Taras Bulba (Тарас Бульба) is a 2009 Russian historical drama based on the Gogol story of the same name. The story, first published in the 1830s, is about a Zaporozhian Cossack (a Ukrainian self-governing military tribe) colonel, Taras Bulba—loosely based on some historical figures—and his sons, who join the war against Poland. Much of the […]
We’re From the Future 2 (Мы из будущего 2; also Paradox Soldiers in English) is a 2010 Russian film. It is the sequel to the 2008 We’re From the Future. Both are war/drama/fantasy films about time travel. In the first film, the four heroes accidentally went back in time and had to fight in World […]
Twists and Turns (Выкрутасы; also called Lucky Trouble in English) is a 2010 Russian romantic comedy. It stars Milla Jovovich (Милла Йовович), the Ukrainian-American actress who also speaks Russian, and it was directed by Levan Gabriadze (Леван Габриадзе), who directed two of the Christmas Trees (Ёлки) movies. Russian actress Galina Loginova (Галина Логинова), Jovovich’s real-life […]
Love Is a Carrot 3 (Любовь-морковь 3) is the third in the Love Is a Carrot trilogy, Russia’s own version of Freaky Friday. (“Love is a carrot” is a Russian phrase that, drawing on the silly-sounding rhyme between the words любовь, love, and морковь, carrot, dismisses love as something silly or cutesy. It’s often used […]
Winnie-the-Pooh (Винни Пух in Russian) is a Soviet/Russian animated “children’s” series, and the Russian version of the all-time American classic (well, sort of). The Russian version, although also based on the book series, is different in almost every way—from the unusual animation to the sometimes dark subject matter and Pooh’s exceptional air of melancholy. Technically, […]
OrAngeLove (Оранжлав; the stylized capitalization is a feature of the English-language title) is a Ukrainian 2009 drama about love, AIDS, and the 2005 Orange Revolution. The film takes place vaguely against the background of the Orange Revolution, but worlds apart from it. Two people, Katya and Roman, after falling in love on a trolleybus, have locked […]
Orange Sky (Помаранчеве небо) is a 2006 Ukrainian film that turns the 2005 Orange Revolution into a love story. The film’s tag line, “Revolution is love” (“Революція—це кохання”), is a pretty neat expression of the film’s content. The film tells the story of Mark Zaduhka (Марк Задуха), one of Ukraine’s so-called “golden youth.” He’s from […]
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (Зима у вогні: Боротьба України за свободу) is a 2015 documentary film about Ukraine’s Euromaidan protests. Told in English, Ukrainian, and Russian and composed of real footage from the protests, it is an on-the-ground, heartrending, and occasionally graphic look at Ukraine’s recent history. The film travels through the […]
Night Watch (Ночной дозор) is a 2004 Russian urban fantasy film. It is based on the book of the same name by Sergei Lukyanenko (Сергей Лукьяненко). The book—it is the first in a series of six so far—was published in 1998 and has become a Russian, and then global, phenomenon. It is about a secondary […]
