East-West
30 Second Bottom Line: In 1946 Stalin offered amnesty for citizens in exile to return home to Russia. An arriving doctor, with his French wife and young son, finds that Stalin's offer was a ruse. The majority of citizens are either imprisoned or shot. They are accepted only because he is needed as a doctor. The doctor is unhappy and his wife is miserable. She wants to return to the west and so the struggle begins.
Story Line: Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and her husband Alexei (Oleg Menchikov) are on a luxury cruise ship returning to the motherland. The festive mood on board changes immediately as they begin to disembark.
Marie and her family move into a flat with a common kitchen and bathroom, that is a far cry from what she was accustomed to in Paris. Each family has a certain day for laundry; their own table in the kitchen (which makes it look like a tiny restaurant); and the final indignity, having individual toilet seats that are hung on a wall hook like a picture. In Russia under Stalin's leadership, one's purpose in life is to respect the state and not oneself; this mindset makes anyone a potential spy.
The building supervisor is a hard woman on the surface, who becomes a friend
to Marie. Olga (Tatyana Dogileva), a tenant who appears to be a friend, may be
a spy for the state, relaying Marie's pro western views and suspected desire to
defect. Olga's attraction to Alexei complicates the social dynamics of the
apartment building. When a new building supervisor is appointed, Marie and
Alexei take the former supervisor's grandson, Sacha Serguei Bodrov Jr.), into
their room, so that he will not have to relocate to a commune. Sacha becomes
depressed with his living situation and is expelled from the swim team that is
training for the Olympics.
Sacha, like Marie, is smothering in the environment of state's rights at the
expense of human rights. Marie provides encouragement to Sacha, and before
long he is swimming again. It appears that if he is reinstated on the Olympic
team, should he want to defect, he will have the opportunity to do so when they
are in Austria.
French actress Gabrielle (Catherine Deneuve) brings western culture to Russia
with her theatrical plays. Over time, she and Marie become friends. When Gabrielle understands the predicament that Marie is in, she devises a plan for Marie and her son to escape.
Tell Me More About It: East-West is a beautiful story that is very complex but
not the least bit confusing. Most films set up the general story in the first 30
minutes; make progress toward, or slip away from, some goal for the next 60,
and in the final 30, bring things together for some type of resolution. Here, as in
real life, major events can happen non-stop and in this film that is about every
15-20 minutes. Everything is linked, but the events don't foreshadow what is
going to happen later in the story. We come to better understand how people
feel and why they do what they do.
Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire ) is the actress that Kristan Scott Thomas wants to
be. They have a similar look and play like roles, but Bonnaire has the soul that
takes you deep into the story.
What evolves is a powerful love story enveloped in an escape thriller. Like the
concept "You don't miss the water until the well runs dry," one better
appreciates freedom if you understand what it's like not to have it. Love of one's
country is admirable and expected, but when the door opens in and not out,
there is no freedom. In reality, it's a form of slavery.
East-West is an epic movie that does not require a cast of thousands or three
hours to take an informative walk down history lane. Seeing this film provides a
rare opportunity to enjoy a story of political intrigue and great human emotion.
PG-13 (sexual; violence)
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George O. Singleton © 2000
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