My wife and I have been exploring film from various times and places. She tends to prefer actiony/adventury films that aren’t bleak while I am insufferable and maudlin, adoring self indulgent wallowing moodiness.

She found the rate of cuts of man with a movie camera too offputting, and has ruled out stalker because it’s relentlessly depressing. Aside from dead season which isn’t good but is funny because of history, and come and see which I wont be traumatising her with I don’t know any soviet film. You weirdos might.

Any recommendations for showing the best or most interesting of? Things that are either high quality or showcase a unique character due cultural differences. It can be weird!

  • Vroomfondel@lemmy.mlEnglish
    10·
    1 个月前

    Definitely a classic is “Solaris” (1972 film) by Andrei Tarkovsky. It has a mix of sci-fi and drama, but I can’t tell more without spoiling it. It definitely makes you think … Also other Tarkovsky films have been praised, like “Stalker” that you mentioned. So maybe check out his filmography?

    Edit: Something completely different is “The Mystery of the Third Planet” (1981) by Roman Kachanov. It is an animated sci-fi film for children, but also fun to watch as an adult because of the absurd storyline and humour.

    Other films I have in mind, too, but don’t remember their exact titles now. Will edit this post, if I recall … Edit: You might want to have a look at the Wikipedia list differentiating by age and/or genre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_Soviet_Union

  • SoyViking [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    9·
    1 个月前

    Would she be interested in Sergei Eisenstein?

    • The Strike: A silent movie about workers striking at a factory. It has some cinematography that is way beyond it’s time
    • Battleship Potemkin: If you are into prevention films you have to watch this silent move about a mutiny at a tsarist battleship, simply because it has been referenced in so many other works.
    • Alexander Nevsky: This one is a talkie. It is a period drama about the medieval fight to kick the Teutonic Order (here used as a barely hidden historical standin for the Nazis) out of Russia. It had a huge budget and is kind of famous for the reenactment of a grand battle on a frozen lake.
  • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    9·
    1 个月前

    Stalker is not depressing, I’m not sure why she got that idea. It’s contemplative, melancholic, but triumphant.

    Check out The Ascent. Soy Cuba is one of the greatest films of all time too.

        • insurgentrat [she/her, it/its]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
          1·
          6 小时前

          We just watched the diamond arm and Ivan the terrible changes his professional. Legitimately two of the funniest films I’ve seen in my life.

          I was in tears during the translator giving up in the diamond arm and the intermission joke. Also surprisingly the cinematography was innovative and dynamic as hell which is unusual for comedy films in my experience. The infinite mirror in the changing room was a damn creative shot.

            • insurgentrat [she/her, it/its]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
              1·
              4 小时前

              I’m sure I missed some puns and so on. One thing I didn’t get was in the introduction to the diamond arm the credits said “filmed with a half hidden camera” according to the subtitles we had.

              Is this a joke? Like it’s pretending the footage is real in a very tongue-in-cheek way? or does it more mean literally some footage was filmed with a hidden camera for authentic reactions?

        • insurgentrat [she/her, it/its]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
          3·
          1 个月前

          I am willing to lie to her as long as I wont spend 50 years making up for it.

          Like everyone, she’s wrong about her preferences. If something is good enough she’ll find it satisfying.

  • darkcalling [comrade/them, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    8·
    1 个月前

    “White Sun of the Desert” perhaps. It’s a tradition for cosmonauts to watch it before going up. It’s a Soviet ‘eastern’ (akin in very vague terms to western westerns).

    Gentlemen of Fortune is another, light viewing. Maybe Kin-Dza-Dza though it is a bizarre film and not enjoyable in a straightforward way, kind of absurdist.

    The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (1924) is a silent but kind of a Buster Keaton style comedy.

    She’s going to miss out on a lot of the best movies with opinions like those. Stalker in particular is hardly that depressing, it’s a gorgeous film.

    I’d recommend looking into Tarkovsky films yourself and finding one. Andrei Rublev for example.

  • Mardoniush [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    1 个月前

    In terms of adventure, I enjoy a few Civil war era “Easterns”. My favourite is White Sun of the Desert which is a classic and famously watched by cosmonauts before launch.

  • wheresmysurplusvalue [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    1 个月前

    If you’re not limited to full length films, how about some of the classic Soviet cartoons?

    While I love Tarkovsky movies, I don’t think any of his films can be called upbeat. Solaris (Солярис) (1972) is the most accessible, but I’d say too broody for someone who wants an action movie. It’s more of a slow reflective film.

    I haven’t watched it yet, but maybe Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Тіні забутих предків) by Sergei Paradjanov could be a typical narrative driven bildungsroman.

  • grandepequeno [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    1 个月前

    Gotta be Andrey Rublev, a very long grayscale film broke up into segments around a famous historical christian painter’s life. Probably would not have gotten made outside the soviet union

  • SamotsvetyVIA [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    1 个月前

    Can’t help with your title question, but something your wife might like that is a comedy adventure film is “Джентльмены удачи”. Although, if you’re watching in English the comedy might not translate.