Sezon tumanov

This is a very interesting film about the choices that one can find oneself having to make, often unexpectedly, at key points in life. And about how these choices may be the rights one or wrong ones for many different reasons. It kept me thinking for a long time afterwards. The mixed cast – half British, half Russian – works well and there are some very nicely-judged performances. I particularly liked Ifan Huw Dafydd as Gregory. There is one scene where he seems to convey everything he is feeling simply by opening his eyes. The Leicestershire landscape and Moscow at night both look wonderful thanks to the cinematography by Dmitry Ermakov.

I started with much trepidation as some Russian films are a bit thin on the ground with dialogue and the plot/screenplay itself. However, the film itself is very enjoyable and unlike many films these days is a bit more in depth with both the character's roles within the film and the way the film plays out the plot.

The English village and surrounding countryside has been well selected from a locational viewpoint and is populated by some village residents that bring a smile to your face with their bantering between each other. The village idiot who is clearly barking mad is also quite amusing in his own small way. I highly recommend this film.

I was one of the fortunate people who was invited to the screening of this film in Cambridge a few months ago. Without the temptation to refer to the plot, I would summarise this work as a refreshing and insightful piece that realistically portrays an educated middle-aged Russian woman trying to find herself in a foreign culture whilst having very limited opportunities. It particularly struck a chord with me because it somewhat reminded me of a story I witnessed in my own family: the emotional turmoil that my mother faced having moved to the UK from Russia where she was in a respected and successful academic post, but subsequently had to make do with some low-profile job opportunities that stunted her personal and professional growth. Marina's soul is aching for fulfilment beyond the mundane tasks of an every day life in a small village. You can almost 'feel' her emotional emptiness and you sense her being out of place, her desire to fly out of a cage that her life seems to have become since moving to the UK. Is this what most highly-educated creative Russian women endure when they relocate to a foreign country? I really liked the character of Marina's husband, mostly for the loyalty and kindness despite quite profound life-changing events that unravel.

The movie skilfully conveys a huge range of emotions. There is a place for tears and there is a place for a smile. What is certain is that it left me with a deep feeling of HOPE.

A modern setting, a contemporary tale, yet with a charm that is in many ways reminiscent of a bygone age.

With a welcome lack of gratuitous explosions and sfx, and a screenplay that is both perceptive and thought provoking, this is the story of an intelligent Russian woman who finds something lacking in life with her English husband.

Her dream life in the West has fallen far short of her expectations, and she has had plenty of time to reflect on this. In England she is perceived as a hairdresser, far removed from the writers' circles which she used to frequent in Moscow, where her talent was understood and recognised.

Location filming in the English countryside and Russian metropolis adds to the contrast between two very different cultures and expectations.

In the tradition of films such as Truly Madly Deeply and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, this is an absolute gem.

I liked "Season of Mists" (in Russian "Sezon Tumanov"). Without being redundant and repeating fine plot synopsis written by one of the sponsors Neil McCartney, my comments will be directed primarily toward the film interpretation and technical features rather than the literal narrative. I also was physically transplanted into another country where I live now already for 30 years and also from Russian-speaking world. There is indeed (or at least was) a significant difference in transplanting, especially while at a mature age, into a quite dissimilar cultural environment. While this is one of the messages, I believe the most important one is rather a midlife crisis and feminism's issues.

In the "Season" authors consider a case of a very bright and intelligent woman (and a feminist's message is very pertinent here) who settled, perhaps due to economic or selfish reasons, into a marriage to a 'good and decent man' who she does not quite love, but deeply respect. Her skills and talents seem to be misused (or under-utilized) in the English village, among those good meaning but simple country folks. She's obligated to this simple auto-mechanic, Gregory, who brought up her daughter as his own and loves her dearly. She's torn between her loyalty and gratitude to her husband and her ambition. This is a feminist work that shows greater dependence of woman upon external circumstances than of a man; even in the developed societies, woman is still more vulnerable, primarily because of her children, upon external circumstances and assigned social roles.

This English village is separated from the outside world by a roman-aqueduct (or a bridge) alluding to something basic, primal and ancient. The strange stone-statue and the old man (Darby), a sacred priest of the stone, who deals with the loss of his dear wife by imagining that she was kidnapped by aliens, he performs a daily ritual of her imminent return. Marina, the heroin of the film, roams around the countryside, on the edge of her village-universe; she walks on the roman-aqueduct, straight on the border between hers and outsider world. But at last, the time had come - Marina has an opportunity and acts on it - she falls in 'love' with Sasha, a second violin (the fact that he is a second, not first is quite significant). She also has an opportunity to be a published author. It is not that she is extremely talented, but perhaps she's not entirely gift-less. Her friend, Valya, appears to be successful in the profession, without having any talent. But what Valya's 'success' affording her? - An active social life, without true love and family, in the beautiful, yet cluttered and unkempt apartment. Initially appealing to Marina, eventually she dismisses all of this and chooses her old, stable, familiar life. She finds more meaning and fulfillment in this old English village.

Marina's decision to stay with Gregory is helped by her becoming pregnant from Sasha, who's melancholy, 'quiet desperation' and lack of initiative makes him a poor candidate for the role of father. Marina is pregnant again - with Sasha's child. It is as if this ancient English-heartland is good for education, family but is impotent to produce its own offspring and needs the blood from outside world (like Russia). Gregory (an old England) will accept this new child, as his own, as he already had done with Dasha, another Marina's child.

The final sequence, when Sasha comes to see Marina and finds her with the new child, without understanding that this is his own, relieved to learn that Marina will not be with him after all; he goes to the magic stone, where its priest, Darby, meets him. He always felt uncomfortable in this old English country, with its language and traditions. He rushes on the tractor (of all modes of transportation selected by the director) to bring him to the frontiers, this old roman-aqueduct that separates him from his Russian world. He appears to be content.

The "Season of Mists" is not just about mists in our lives. This is, first and foremost, a feminist's film; it is made by a woman and has the female feel to it. It provokes a quiet contemplation, without effusion and cheep effects. I heartily recommend this film for serious and patient people.