Eastern Promises (2007)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Guionista:

Steven Knight (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 septiembre 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Frase comercial:

Every sin leaves a mark.

Plot:

A Russian teenager living in London who dies during childbirth leaves clues to a midwife in her journal that that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Plot Keywords:

Naked Killer | Revelation | Female Nudity | Scotland Yard | Heroin

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 34 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

'Promises delivered'

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 28	3:00 AM	MAX
Fri. Aug. 1	12:00 AM	MAX
Sun. Aug. 3	3:15 AM	MAX

Cast

Josef Altin	...	Ekrem
Mina E. Mina	...	Azim
Aleksandar Mikic	...	Soyka (as Aleksander Mikic)
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse	...	Tatiana (as Sarah Jeanne Labrosse)
Lalita Ahmed	...	Customer
Badi Uzzaman	...	Chemist
Naomi Watts	...	Anna
Doña Croll	...	Nurse (as Dona Croll)
Raza Jaffrey	...	Doctor Aziz
Sinéad Cusack	...	Helen (as Sinead Cusack)
Jerzy Skolimowski	...	Stepan
Tatiana Maslany	...	Tatiana (voice)
Viggo Mortensen	...	Nikolai
Vincent Cassel	...	Kirill
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Semyon

También conocida como:

Promesses de l'ombre (Canada: French title)
Promesas del este (Argentina) (festival title) (Spain) [es]
Promesas peligrosas (Mexico) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity.

Duración:

100 min | Canada:96 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

País:

UK | Canada | USA

Idioma:

English | Russian | Turkish | Ukrainian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Clasificación:

Singapore:M18 | Brazil:16 | Australia:R | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Germany:16 | USA:R | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | France:-12 | Japan:R-18 | Italy:VM14 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:XXX (Nova Scotia) | Ireland:18 | Argentina:16 | Israel:18 | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | Hong Kong:III | UK:18 | Thailand:PD-14 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/16 | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

Broadway Market, Hackney, London, England, UK

Company:

Serendipity Point Films

Trivialidades:

Nabokov is also the name of a character who is mentioned in a conversation.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Nikolai is in the hospital, the green number (blood pressure or pulse rate?) on the screen next to his pulse reading increases dramatically (~20) between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Azim: He says "Christmas." So I say to him,
[in Turkish]
Azim: "Should we go shopping?"
[English]
Azim: The kid's 16. He says, "But uncle, it's Christmas."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Go' aften Danmark: (2007-09-23)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Dark Eyes

'Promises delivered'

"Eastern Promises" will take your breath away, churn your stomach, and then leave you with memories of unforgettable characters as well as perplexing thoughts about good and evil. David Cronenberg's movie about Russian and Chechen mobsters clashing in London is more than violent - it is brutal, savage, shocking. But do not expect just an action film, exploiting blood and gore. After you shake off its terrific immediate impact (there is no way to think while watching it), you realize that "Eastern Promises" is also a kind of morality tale, complex and important.

Only after you hold your breath, cover your eyes, and get through the movie do you realize how "Eastern Promises" manages to contradict Friedrich Nietzsche effectively. The German philosopher's "Beyond Good and Evil" denied the possibility of a universal morality. Cronenberg's film says that ethics - without expectation of rewards, in this life or a possible other one - can prevail even in the depths of great evil. The "History of Violence" director continues his subtle, subtext theme of upholding Anne Frank's belief that "in spite of everything people are really good at heart," and he does so without a smidgen of sentimentality.

There is no goodness in evidence as Viggo Mortensen's scary Russian mobster does every bidding of Armin Mueller-Stahl's chilling godfather figure, ruling ruthlessly over a family, which includes his son, a monster out of control, played brilliantly by Vincent Cassel (son of Jean-Pierre Cassel).

During a pre-release press tour, Cronenberg spoke of his wish to present "provocative, juicy stories... with complexity... showing that all monsters are sentimental and have some kind of relationship to a moral compass." That is all true, but what makes "Eastern Promises" so appealing is that there is no pop psychology (or worse, pop philosophy) in or about it. The film hits you over the head with its magnificently written story (Steven Knight, of "Dirty Pretty Things"), not with a message.

The title, on one level, refers to promises made to young women in Russia, luring them to the West, where the Mob enslaves them as prostitutes. It is one of these drugged and brutalized women whose death opens the film, and brings an English nurse (Naomi Watts) into the story.

As a multitude of promises, threats and tragedies unfolds, you get the maximum out of "Eastern Promises" with minimum advance knowledge of its story. Initially, that is. When you return to see it again, it won't matter that you'll know how it ends, you will want to re-experience what is certain to become a classic film. ("Eastern Promises" was shown at the Toronto Festival last week, opened in San Francisco today, goes nationwide on Sept. 21.)