A Driver for Vera (Ukraine/Russia) (2004) ***1/2Year: 2004iMDB
Director: Pavel Chukraj Cast: Yelena Babenko, Bogdan Stupka, Igor Petrenko, Andrei Panin, Yekaterina Yudina
Ukraine brings us Voditel dlya Very (A Driver for Vera), a drama set in communist Soviet Union. The story is two-layered. On the surface we deal with an army general (Stupka) who may become the scapegoat for an old oil-tank accident which was covered up at the time, but which is now re-investigated at the pressure of the western countries. On the other hand we get to see a glimpse of General Serov's life, as a single parent of a physically impaired daughter Vera, whose disability has an obvious impact on her psychic.
The political story, with insiduous betrayals, lack of trust and blackmailing, is intertwined with the personal drama which is told mainly through the eyes of Viktor (Petrenko), an ambitious young sergeant who starts as general's driver but is assigned more to drive and watch over his daughter Vera. While each of the two story parts is headed in the predictable direction - Vera and Viktor's union and the General's demise, the movie manages to stay interesting as the characters are believable and their dramas authentic.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on February 22, 2005 08:02 AM | TrackBack