Rent East West (1999)
3.6 of 5 from 74 ratings
2h 0min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In June 1946 Stalin launches a massive propaganda campaign targeted at Russian emigrants living in the West, offering an amnesty, new passports and the chance to play a crucial role in the reconstruction of the post-war Soviet Union. Attracted by the promise of a new life, Alexei, a doctor, and Marie, his wife, decide to make the journey from France to the USSR. However, on arrival in Odessa they are horrified to find that their travelling companions are imprisoned or shot on the spot, and that only they are kept alive. Soon it becomes apparent that they have been chosen as a model returnee couple, and are being held in the country against their will. Determined that her family will one day return to the freedom of the West, Marie must find a way to escape the oppression of their new life without alerting the already suspicious authorities - Actors:
- Oleg Menshikov, Sandrine Bonnaire, Catherine Deneuve, Sergey Bodrov Jr., Ruben Tapiero, Erwan Baynaud, Grigori Manoukov, Tatyana Dogileva, Bogdan Stupka, Meglena Karalambova, Atanass Atanassov, Tania Massalitinova, Valentin Ganev, Nikolai Binev, René Féret, Daniel Martín, Hubert Saint-Macary, Jauris Casanova, Joël Chapron, François Caron
- Directors:
- Régis Wargnier
- Writers:
- Rustam Ibragimbekov, Sergey Bodrov
- Studio:
- Tartan
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Catherine Deneuve, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1999
- Countries:
- France
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Reviews (1) of East West
A romantic drama set in a hellish USSR in the days of Joseph Stalin - East West review by Philip in Paradiso
This is a historical film that gives an excellent and fascinating insight into life in the USSR under Communism and, more particularly, in the days of J Stalin, just after the Second World War. It is also a love story and a romantic drama: the fate of one couple, specifically, is at the heart of the story. Their travails become emblematic of all that is wrong and tragic about the Stalinist system. (Incidentally, the action does not take place in Russia but in the Ukraine.)
In 1946, Stalin calls on all White Russian émigrés who had escaped to the West after the (Bolshevik) Russian Revolution of October 1917 to return to the USSR. It is presented to them as their duty and a great opportunity: they can help rebuild the devastated motherland in the wake of the Second World War. They are told they will be given Soviet citizenship, accommodation and jobs. Many Russians established outside the USSR decide to go back. Among this group is the émigré Doctor Alexei Golovin (Menshikov), with his French wife, Marie (Bonnaire), and their young son. When they arrive in the USSR, the Soviet, Communist dream soon turns sour...
The film is very good on many levels. The acting and the plot are very convincing and ring true. The reconstitution of life in the USSR at the time is excellent. We are gripped by the fate of the Franco-Russian couple at the heart of the story. As their predicament deepens, the movie somehow becomes a thriller, full of tension, suspense and surprises. Even if you are not particularly interested in the history of the USSR and Soviet Communism, you will find the story fascinating and moving. I strongly recommend this film.
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