Eastern Promises(2007), directed by David Cronenberg, is a film about three separate groups of Russian immigrants integrate themselves into the western culture of London. One group, Anna (Naomi Watts) and her family, live simple lives and an honest living. Another, Tatiana (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) , a young girl who became part of a human trafficking/ensalvement ring of the Russian mafia. Lastly, the Russian mafia, who smuggle women, liquor, etc and who are driven by violence, power and extravagant living. Cronenberg's films often involve the idea of the horror involved caused by mutation. In this film the mutation is the act of extreme violence of the mafia against one another and others that get in the way.
The realistic application of the plots of the different groups of immigrants and how their story lines intertwine is very likely in the real world. Immigrants of the same nationality often cross paths due to the tight nit communities that they often live within.
The realistic application of the plots of the different groups of immigrants and how their story lines intertwine is very likely in the real world. Immigrants of the same nationality often cross paths due to the tight nit communities that they often live within. The first scene shown is realistic in both the lighting, scenery, and character proxemics. The two characters barely know each other and the viewer can sense the uneasiness that Anna feels towards Nicolai (Viggo Mortensen). They however quickly make associations with the motorcycle and Russian roots. The interactions between the two are portrayed realistically.
The second scene links the three different groups portrayed in the film: the Russian mafia, the young Russian girl who was raped (portrayed through her baby), and Anna the midwife. This scene combines many dynamics and makes the connections between all the characters real and concrete. The viewer sees the mafia king in a transparent light as he frankly threatens both Anna and the baby and with the realistic use of the lighting of the dim hospital it makes the viewer feel the innocence of the cild, the vulnerability Anna has created by visiting the Russian restaurant owner, and the invincibility that the mafia king thinks that he possesses.
The third scene shown is when Nicolai is being examined by the leaders of the mafia group. Here the viewer sees a demonstration of how a member of the Russian mafia has tattoos covering his body that tell a man's story. From his tattoos, the men were able to see that he was incarcerated among other things. Nicolai denounces his mom as a whore and that he has no father because he had a job supporting the government. This is a realistic testament to the entrance of a man into the mafia. The mafia is now his family and he receives his stars over his heart and on his knees.
Cronenberg did a very good job of displaying the elements of the Russian immigration both good and bad in the western world.
Otto, Comment on Muller, Eastern Promises
ReplyDeleteThe realism in this film shows clearly through, as each scene brings on events that could and surely do. These style clearly affects how one would see the movie and what they would take awya from it. It is also important I think, to note the touch that Cronenberg uses, making the film his. I focused on auteur theory in my blog and noted the self mutilation and human pain that Cronenberg focuses on in his film. This also deal with reality because Cronenberg is unafraid to put the pain and humiliation both physically and mentally in the film. This realistic idea that Cronenberg shows Eastern promises also shows up in other works done by him, not necessarily the realistic physical aspects, but mutilating and morphing the body to show the progress of how destroyed a human can be. As if the more mutilation, the more one can truly know the character because the audience is there to witness, experience with, the rest of the cast.