotiating to make movies. Hearing this is like being told that Dostoevsky is still around, or something. I mean, I knew that Solzhenitsyn was a fairly modern figure, but there are just certain people whose names are said with such reverence that, you know, you figure they must be dead. Anyway. Solzhenitsyn's not - not only is the guy alive (he's 87), but he's makin' deals and Euros, apparently. A television adaptation of his novel The First Circle aired in Russia earlier this year, and its success has studios circling his other works in hopes of a screen deal.

Though the First Circle director has acknowledged that it would be nearly impossible to get anyone to finance a movie of The Gulag Archipelago (Solzhenitsyn's most famous novel, and the one that earned him both exile and a treason charge) because the book's incredibly grim subject matter would essentially drive audiences away, it seems as if his Cancer Ward is a more plausible option. Because instead of being about the gulag, it's an uplifting little "metaphor for the disease of totalitarianism", cloaked in a "story of life in a poor country's ward for terminally ill cancer patients." Gee, I wonder if Rachel McAdams is available.

According to the writer's wife, negotiations at this point are in the earliest of stages.

As long as we're expanding our definition of "expert" this Oscar season, I thought we might as well explore the global-political vote. Herewith then, some words of wisdom from Nikolai Blogostroika, a v odka-soaked, Eastern Bloc -bred character I made up to make jokes about Capitalism and Communism.

Nikolai, what are you thinking in the Best Actor race?

Why do the gay cowboys not show a little gaeity? Back in USSR, we have no cows to be gay about. Truman Capote had eccentric way of dress and spoke with lisp. In Russia, we have Dostoevsky; Capote limp milquetoast sh*t in comparison. But Phillip Seymour Hoffman big strong man, very convincing as fruit.

Interesting. What about Best Actress?

Reese Witherspoon has a head, lumpy like a potato. It is quite appetizing. Many nights in Former Soviet Union, I sit up shivering, longing for such a warm "Ring of Fire".

When you think of Chechnya, what comes to mind? The long-standing civil war between Chechen separatists and the Russian government? Armed terrorists storming a parliamentary meeting? The 2004 assassination of Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, killed when a landmine was detonated underneath his VIP platform during a World War Two memorial parade? Chechen terrorists, often women, committing suicide bombings? Chechen rebels taking a school full of children hostage in Beslan? The actions of the rebels, under the stewardship of Shamil Basayev, make it difficult for many people to view the Chechen conflict with much sympathy for the Chechen side.

Coca: the Dove from Chechnya, being shown as a part of the traveling Amnesty International Film Festival, aims to show the world a different side of the bloody and violent conflict, through the lens of another kind of weapon - the video cameras of a group of Chechen women. The film highlights footage collected since 1994 by Chechen activist Zainap Gashaeva, (nicknamed Coca, which means "dove") founder of a group called Echoes of War, a group of Chechen women documenting the atrocities the Russian government has committed against the Chechen people in their war on terror. Gashaeva is well-known in the international community for her tireless campaign to draw attention to the suffering of the Chechen people at the hands of the Russian government.

Joaquin Phoenix looks set to follow up his critically-acclaimed work in Walk the Line by reuniting with his The Yards director, James Gray. The two will collaborate on We Own the Night, a thriller set during in the 1980s struggle between Russian organized crime and the NYPD. The story, which Gray also wrote, will focus on a night-club manager (played by Phoenix) who struggles to save his cops brother and father, both of whom are being targeted by gang hitmen. (It sounds exciting, but why is a nightclub manager trying to save cops? Can't, I don't know, other cops help them out?) Also in the cast are Robert Duvall (hopefully playing the dad) and Eva Mendes whose role is undefined, though she'll surely spend some time wandering around looking hot.

Interestingly, this movie marks a return of sorts for Gray to the subject matter of his first film (Little Odessa), which was also a crime story involving New York's Russian immigrant community. Though We Own the Night will be only his third film, Gray - who also writes all of his projects - has shown in the past that he's very good with small, emotionally intense stories. He also tends to get very strong performances from his actors, all of which make this latest effort sound awfully promising.