Break Loose

Shaft was supposed to be on after the footy but this one came on instead. Pretty good industrial relations film. Solidarity Brother 💪

Aglaya and Herman meet in a Russian nightclub and soon dream of running away together. Each of them has significant baggage however. Herman is in a police unit that is more like a band of lightly disciplined goons. At night little changes except for clothes, for he and his former military buddies continue to roam the streets getting in fights just like they do during the day. In Aglaya's case, she happens to be a jealous mob boss' girlfriend. Aglaya and Herman attempt to break loose from their distressing and forlorn situations. The film offers an intriguing glimpse into Russia on the eve of the 21st century, yet it relies too much on action and fight scenes at the expense of depth, the couple's chemistry, cinematography and dialogue. Seen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

First of all, it seems like some scenes were deleted or the main storyline was rewritten at the last minute. Second, I've watched many "depressed and wild" post-Soviet movies, but at least in Balabanov's work, the characters have an arc. In this film, however, the main character's arc essentially says: "Look at us, we live like orcs, we stay like orcs, and we die like orcs. No changes." This approach seems absolutely inhuman. I understand that this movie is about the true 'ruzzian' experience, but even in such a depressed environment, people don't react as they do in this film. The characters' actions are completely illogical, not to mention the portrayal of "true love" between a rapist and a depressed woman. I hope the fans of this "true boyzz" movie, with its romanticism of such misery, end up the same way as the characters.