10.31.2008

NIRVANA at AFI FEST


(This is a series of brief unedited descriptions of films in the festival I found time to write about. There are MANY other great films playing at the fest but I only have time to write about these few.)

Alisa leaves Moscow for St. Petersburg, hoping to get away from loneliness there. Looking for love, she destroys everything on her way to happiness. This young woman finds herself in a bleak modern landscape and tires to pull together some semblance of a life. In this stark Russian landscape he soon becomes involved in the lives of her troubles neighbors and so begins her tragic journey. This tale of drugs and sex is set against one of the most visually innovative backdrops in contemporary cinema

This is the latest visually stunning effort to emerge from modern Russian cinema but this time from an emerging talent in the filed. NIRVANA is a brightly colored gritty punk drama with amazing artistic ambition. The thumping pulse of the story is dashed with neon and sharp design. And the high contrast and vibrant set decoration is like none other you will see in any film this year.

A fantastic example of the stunning visual innovation, which is the defining characteristic of the modern Russian film renaissance, this work from director Igor Voloshin, is a powerfully cinematic vision.

NIRVANA plays AFI FEST Saturday, November 1st 12:30pm

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