Granny

A very nice, sad and sensitively filmed story of an old grandmother who at the end of her life struggles to find support from those closest to her. Her troubles are touching, and the film quite impressively sketches the realities of the difficult life in Russia, with all its abysmal social differences and gloom. What I found very pleasing, apart from the excellent script, are the very good performances of all the cast, including the non-actors, who look very natural. This unassuming but all the more powerful film grabbed me by the heart and that is enough for a full score. (04/07/2005)

This portrait of contemporary mother Russia, based on a passive character of an abandoned and unwanted old woman, is an incredible emotional purgatory. Granny symbolizes old Russia, the togetherness of the family, the peculiar melancholy and typical inner tragedy of one’s nation. The film literally floats like a bitter mirror of the paradoxical world around us, a fixed point of sadness and resignation, but at the same time love and sacrifice in a world that is drowning in moral mud and scarred by a never-ending war. "What is this new Russian?" Granny doesn't have to say much - all the tragedies of her character and her family are best revealed by individual situations, and it is not necessary to pull the viewer by the udder and wring tears or laughter out of us (and yet, despite this, that is why both of them came to me). The film just flows peacefully, sadly like the Russian winter, and with its tone it transported me to an emotional Siberia. It may be Russian in the soul, but its message goes far beyond any national border. A carved masterpiece with economical strokes, accompanied by a beautiful musical backdrop. (04/07/2005)