What you may need to know
1. Moscow Never Sleeps is a Russian-language drama written and directed by Irish filmmaker Johnny O’Reilly. It has been on the festival circuit since last year, and goes on general release this Friday 11th
2. The film is a multi-narrative story set during one day in the Russian capital, where a range of characters find themselves at an impasse in their lives.
3. A terminally-ill movie star, absconds from his hospital bed only to find himself mixed up with a gang of petty thieves. A businessman runs into trouble with dodgy State representatives while his singer wife considers leaving him for an old flame; a pair of squabbling step-sisters go for a night on the tiles only to find their lives in danger. And so on.
4. As one might see from the trailer, the real star of the film is Moscow itself. The director, a resident of the city for the past 10 years and a regular visitor for the past 20, brings audiences on a trek around the city, from its tallest skyscrapers to its scruffiest streets. The soaring shots are a real treat for the curious, and a quite different perspective of the city than what we’re used to in this part of the world.
5. O’Reilly got himself in a bit of hot water last year during this promotional interview for the film, which was cut short when he expressed support for jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.
6. Moscow Never Sleeps takes its title from a popular English-language phrase in the city. According to the filmmaker, everyone knows “hello”, “goodbye”, and “Moscow Never Sleeps”.
Verdict: утонченный
Release date: Friday, November 11
Hope Johnny’s next film is about The Hungry Duck. It has a potential for 10 fabulous seasons, especially if former Exile editors contribute into scripts. I dare you, Johnny, it’s your path to international fame! :-)
Ha ha – anything about the Hungry Duck will definitely be 18+
Bring Back Bertie!
Yeah, where he be at?
I do like this review though, as I do want to see it :)
Bertie’s getting it together in the country á la Blind Faith before he returns with some killer new material. Well, that’s what I hope! (Doug’s a fine writer BTW)