Plot
The story of a Russian man's attempted journey to England, this film opens in Kiev in 1986 just after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, where the carefree Valeri Sikorksi (Ivan Shvedoff) pals around with his friend Victor (Dennis Burgazliev). Several years later, Valeri is on a bus from Kiev to pick up Victor in Berlin on his way to England. En route to Berlin, Valeri becomes acquainted with the attractive Yelena (Chulpan Khamatova), who is traveling to Hanover to meet her German husband. Once in Berlin, Valeri meets Pavel (Merab Ninidze), an icon-painter, and eventually learns that Victor has died. After he gets a job at the Russian guest house where he's staying, Valeri begins a friendship with Maria (Anna Geislerova), the wife of his new boss, Schurig (Maxim Kowalewski). They eventually enter into an affair, even though Valeri is becoming increasingly ill with the same disease that killed Victor. As Valeri's sickness grows, so does his pessimism, and his entire world threatens to collapse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, RoviReview
A man suffering from both a serious illness and an overriding sense of sadness searches for a friend and ends up on a quest to find himself. Some of the potentially interesting elements of the story, such as the Chernobyl accident and the cultural differences between the former Soviet Union and Germany, aren't developed as much as they could have been. Furthermore, the film's leisurely pace and downbeat themes (illness, loss, despair), as well as the director's low-key approach to the material, ensure that this movie won't be on too many people's "must see" list. But if you accept the film's limitations, you may find that it does have several strong points. A story that could have easily become mawkish is relatively free of sentimentality (at least until the last part of the film); individual scenes don't have the sense of forced inevitability found in many formula Hollywood movies; and Ivan Shvedov's performance as Valeri injects some vitality into the movie. Valeri conveys just enough vulnerability to elicit people's sympathy (and get away with occasionally acting irresponsible) without letting on how much pain is really behind his charming exterior. He has a real personality instead of just seeming like a cardboard cutout. So while England! is neither groundbreaking nor spellbinding, it does make a decent effort to get the viewer emotionally involved in the life of the protagonist. ~ Todd Kristel, RoviCast
- Ivan Shvedov
- Merab Ninidze
- Anna Geislerová
- Chulpan Khamatova
Credit
Achim von Borries - Director, Judy Tossell - Producer, Martin Steyer - Sound/Sound Designer, Uve Haussig - Sound/Sound Designer| England and Your English Ancestry (1993 Film), England My England (Film) | |
| England's Historic Treasures: A Celebration of Old Roses (1998 Film), England's Historic Treasures: The Spirit of England (1998 Film) |
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