Rating: 
Summary: The Cold War divide
Review: A bit heavy handed, but worth watching, as R?gis Wargnier offers a melodramatic recount of exiles returning to Russia after WWII. However, great ambitions are quickly dashed, especially for one young couple, who find Stalinist Russia to be particularly brutal. Oleg Menshikov plays a young doctor who returns with his French wife, Marie (evocatively portrayed by Sandrine Bonnaire). There are shades of Doctor Zhivago here, but the film moves along at its own lugibrious pace, as it develops Alexei's growing detachment from his wife and his wife's interest in a young swimmer, played by Sergei Bodrov, who is as stone-faced as ever. Wargnier doesn't have much of a feel for Soviet Russia. One sees a bit too much of the Cold War paradigm in this movie, as ultimately Marie plots her escape, with the aid of a French actress (Catherine Deneuve) who empathizes with her situation. This film plays better in the West than it does the East.
Rating:
Summary: The Cold War divide
Review: A bit heavy handed, but worth watching, as Régis Wargnier offers a melodramatic recount of exiles returning to Russia after WWII. However, great ambitions are quickly dashed, especially for one young couple, who find Stalinist Russia to be particularly brutal. Oleg Menshikov plays a young doctor who returns with his French wife, Marie (evocatively portrayed by Sandrine Bonnaire). There are shades of Doctor Zhivago here, but the film moves along at its own lugibrious pace, as it develops Alexei's growing detachment from his wife and his wife's interest in a young swimmer, played by Sergei Bodrov, who is as stone-faced as ever. Wargnier doesn't have much of a feel for Soviet Russia. One sees a bit too much of the Cold War paradigm in this movie, as ultimately Marie plots her escape, with the aid of a French actress (Catherine Deneuve) who empathizes with her situation. This film plays better in the West than it does the East.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the faint-hearted
Review: A gripping movie which revolved around a young family that returned home to USSR from France to rebuild their homeland. Much hardship awaited them under the Stalin regime. Eyes & ears were everywhere. Betrayal & deception were common occurrences as people fought for privileges. Under an enormous strain, the marriage fall apart. The wife was looking for ways to escape from USSR & she found solace in a young guy, whose mother got presecuted as a capitalist spy for speaking French with her. The husband, on the other hand, befriended the super of the flats that he shared with the rest of the occupants. But hope never died & after many years of patience, with the assistance of a prominent French actress that they befriended, freedom was knocking on the door. Only till the end did we get the full picture of the sacrifice that the husband made for the love of his family. A long-winded movie but allowed us to capture a glimpse of what went thru Russians's mind during those tumultous period. Worth watching for historical buff like myself
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful film
Review: A wonderful film - one of the best I seen for a long time. It is very humane and I do not agree with one viewer who suggested that it humiliates Russians. It actually, does the opposite, by highlighting human spirit under duress and telling how much the Russians had to endure and yet preserved their culture and humanity. The coach is one type of Russians who helped the society to move forward. The movie made me think that Soviet Union - the country I lived in 70-ies and 80-ies had much in common with the post-war Stalinist society, from which it just gradually evolved before the perestroika. It also, helped me appreciate more the value of freedoms I gained in the end of 80-ies in Russia under Gorbachev and those I gained later by moving to the West.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Examination of Life in Stalinist Russia
Review: At the close of World War Two, a number of Communist fellow-travellers in the West chose to accept Josef Stalin's invitation to resettle in the worker's paradise of the Soviet Union and learned that Uncle Joe's definition of "paradise" was a bit different than their own. In "East-West", a Russian man brings his French wife and young son back to Odessa to begin a new life. There is great revelry and a bit of nervous tension among the group on the voyage, but a general lighthearted optimism prevails. The mood shifts when the passengers debark in Odessa, are immediately accused of being spies, and marched off to an uncertain fate. Alexei, the husband and father of our emigres from France, is a doctor and quite savvy politically. He realizes almost admittedly his foolishness in returning to the Soviet Union and immediately takes steps to ensure his family's survival. His wife, Marie, is a different sort, and she feels betrayed by her husband for convincing her to leave France and come to this horrible, paranoid place. She begins plotting to escape Russia with her son. "East-West" is quite a unique movie for American audiences. Despite the European view that Americans are reflexively anti-Communist, this movie could never be made in Hollywood, where socialist ideals run deep. The only serious anti-Communist movie I can recall since World War II (sorry, "Red Dawn" fans) is Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront", and his reception among the glitterati for this was frigid at best. On the other hand, how many anti-Nazi movies have there been? It's an odd dichotomy, unless one reflects how many card-carrying Communists there are in Tinseltown and how few Voelkischer Beobachter (the Nazi party paper) subscribers there were. The French have proven in recent years that they are superior in at least one regard to their American counterparts (all right, they're also far better at surrendering): they are able to view the legacy of Communism without flinching. Having produced "The Black Book of Communism" and "East-West", I may have to reconsider my predisposition toward despising all things French, save Latitia Costa. This movie is subtitled, so illiterates should purchase "Big Daddy" instead.
Rating:
Summary: What would you do for love?
Review: East-West explores that question - to the hilt. Would you betray your husband? Would you desert your family? Would you send your own son away? There has always been a certain romantic intrigue about the Soviet Union and Russia. Mother Russia serves the perfect foil against any love story. The uncertainty of living in a place filled with turmoil and secrets. The story of Alexi and Marie is powerful. Their love - and what they do for that love - is humbling. Astonishing. I enjoyed the ending, as well. Instead of leaving the viewers with the bittersweet taste of love lost, Mr. Wargnier manages to end this movie on a joyful note. This movie is a joy for the senses. The scenery and costumes are, at least to my novice eye, well done. The language shifts frequently from Russian to French, while you read the subtitles. I definitly recommend this one!
Rating:
Summary: Best foreign film i've seen yet
Review: East-West is the best foreign movie i've seen yet. Great performances & brilliant story. I strongly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Best foreign film i've seen yet
Review: East-West is the best foreign movie i've seen yet. Great performances & brilliant story. I strongly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: splendid and original gem
Review: Frankly, this movie has got it all: gripping plot, great acting, suspens and emotion, and great attention to details: I was bowled over, expecting something dramatically over the top and instead getting effective finesse at all levels.
The DVD is crisp and the subtitles for both Russian and French easy to follow. The director's comments included on one of the soundtracks is, like most director's comment on DVD, rather disappointing in its worthless chatter and disorganization, but obviously the man's work speaks for itself...
Rating:
Summary: The best movie I have ever seen!
Review: I am only 15 years old, and have been seeing foreign movies though for a couple of years now. My mother started taking me at a very early age. When I came out of the movie theater, I was drained, was dazed from the epic that I had just watched. The movie takes place in 1945, after the end of WWII when Russia issued an annoucement for Russian emigres in the West to return home, and nothing would be done against them. The Communists said to all returning people's, that they would have a wonderful life, and jobs in the Soviet Union. Alexi is a Russian who went to France and married his French wife Marie. They return with their son, but have no idea at all things would be that way. As soon as they dock in Odessa, the group from the ship is either executed or imprisoned. They are lucky and get to Kiev. Marie wants to get out soon after they arrive. As it happens she lives there for 10 years, with much difficulties, problems, and life altering changes. I highly recomend this gripping movie.
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