Vdrebezgi (2011) Reviews

• Russian Pulp Fiction?

  Skullen2011-11-18

  Vdrebezgi (Smithereens) is an interesting attempt to make a multi-plotted, multi-charactered tale where all the strands come together in the end. There are guns, sexy girls (and unattractive Russian men), blood and coincidences - all slightly reminiscent of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, just set in the crumbling, decaying land that is Russia. Some of the scenes are a bit ropey, but overall the acting is generally good, the camera-work tries hard to be inventive, and there are some good one-liners (which made the Russians in the audience at the Sputnik Film Festival in Warsaw laugh a lot. I did too, but not quite as much). Sometimes the interwoven plots strain credulity a bit too much, and there's a little too much gore, but the light, black humour helps get through it. Worth watching, and worth watching the writer-director's future efforts probably.

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