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Title: Beautiful but ultimately confusing and disappointing
Review: This movie is about a personal journey by one man looking partly for lost reels of film, and partly for his own past. The music and much of the cinematography in this film is quite beautiful; some of the images, such as the statue of Lenin floating down the river are absolutely unforgettable. The problem is that the director's artistic vision seems to be getting in the way of storytelling, and the result is a film with a lot of atmosphere and little substance.Anyone who claims to really understand this film is probably afflicted by the "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome: too embarrassed to admit that this artful film just doesn't make any sense. Harvey Keitel and Maia Morgenstern seem to float in and out of various characters without any explanation. Had the editing been a lot better, perhaps the filmmaker's message would've come through. As is, it's mostly just confusing and ultimately disappointing.
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