Well yes, it's pretty clear from the onset that Kochegar is not only using cokes to keep his furnace going, so how that constitutes a spoiler is completely beyond me. Some day, this obsession with spoilers will be the end of movie reviewing. How is one supposed to discuss films if giving in to people who haven't watched the damn thing is the only thing we care for. (not blaming anyone, but it's patently absurd)
Anyway, the news of Balabanov's passing is a rather unfortunate reason to boost this topic (not that Balabanov deserves any less). I'm not quite sure why his films had so little exposure outside Russia. His unpredictability might certainly be a factor, but in the case of
The Stoker, it didn't seem like such a difficult sell to me, much easier than
Cargo 200 (although this one might have pulled in the horror crowd attracted by its much more out there 'extreme' nature). As far as I can see, only
Cargo 200 got a very limited release over here (and maybe the two
Brothers, I didn't check). But all of his last five films were shown in IFF Rotterdam, and
The Stoker was even screened in Pathé 1, the biggest venue (and the biggest screen) of the whole festival, so obviously, it wasn't for a lack of effort.
Michael's review of
The Stoker captures its tone and atmosphere pretty well, I think, and especially nice to see its distinctive soundtrack and music cues are highlighted. These borderline absurd music cues during the character's journeys in the tram, or during their walks from and to their apartments gave the proceedings an almost hypnotic rhythm, an operatic quality for most of its dialog-less scenes. Definitely one of my little pleasures when watching it.
Me Too might be his most ambitious and spiritual effort yet, but I found the whole journey somewhat less engaging and satisfying than his previous efforts. The film's characters did seem more like enigmatic ciphers than people worth taking this journey with, and some of its early scenes felt extremely drawn out, without really delivering any pay-off or set-up for the next steps, so much so it more resembled Wenders' early road movies than anything else (which is not a bad thing perse, but it's definitely not a film that plays with longueur, maybe it would have worked better if it was twice as long). Of course, we're still inevitably heading for the abyss, it just lacked the elegant flow or drive I knew from his earlier films.
And it's Stalker-like transition into a netherworld, when the film suddenly switches its springtime setting to the freezing depths of winter seemed a bit too obvious in all its symbolism (or whatever Balabanov's tale of redemption might have to offer in this department).
.
But to be honest, maybe I just didn't quite grasp what Balabanov was going for here. It does seem like a film that might significantly improve upon second (or third) viewing. Maybe I should just give it another shot.
