Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Ron Solina
A stroke of misfortune brought back a Soviet defector Nikolai "Kolya" Rodchenko (Mikhail Baryshnikov) back to his homeland and gets introduced to an American defector Raymond Greenwood (Gregory Hines) to keep him in a "leash" while they are in Leningrad, a city where the sun doesn't set especially in summer.Both the male leads embodies the contradiction that's always a marvel to watch in a ballet, gracefulness and ruggedness in equal measure, and a soundtrack that includes "Say You, Say Me" and "Separate Lives", both songs could put a grown man into tears as you try to reminisce the story of the film itself. The dance sequence well captured by Mr. Hackford, enjoyable and captivating in equal measure. The climactic scene is just an engrossing cinematic treat. The female counterparts (Isabella Rossellini and Helen Mirren) both radiant and glowing, their beauty is just easy on the eyes. The Cold War may have long since ended but the film transcends that particular point in history because of the superb narrative that's embedded in the story.
--B-plus--
pefrss
Somehow I missed this movie when it was originally in the theaters. A few years ago on a sleepless night it was playing on one of the retro channels and I got all excited about the dance scenes and went on a hunt to find the DVD. I found it and now I watch it from time to time if I want to watch real good dancing.I have never been to the Soviet Union, so I cannot really judge how authentic the situation portrayed was. I know that the Russians adore ballet and their dancers and that they might have been very unhappy to lose such a talent. The treatment of the American dancer seems pretty accurate to me . I had a relative , a scientist, who decided to emigrate into a Communist country and I think he regretted that move for the rest of his life.I think it is an interesting and entertaining movie and I certainly love the dance scenes. For me the strongest dance number is the one in the beautiful Kirov theater with the Russian music. I have seen it so many times and cannot get enough of it. It is beyond words, it is pure perfect dance. And Mikhail Barychnikov is a gifted man. He does not need costumes or a great backdrop, he can say it all with his body.
spam_chaconne
Baryshinikov is the one of the best male dancers of all time. This movie allows you to see him up close and view his "process" for dancing. You can't help but watch in awe at his amazing athletic and physical feats... from the very first scene where you see him slowly lower his entire body from a headstand to lying down to seeing him dance "en pointe" in what appear to be a pair of "Keds". It isn't just seeing the dances that is amazing. It is the opportunity to see the dances from the perspective of an "insider who is sitting right there next to him -- as opposed to watching him from the audience.This is dancing "eye candy" at its finest -- my favorite escape movie of all time.
evgeniy77
First, I would like to voice my outrage at the exploitation of Vladimir Vysotsky's talent five years after his death for this piece of Reagan-esquire propaganda. Another dehumanization of the USSR, especially when it was it had only 6 years of existence left. Another contrived plot that has nothing in common with reality. If an artist defected, they would not try to pull him back, this would be beneath them. Besides, he is not a government worker or a military officer--- he does not have any secrets that they would want to keep him quiet about it. This is "so-called" art done for the benefit of Reagan's propaganda. If Americans want to see what Russian society was really like, they should see any of the Soviet films(PREFERABLY of the 60's, 70.s, and 80's) found in abundance on this website.
