East-West (Est-Ouest)

Following the end of World War II, the Soviet Union "welcomed home" anyone who had previously fled its borders. For most who accepted this offer, death or imprisonment waited. Many of those returning were executed as "imperialist spies." Only the intellectuals, whose skills were needed, were allowed to remain alive, but their activities were carefully monitored and their families were used as collateral to ensure their good behavior. This is the climate of East-West, director Regis Wargnier's dramatic thriller about life in the Soviet Union for a trapped French woman.

Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) is happily married to Alexei (Oleg Menshikov), a Russian immigrant to France. They have a seven-year old son, Seryozha (Ruben Tupiero). When the USSR announces that it is welcoming back all Russian-born citizens and Alexei wants to go, Marie agrees to accompany him, with the understanding that if things don't work, they'll return to Paris. So the three of them board a ship bound for Odessa. When they arrive, they stumble into a nightmare. Alexei is allowed to live because he's a doctor - a profession whose practitioners the Soviet Union is in desperate need of - but almost everyone else on the boat is killed. Marie, Alexei, and Seryozha are given a small, cramped apartment to live in. But, while Alexei gradually adapts to circumstances, Marie plots ways to escape the East. Her best chance comes through Sacha (Sergei Bodrov Jr.), whose skills may allow him to defect to the West and work to free her from the other side. Meanwhile, a famous French stage actress, Gabrielle Develay (Catherine Deneuve), takes an interest in Marie's situation.

East-West suffers from a bit of a split personality. The first half is devoted to the day-to-day grind of Marie's new existence, showing how, almost against her will, she adapts to a joyless life as Alexei gains a measure of influence at his job.

However, shortly past the midway point, East-West turns into a Cold War thriller, as different parties struggle to get Marie out of the country. The extreme difference in tone between the two halves is not unpleasant, but it makes the film seem less like one continuous story.

Two things are consistently good throughout this film: acting and production design. Filming was done on location in Sofia, Bulgaria and Kiev, and it looks and feels like the '40s and '50s. There's a real sense of the desperation and uncertainty suffered by the common people during Stalin's reign, and the bleakness of the situation is brought out through the choice of locations and the way in which the scenes are shot. The work of the leads, Sandrine Bonnaire and Oleg Menshikov (Burnt By the Sun), is virtually flawless - they essay complex characters with seeming ease, displaying the frailties and strengths that characterize a human portrayal. Catherine Deneuve, who headlined Wargnier's Indochine, plays a small but important part, and Sergei Bodrov Jr. (who previously starred opposite Menshikov in Prisoner of the Mountains) proves to be more than a pretty face on a well-sculpted body.

The score, by veteran composer Patrick Doyle, is both a positive and a negative. The music is extremely powerful and emotive, but there are occasions when it calls attention to itself, in effect overshadowing what's transpiring on-screen. Doyle's work is rarely subdued - he is a frequent collaborator with Kenneth Branagh (having scored all of his films except two) and wrote the music for Indochine - and there is nothing low-key about what he has done for East-West.

In terms of presenting the travails of two well-developed characters trapped in a difficult situation, and the way in which their relationship is transformed over a ten-year period, East-West is a strong effort. It tells a solid story that involves us in the plight of its characters

Bourja Saeed Islam Online, Washington