Kirjoittajan arkistot:alisa

The Last Spin

Julkaistu , kirjoittanut
Vastaa

The Last Spin is a short story about two men whose gangs have chosen them to settle their disagreement’s by playing Russian Roulette. It is written by Evan Hunter who lived in New York where  the story takes place.

The story begins in a dreary basement where two men from enemy gangs ,Tigo and Danny, are preparing to start playing Russian Roulette. Before getting to the point they make clear that they have nothing personally against each other and then they start the nerve-wracking game of life. Tigo volunteers to go first. He squeezes the trigger but it clicks on an empty chamber. On Danny’s turn happens the same; it clicks. This happens again and again and again and then Tigo decides to add one bullet more to lower the odds .

During the game they have a conversation about their girlfriends, the army, guns, gangs and life…. When time goes by they realize that they actually have quite much in common. Soon Tigo decides to add a one more bullet. Now the chances are 3:6. At the same time Tigo suggests that they could tell the gang they don’t want to be a part of it anymore, get real friends and go for a rowboating on a lake just they and their girlfriends. Danny agrees him and they decide that Danny’s spin is going to be the very last one. He puts the gun to his head, pulls the trigger and against all odds the gun fires and Danny’s head rips off. The story ends Tigo putting his head on the table starting to cry.

The story is very compelling. When you once start reading it, you just can’t stop anymore. It has a very thrilling atmosphere, mainly because of the game; you never know when the fateful gunshot comes and to who. Of course the setting is ideal for creating the atmosphere; the dreary and dark basement where the gunshots echo. It reflects perfectly the death.

Hunter writes in a very descriptive and interesting way. For example “the lethal grace of the weapon” and “ a look of incredulous shock knifed his eyes” are very ingenious ways to express the matter. But still the text is mostly the two men’s dialog  which sometimes is quite hard to understand.

I didn’t expect the story to end up like the way it did; Danny shooting his head off and shattering his face in front of his new friend. I admit that it was quite thrilling to read it but in the same time, very depressing and shocking. I would recommend this story for everyone who would like to know a little about the life in gangs and who is not afraid of shocking and honest stories.

Moscow doesn’t believe in tears

Julkaistu , kirjoittanut
1

Moscow doesn’t believe in tears (Moskva slezam ne verit) is a Soviet movie that was directed by Vladimir Menshov and released in 1979. It is a melodrama about the life of three women who move from the countryside to Moscow in search for a better life. It was once a real blockbuster in the Soviet Union.

The story begins when Katja (Vera Alentova), Ljuda (Irina Muravyova) and Antonina (Raysa Ryazanova) move to a university dormitory in Moscow. They all came there for a good education, job and a husband. It turns out that life doesn’t always go the way you wanted it to go. Katja doesn’t pass the exam to a university and has to keep working in a factory. Katja and Ljuda fall in love at a party and after dating for awhile Katja becomes pregnant. When Rudolf (Juri Vasiljev) finds out that Katja has been lying to him  about her life including her job,  education and financial situation, he dumps her. At this point Antonina and Ljuda are married and Katja is raising her baby girl alone.

The movie is divided into two parts. The second part starts after about 15 years. Katja is a director in a factory, her daughter is a teenager and she lives in her own apartment. Only one thing’s missing from Katja´s life; a husband. Later on a local train she meets her future husband, Georgi (Aleksei Batalov). When everything is finally going the right way, Katja’s ex-boyfriend turns up demanding to meet his daughter. Because of this Georgi gets hurt and  disappears for a week.  Later Ljuda’s husband found Georgi, had a proper conversation with vodka and anchovy, and Georgi decides to come back to Katja. The movie ends with Katja saying twice “How long have I been looking for you” .

The actors of the film are the best I’ve ever seen. The way they act is something you rarely get to see nowdays. Especially Irina Muravyova’s performance stood out in a good way. Also the casting was well considered. The roles were like made to the actors.

There are no special effects in this movie and I personally think that it doesn’t even need any. It’s plot, great actors, beautiful music and sarcastic Russian humour do the trick all by themselves. I would recommend this movie to everyone who wants to see something different than usually.