For the original approach and
courage in showing the true
situation of women in a world in
which ...More
Marina, an upper-crust social worker with a doting
husband and an enviable downtown apartment, is suddenly
transformed into a bizarre twilight version of herself
when she is raped by three policemen.
Storyline
Marina is a gorgeous upper-crust Muscovite with an
opulent wardrobe and good-looking husband to match.
She''s employed as a social worker, a profession offering
meager financial rewards. Thankfully her affluent father
provides the supplementary income her job, and her
hapless husband, cannot. Yet instead of finding
contentment in her win-win situation, Marina carries on
an affair with her best friend''s husband, and also
initiates a bizarre series of erotic encounters with a
deadbeat cop who previously raped her. Written by TIFF
User Reviews
Beautiful raw and psychological drama that fascinates
till the end
by fl-stuit (Netherlands)
I LOVE YOU... I LOVE YOU... wonderful how these three
words in the film are used as an emotional weapon.
Beautiful raw and psychological drama that fascinates
till the end of the movie. Besides the average visuals
in the first few minutes, the rest of the film is
visually well made. A fine Eastern bloc atmosphere by
the way, which shows us the sad reality of Russian
society today (as we may believe Angelina Nikonova,
director).
Twilight Portrait is not an advertisement for Russia and
his fine society. Nice cops though ;)... I just booked
my ticket for holiday... who''s next?
User
Reviews
A commentary about Russian society in the style of
Haneke
by Gustaf Ottosson (Sweden)
Having seen such a wonderful film at the Stockholm Film
Festival as "Twilight Portrait" I was quite embarrassed
when my countrymen showed themselves to be culturally
handicapped when asking director Angelina Nikonova and
co-writer/lead actor Olga Dykhovichnaya, at the
screenings Q/A, some of the most obvious questions ever.
This cultural (including literature, art and cinema)
ineptitude is the only explanation I can possibly have
for this, since "Twilight Portrait" is an excellent
movie on many different levels.
Above all Nikonova and Dykhovichnaya have made a movie
that, in the vein of Gogol and Dostoevsky, comments on a
country that they love, but a society that they
desperately want to improve. The flaws of modern Russian
society are accurately addressed by the creators, and
what is foremost eminent about this targeting is that,
even though festival writers want to accentuate the
gender issue, it applies to all levels of inadequacy -
no matter if it is police corruption (genderless) or
male chauvinism.
Psychology plays an enormous part of this movie and in
an age where heavily make-uped pirates or vampires
facing teenage dilemmas is the norm, I hope AN and OD
applies the philosophy "It is not HOW MANY people you
impress, but rather WHO you impress that matters" to
their filmmaking, otherwise they are going to be
disappointed. Most people will find this movie boring
and slow, because they are used to shallow, fast moving
plot. Some scenes are truly harrowing and not for the
common viewer.
Nikonova use some techniques that are characteristic for
Michael Haneke and she masters them quite well, which
makes me confide in her ability to make good movies.
Haneke is, according to me, the world''s premier
director, and anyone who successfully can be influenced
by his work is a huge friend of mine.
A last note on this movie is that I''ve seen quite a lot
of modern Russian productions (including the work of
Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Andrei Zvyagintsev and Alexander
Zeldovich), though it is really rare that I get moved in
the way that "Twilight Portrait" moved me. Perhaps it is
because I recognize the truthfulness in Nikonovas
description of modern Russia, and if anyone less
subjected to empiricism concerning this country watches
it, it must be the best window into an unknown world
created in a long time.
