The film's closing stretch provides one of the most memorable depictions of creeping dysfunction as the family sits in front of the TV, watching either Bush-Gorbachev, or else not much of anything, with their Stallone "Cobra" poster propped up behind the TV. That aside, the movie's theme of lost innocence and cultural decay is perhaps a bit overdone (although not as overdone as the English title imposed on the movie would suggest) - indeed, there's almost nothing else to the film except somewhat ponderous - if inherently spectacular - shots of landscape and documentary-style observation, offset by the boisterous intrusion of the lost Russian (who in his drunken escapades brings it as close to a knockabout comedy as conceivable) and strange, strenuous fantasy sequences that drive home the notion of futile ambition, but are too contrived for comfort. Despite all reservations though, the movie often transcends mere exoticism - their early morning discussion about condoms for example is touching and convincing. as well as faintly surreal (from a Western perspective). The film suggests that traditionalism and modernity CAN actually coexist, which makes their failure to do so all the more poignant; the only way to make sense of the closing voice over is to conclude that it comes from the future, underlining the picture's sense of dislocation.
Review of Close to Eden
