Sibirskiy tsiryulnik

This is not Mikhalkov's best film. Yet a Mikhalkov film is one that presents a story with a twinkle in the eye. His films come very near to the black comedy genre. Take his swipe at the average American not understanding Mozart's music--if it is taken literally, it will cloud the Mikhalkov perspective of life through cinema. That perspective is poles apart from the filmmaking of his half brother Andrei Mikhalkov Konchalovsky, who is serious and quite a bit of a perfectionist (he worked with Andrei Tarkovsky on his earlier movies), e.g. "Runaway Train" and "Shy People" made in Hollywood or "Siberiade" made in the former USSR.

Mikhalkov makes serious scenes seem light and a lark: the deportation to Siberia marked with opera singing; the dangerous duel that ends with a hero lying wounded in a Quixotic manner; a very tall Czar Alexander (the director) who puts down his queen with a most 'unroyal' remark. Mikhalkov and his half brother are great visualizers and have good ears for music--which is why the film is a treat to watch--natural splendors of Siberia, recreating a "Dr Zhivago" milieu with more authenticity than Mr Lean (who did a great job considering he could not shoot his film in the USSR).

I am a great admirer of good Russian cinema: especially the works of Tarkovsky, Kozintsev, Eisenstein, Konchalovsky, Talankin in that order. Mikhalkov is not the best but all his films are worth a view. But I have one suggestion--never take his films as what appears for there is a layer underneath the obvious--that needs to be seen tongue in cheek. And unlike Konchalovsky--the quality of direction is never consistent in Mikhalkov's works--it varies from the brilliant to the almost stupid.

But Mr Mikhalkov, what a pathetic waste of Richard Harris' talent to merely advertise his name in the credits for an insignificant role in a long movie...

beautiful landscapes. and seductive story. clever mixture of humor and drama. a bitter love story. and Russia in a splendid portrait about past, tradition, image about world, love and duty. Oleg Menshikov does one of that characters who are essence of a state of soul. the science to explore the emotions of young Tolstoy, the madness of gesture from profound love, the dialog with Jane, the search of sense in an absurd universe, all as embroidery of significant details. Julia Ormond gives a special aura to her character. and that is not a real surprise. the film is about evolution. the evolution of lead characters. the evolution of Russia itself. an admirable scene - the presence of Nikita Mikhalkov as Alexander II . a not great film. but, surely, a beautiful one.

I stumbled on this film one night on TV. I hadn't heard of it, but I got intrigued immediately. It was the long version, so it got quite late.

I didn't regret that one bit. It has a nice story thats seems to fit if you're willing to go along with it (one can always find a stick to beat the dog). It has witty, funny dialogs. Although it is a romantic story, it does not have the crappy all's well that ends well feel.

The 2 main characters are very well developed (in the version I saw), they are not clear cut, one dimensional. It is true that some other characters are bordering on the slapstick, but I feel this is not overdone. Somehow it balances really well.

Need I say more? Excellent entertainment (in my humble opinion).

Most of the critics are saying bad things about this movie, but all of my friends who have seen it are saying that it was really good. I started to like Nikita Mihalkov, when I saw his film 'Burnt by the Sun'. This film is quite different, but very good too. The film lasts almost 3 hours, but you won't lose your attention until the end. Actors are good, even I had some problems with J. Ormond's acting at some places. Alexei Petrenko and Oleg Menshikov are the best. As we see Oleg, we can believe him that he is really a man in his twenties(although we know he is not) and it's not because his make-up. The director of photography has done a good work too. I'd recommend this film to anyone, who likes movies with great pictures, cast, and who likes Nikita Mihalkov. You don't have to be a romantic type to like it.

Do you know why "The Barber of Siberia" has not been released in the USA? After watching the film, the committee, which approves the foreign films for being released at the American movie theatres, said: "It's impossible for an American sergeant not to know who was Mozart! The film reveals the American officers as morons, so it is not suitable the film to be shown at the theatres". That's the explanation, which Nikita Mikhalkov gave by himself for the lack of releasing of "The Barber of Siberia" in the USA during his guesting of a popular Bulgarian talk-show. That reminds me of a line from the RAMMSTEIN's famous song called "Amerika": "Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen..." In English:"The Freedom is playing at all violins..." (the song aims to show the "freedom" and the "non-censorship" in the USA) By the way the broadcasting of that song at any American television is forbidden.