Such a frustrating disappointment

Pretty Good

It is a performances centric movie

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I was blown away by how easy it was for me (as well as for my husband) to relate to this film but I don't think you have to be of similar background in order to find this film fascinating and enlightening.I loved that the film wasn't solely political, but focused more on these people's lives instead. This was an excellent little window into people's lives. Of course, this cannot be representative of all Russians, but these five people have very different lives and it was interesting to see what choices or happenings led them to where they are today. There is much nostalgia present in this film, although I do not think that this nostalgia is for the Soviet regime. Like all people, these subjects are nostalgic for their childhoods, when everything seemed better and one simply did not have to deal with any real, mundane problems. Their reflections are very heartwarming. All in all, I highly recommend this film.

I like this documentary, which recalls my memory in China. In some level, Russia is the big brother and father of China. We have the same faith, the same society mode, the similar party history and the similar memory about the past at once. Although the opening day of school in China is not as special as Russia's, it's also very important for every kid who is ready to begin their school life. We have the same red scarf, the young pioneer, the group activity out of campus, and a heart that is ready for constructing our country and socialism. We also have the firm faith of socialism, the three-years difficulty period, and finally have to learn how to confront the history and the collapse of the faith. Every September is the time for school to open. Every year, countless students come to school and begin their new life. Every generation has their difference and shares the similar experiences. They are the hot-blood young people at once. The school life for them is the perfect memory forever. Although society is changed, the leader is not the same one yet, they grew up, became rich or poor. They have suffered the pain and happiness. Their youth has been past as well as the heavy history. But the life is going on and the youth is going on.

It's a unique story related with a particular period of political upheaval, and at the same time it's a general story about a nostalgia that all of us sympathize with. It's a Nostalgia for the days that we didn't have to worry about severe competitions, untrustworthy policies, unfair present and ambiguous future. It was the time we could find a peace of mind from the passivity and obedience. We were not ready enough to deal well with an unexpected freedom. We're also not ready to accept numerous choices and the results that we're responsible for. We don't even know how to explain clearly, if someone asked us why that time was better to us. We just know it was better. We're still not sure about the present. However, sometimes we found ourselves surprisingly living well in the present without any distinct understanding about it.

I was lucky enough to see "My Perestroika" at NYC's IFC Center, where director Robin Hessman answered questions following a screening of her film. She stressed that her documentary isn't so much representative of all Russians, but rather a cross-section of "ordinary Russians living in extra-ordinary times." Hessman focused her lens on five childhood classmates who entered school in communist Moscow but came of age during the fall of the Iron Curtain. She had incredible access to her five subjects: punk rocker Ruslan, single mom Olga, successful businessman Andrei, and married history teachers Borya and Lubya. By shooting solo (instead of relying on a cameraman), Hessman was able to develop a rapport with her subjects, prompting them to open up. Although they seemed nostalgic about their idyllic childhood, they also appeared to wish to leave it in the past. By the end, they all seemed nonchalant about the current government. The film's strength lies in its use of the subjects' own 8mm home movies (juxtaposed alongside vintage propaganda films). This film could easily have been constructed with talking heads waxing poetic about the fall of the USSR, but it wouldn't have been as compelling. By focusing on (relatable) characters, Hessman puts a face on the (last generation of the) Cold War, which until now had been a nebulous concept for me.By the end, I wanted to down vodka shots with Ruslan and Borya! My only gripe is that I wanted to see more interaction among the five childhood classmates. Olga lived around the corner from Borya and Lubya, but we never see them interact. We know Borya and Lubya still keep contact with Ruslan, but do any of them still keep in touch with Andrei and Olga? I suppose that is another strength of Hessman's storytelling...that she painted these protagonists in such a way that I wanted to know more about them. May I suggest a follow-up documentary?