Hungry Penguin
The fall of the Soviet Union was the most meaningful, and doubtless the vividest, sign that the people of the world were ready to abandon all forms of tyranny for good. There are those critical moments in history, when, like a delicate chemical reaction, the world stand in the same time on the verge of extinction and on the tallest ramp. And each time, it's up to a few good men to make sure that this chemical reaction evolves in the right direction, that it chooses to rise instead of fall.This is the story of three men who unknowingly defined the future of the world. We, humanity, could have gone back to communism and tyranny and war, or we could progress to democracy and globalism. The 1996 election was a critical moment of choosing, and thanks to these men the right right choice was made.This great event demanded a film, and Spinning Boris is the result. Is it any good? Yep. It is fun? Yep. Is it interesting? Yep. Intelligent? Well-acted? Yep and yep.A better film can be made no doubt, but this one is already well worth watching.
henrikc
Caught this one on New Years eve, and was fortunate to hang on to it. I wasn't sure if it was somehow documentary or not - and the beauty of it is that it doesn't matter :) This movie is credible from the first to the last minute. It's creepy because this could be entirely true - and we'll probably never know.The American spindoctors playing dirty? I don't think they are, they're not having anyone arrested or killed or anything, they're introducing western style campaigns to the Russians for the first time, and the playing field is wide open. It's not unlike how Tony Blair gets promoted, nothing unusual about this. Interesting to see how getting out to people to listen to their concerns plays a large role, as does digging up what the communists are up to - that's how it should be. The Americans happen to find themselves in a pivotal (to say the least) election, and they're hired (several times :) to the job. Suddenly these three find themselves spearheading the fight for democracy vs. regression, and they happen to do a good job with everything at stake. People happen to land in essential situations once in a while where a little effort can make a huge difference. I hope it turns out to be largely a true story. Anyone checked up that Time issue, BTW?
j-bouwmeester
This is a nice political comedy. Three American election-consultants are hired to help Boris Jeltsin to win Russia's first free election. Jeltsin's daughter is the campaign leader and speaks for her father. Though the three consultants never meet Jeltsin in person, this gap is nicely filled with archive material of the real election campaign in 1996. The movie begins with the statement 'based on a truth story'. I strongly doubt this story is authentic, but it is plausible though.Jeff Goldblum is the real star in this movie and some non-hollywood details, like the fact that some Russians don't speak English (so there is a lot of Russian language in the movie), are very nice and make this movie an above-average one. Watch it if you like satire and are not afraid of politics!
anaconartist
"Spinning Boris" (aka "The Yeltsin Project") is a modern masterpiece. Political satire doesn't get better than this. But don't expect mindless entertainment -- this movie is for people who like to think for themselves, and think they will. Jokes, ideas, references, and body blows come at you, fast and furious, so don't blink. And you'll probably have to see it again, to get all the subtleties and hidden gems. 10 out of 10.
AD
