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East/West

East/West

Drama · Romance · 1999

June 1946: Stalin invites Russian emigres to return to the motherland. It's a trap: when a ship-load from France arrives in Odessa, only a physician and his family are spared execution or prison. He and his French wife (her passport ripped up) are sent to Kiev. She wants to return to France immediately; he knows that they are captives and must watch every step.

Movie details

East/West

“An unforgettable story of love, betrayal and survival.”

1999 Drama · Romance 2h 1m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

June 1946: Stalin invites Russian emigres to return to the motherland. It's a trap: when a ship-load from France arrives in Odessa, only a physician and his family are spared execution or prison. He and his French wife (her passport ripped up) are sent to Kiev. She wants to return to France immediately; he knows that they are captives and must watch every step.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over East/West?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Régis Wargnier

Written by

Rustam Ibragimbekov · Sergei Bodrov · Louis Gardel · Régis Wargnier

Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve

Gabrielle Develay

Sandrine Bonnaire

Sandrine Bonnaire

Marie

Oleg Menshikov

Oleg Menshikov

Aleksei Golovin

Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Sasha Vasilyev

Tatyana Dogileva

Tatyana Dogileva

Olga

Bohdan Stupka

Bohdan Stupka

Colonel Boyko

R

Ruben Tapiero

Seryozha, à 7 ans

Court is in session

Put East/West on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.