SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Benjamin Fogg
Disclaimer for this review: the film is being judged on its own merits, not how accurately it adapts Pushkin's original novel-in-verse Eugene Onegin.Onegin takes place in Russia at some time between the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon and the abolition of serfdom in 1861. It follows the titular Russian nobleman, who is called to the backwoods from his lavish life in St. Petersburg when he inherits his uncle's estate. The story centers upon his alienation from the privileges of nobility and weariness with the customs that accompany his class. Those fond of tales of historical high-society courtship such as the more recent Downton Abbey will find Onegin to be worthwhile viewing. In fact, despite the animosity between France and Russia after the War of 1812, the prevalence of French in dress, mannerisms, and language means that this film could, if not for the names of the characters, be easily assumed to take place within the aristocracy of Paris.While the original work Eugene Onegin was first published in 1833, 28 years before Tsar Alexander's emancipation of the serfs, Onegin muses upon the value of renting the land surrounding his estate and moving back to St. Petersburg rather than acting as its overseer. The idea is dismissed as absurd by his noble contemporaries, showcasing both Onegin's distaste for the traditions of his time and complete lack of concern for the opinion of his peers. This utter apathy is further revealed in Onegin's interactions with the neighboring noble family, particularly with the youngest daughter, Tatyana. Her older sister, Olga, is the fiancé of the poet Vladimir Lensky, and Onegin's disillusionment with the ideals expressed in Lensky's verse results in his alienation for all three. Even so, Tatyana confesses her adoration for the urbanite Onegin in a letter (addressed, as French was considered the language of sophistication in Russia at the time, to Monsieur Onegin). His answer to this admission comes only upon his reluctant acceptance of an invitation offered by Lensky. Onegin is told that it will be a small gathering for Tatyana's name day, but upon arrival finds that it is a full-scale ball, much like those that he had long ago grown tired of attending in St. Petersburg. As revenge against Lensky, Onegin dances with his fiancé Olga, resulting in her infatuation with the nobleman from St. Petersburg. Lensky is left furious as Onegin leaves the party to speak with Tatyana, coolly insisting that she abandon such childish notions as love before her innocence becomes her downfall. In return for Onegin's affront against him, Vladimir challenges him to a duel. Even when death is on the line, however, Onegin refuses to cooperate with the traditions of nobility, arriving to the duel late and appointing a servant as his second. Despite this, Lensky continues with the duel, resulting in his death. After this. while it is never shown on-screen, Onegin spends the next seven years traveling the world. When he returns, attending a ball much like those from before he departed for his uncle's estate, he finds that Tatyana has been married. Following the ball, he finds her at her home and insists that he was wrong to reject her. However, she rejects him much as he did after her confession, leaving the despondent Onegin to stand on the streets of St. Petersburg. As is fitting for a film based upon a poem, the visual imagery is striking. The cynical Onegin's meetings with idealist poet Vladimir Lensky more often than not take place on a dock by a lake. The stirring of the lake in the wind reflects the growing resentment between the two, culminating in their duel on that dock under an overcast sky. After meeting Tatyana for her name day celebration, she and Onegin retreat to a somewhat dilapidated shed away from the manor, the peeling paint a stark contrast to the lavish ball they have excused themselves from. With that departure from the rules imposed by an aristocratic setting comes Onegin's cuttingly forthright rejection of Tatyana. Upon Onegin's return to St. Petersburg, the lighting in the ball where he meets the married Tatyana reflects the ballet he attended at the introduction of the film, creating a literary framing effect. inclusion of a coffin in the frame as Onegin departs down the snowy, overcast street reflects the figurative death of Onegin's hopes and dreams.While not an exceptionally profound story, the characters of Onegin are handled well, as is essential for any drama, and offer an adequate glimpse into not only the social context of 19th century Russia but its philosophical quandaries of self-definition in the face of social constraints.
avgust
The original story is arguably the best piece of Russian literature. As such it presents a multifaceted reflection of Russian life of early nineteenth century and a compelling drama told lucidly with wit and subtlety.None can be applied to the movie we have to see. We are fed with ignorant clichés, belabored with shameless vulgarity and sodomized with lies that not just alter, but plainly kill the original story.Creators of the movie clearly deem their viewers to be incapable of subtlety. And they approach their audience as cunning salesmen whose task is to sell a cheap kitsch as a treasured masterpiece. Pushkin also could not rely on his readers' developed taste. But his novel lifted his readers up, this movie on the contrary, dumbs down the original to the level of the viewers.The movie cannot possibly be worse than it is.
Boris Todorov
Russians consider Pushkin's "Evgenii Onegin" one of the peaks of their literature, but to British drama actors/directors/composers Fiennes the work remained just a curiosity which could be easily brought to screen for a nice, and unambitious family project. Where Russian readers and western students of Russian culture see a vision of the decadence of Russian aristocracy, and a condemnation of the Ancien Regime, both in social, and cultural terms, the Fiennes saw a nice romantic interlude. The limited scope of the filmmakers'interest explains why the movie is successful in just one aspect - the two love scenes between Onegin and Larina are great, actually much better than what Russian actors would perform in the place of Fiennes and Tyler. But that's that. Everything else, including the duel, or the scandal between Lensky and Onegin, is dull, insipid and rather un-Russian. Fiennes obviously misunderstood the meaning of being "tired of life". Pushkin's Onegin was not a self-centered, self-sufficient and utterly satisfied English gentleman who speaks patronizingly to everyone in the country because "he knows things". He was a model for generations of Russian "malcontents": in a rigidly conservative society playing the "tired of life" was a social stand, not a psychological state. Onegin was a passionate man and his aloofness was a deliberate pretense (not that much different from Hamlet's delusive craziness). In short, the Fienneses had better screen a romantic drama without referring to Pushkin's masterpiece. Their movie is nice, watchable and enjoyable (well, Liv Tyler stars in it!), but their rendition of Pushkin's characters is so dissatisfying, the great poet might easily take offense.
martynuk
**** CONTAINS A possible SPOILER for those who have not read the book ****I remember back in school we were doing silly projects like Cinderella in the style of Kurasava, or as an action movie. This movie is something like that. And although I could not exactly pinpoint of what exactly, but it's definitely Onegin in the style of something. Don't get me wrong - the movie has it's strong points - Liv is as pleasant to look at as anywhere else... What "made" the film for me, and still is the defining (only) moment I remember is the duel scene, where <SPOILER> the bullet is shown to hit Lensky's head and his brains fan out from the other side in a VERY slow motion </SPOILER>.But what can make this film from a mere "painless 5" into an "unforgettable 11", is if you speak Russian, and have read (memorized) the original, get a Russian version, which instead of just reading Pushkin is dubbed with synchro translation of the English dialog back into Russian. It's truly hilarious.
