Savva

I'll admit right away that I didn't expect anything great from this Russian animated film. In the end, though, I think they managed to handle it quite honorably, and there's an effort to captivate beyond boundaries. The story is cliched, no question about it, but overall I already got the feeling from the film that they were trying to make a better film than just something along the lines of "let's make an animated film no matter what." (21/03/2016)

I should be very strict because what I just saw was definitely not average... I am going to start with what is good about this movie, and that is the soundtrack. The music of the soundtrack is pretty well selected and matches the narrative, and it was pleasant to listen to. I have watched enough movies with narratives concerning a boy and his journey of discovery. However, I somehow cannot understand that after a boy declares that anything is possible if you believe in it with all your heart, he then has to embark on an epic journey only to find out what he already knew from the beginning regardless. However, then again, the movie probably would not have any narrative to speak of without that. As for this movie's narrative, it was also quite peculiar. It seemed quite good that we get introduced to all sorts of different peoples and cultures throughout the journey, which are usually quite original, although what happens in between, how it all builds up, and how it ends is not so great. I think the movie's creators simply wanted to showcase a sort of epic Lord of the Rings-style battle, so what does it matter that what leads up to it does not make that much sense? The twists are so weird that you cannot get your head around them at first, and eventually, you either learn not to think about them or get angry and stop watching. In general, the way the "fellowship"," or if you want "the group that follows the magician," gets together seems somehow random, forced, and quite peculiar. So is the strange romantic subplot between Savva and the Shaman of the tribe Shisha's granddaughter. Again, the whole thing feels like the screenwriters just kind of decided she would be stuck in there, although they did not want to do more with her or develop her character. There was not much to speak of as far as the comedy goes. Even the references to other movies did not work for me. Even the line "come with me if you want to live" just felt weird again at the point and moment where it was dropped. The worst part was probably the ending and Savva's slow-motion run through the field of roses "to find his love" - although no, it was not romantic and sweet, it was just dumb. Add to that the hyenas that look like they escaped from the circus, the three-headed monkey queen, the pink "Puffy" creature, and many other strange things and characters that made me shake my head. Indeed, it was either stupid or weird most of the time, even though there were a few moments that I liked and that were very original. For example, there was the "magician" who lived in a house with chicken legs picking the wrong kid to eat. So back to the beginning, "I should be very strict because what I just saw was definitely not average, and it was so stupid that it was pretty good. So, as a result, and even though my brain tells me I should give it two stars at most, I am still not going to because I just like weird stuff sometimes". 5/10. (13/03/2016)