Onegin (1999)

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

a good adaptation. the right performances. the atmosphere of a time when all does other sense of small things and gestures and words. it is strange to describe something who seems be more than a trip across the poem of Pushkin. because it is a reinvention of a world who impress for the status of contemporary story. for the precise, fine performances, for the states of Onegin , each of it defining the fall of a world too empty. a film about desire and love. the delicacy of the creation of the characters represents one of basic virtues. then, Liam Neeson who becomes, scene by scene, the perfect Onegin. not the least, the music. sure , to use Chaikovski is a better choice but Beethoven , in this case, has its precious purpose to reflect emotions with deep roots in the story. short, a beautiful film. in many senses.

the basic topic of this movie is love and faithfulness.the movie and it's tough background basically comes from ^aleksandr sergeyevic puskin^'s book namely 'yevgeni onegin '.there are lot of vital stages on the film.the beginning of love and the fact that being felt in love to some one has described realistically.there are some minor details that gives the path to create impressive movie as this one.one of that detail is the owner of a latter is the one who is obtained not the one writes.perhaps this sounds meaningless at first glance but this if you go into the details,it would become touching. at the further steps of the movie becomes a combat between 'Ralph Fiennes' and 'Liv Tyler'in terms of acting but there is no loser in this fight both of them are victorious.i suggest this film to everyone don't let the low vote average prevent you to watch it.

Russians consider Pushkin's "Evgenii Onegin" one of the peaks of their literature, but to British drama actors/directors/composers Fiennes the work remained just a curiosity which could be easily brought to screen for a nice, and unambitious family project. Where Russian readers and western students of Russian culture see a vision of the decadence of Russian aristocracy, and a condemnation of the Ancien Regime, both in social, and cultural terms, the Fiennes saw a nice romantic interlude. The limited scope of the filmmakers'interest explains why the movie is successful in just one aspect - the two love scenes between Onegin and Larina are great, actually much better than what Russian actors would perform in the place of Fiennes and Tyler. But that's that. Everything else, including the duel, or the scandal between Lensky and Onegin, is dull, insipid and rather un-Russian. Fiennes obviously misunderstood the meaning of being "tired of life". Pushkin's Onegin was not a self-centered, self-sufficient and utterly satisfied English gentleman who speaks patronizingly to everyone in the country because "he knows things". He was a model for generations of Russian "malcontents": in a rigidly conservative society playing the "tired of life" was a social stand, not a psychological state. Onegin was a passionate man and his aloofness was a deliberate pretense (not that much different from Hamlet's delusive craziness). In short, the Fienneses had better screen a romantic drama without referring to Pushkin's masterpiece. Their movie is nice, watchable and enjoyable (well, Liv Tyler stars in it!), but their rendition of Pushkin's characters is so dissatisfying, the great poet might easily take offense.

"Onegin" tells of an enigmatic, inscrutable, and jaded aristocrat (R. Finnes) in 1800's St. Petersburg, Russia and his stuttering relationship with a beautiful woman (Tyler). With all the frills of a period costume flick this elegant but hollow and plaintive drama of unrequited love relies too much on its title character and too little on content and story. For most film fans, "Onegin" may just be a beautiful bore. However, for the serious film buff into unusual/peculiar dramas, this film may be a worthwhile watch with its depth of character, bleakly beautiful scenics, and usual storyline. This project received a lukewarm reception from the public and good critical reviews. In English with no CC's and Spanish subtitles only. (B)