Serdtse mira (2018) User Reviews

Veterinarian Between Two Worlds

[Blue-Grotto · 8/10 · 12 November 2018]

Core of the World (in English) - In the fir and spruce forest of a remote region a young veterinarian, Egor, struggles to keep a mauled dog from dying. He is employed, housed and fed by Nikolai, a breeder of foxes and dogs, who recommends that Egor look for other employment if he is so keen on saving the dog. But Egor persists anyway, gaining the sympathy of Nikolai's daughter Dasha in the process. Terrified of intimacy, keeping his emotions bottled up inside, and preferring the company of animals to people, Egor seems not only incapable of giving Dasha anything in return, but a danger to himself. When animal rights activists inadvertently harm the foxes, Egor becomes alarmingly unhinged.

I am drawn to these stories of loners who sit precariously on the edge of human society, where reality and fantasy blur. It is a wonderful theme, compellingly told, with capable acting and beautiful boreal forest scenery. It could use better dialogue, but altogether it is intriguing and satisfying. Seen at the 2018 Toronto international film festival.

A well-told story

[snazzybobblington · 8/10 · 22 February 2019]

I saw this at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2019.

it is the new film from Natalia Meschaninova who made 'Hope Factory.' I had an interesting discussion about zapoi (look it up) with her and Stepan Devonin who turns out to be the lead role (Egor) in this movie as well.. and why not, he has an amazingly likeable yet babyish yet intense face which he uses to good extent in this story which (like 'Hope Factory') unfolds inexorably towards a brutal yet hopeful ending.

All the acting is good actually and there's lots of animals too. We are hanging out in a weird animal farm where Egor is the animal doctor and foxes are bred for dogs to hunt 😦The sex scenes were a bit too tender for me but the story was great. it hangs together well with some funny lines.

The QnA was a bit of a carcrash like normal :(

A movie where animal activists are as cruel as the farm keepers

[siipola · 8/10 · 2 May 2021]

It's a movie about a veterinarian named Egor, who takes care for foxes who lives in cages. As the story unfolds, he as a human cannot survive human interactions outside strictly organized and controlled environment.

When Egor suddenly has a call about his passed away mother, later in the movie viewers can guess that he has some kind of trauma and he cannot form an intimate relationship with a woman in a farm (Dasha).

Movie starts to have tensions when young animal activists appear near the farm.

However, there is no right side in the movie - both did wrong and cruel - the young activists who freed the foxes who soon died in the wilderness and the old breeder Nikolai altogether with Egor, who are keeping fox farm running.

It was hard to understand if Egor attacked the activists while they were sleeping in their tents or if it was his imagination or a bad dream. That scene is very uncomfortable to watch. Because nobody of them are doing good for the animals, actually, and its just pure mindless violence.

Writer Nataliya Meshchaninova is a rare gem between contemporary Russian cinema, worth every movie to watch.

Waste of time

[maako1965 · 1/10 · 12 January 2019]

Well : this movie is in insult to movie making, scripting or lack thereof... please enjoy the first 3 minutes