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03/09/06
Tycoon: A New Russian (2003)
44 %
Reviews Counted: 34 Fresh: 15 Rotten:19 Average Rating: 5.5/10
Consensus:
Wants to be The Godfather, but the movie's Citizen Kane-style narrative limits its effectiveness.
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Synopsis: A true story based on the life of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. In 1988, Plato Makovski, an idealistic young academic, convinced four brilliant friends to abandon their science studies in favor of the shady world of post-Soviet business. Set against the backdrop of the many... [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Vladimir Mashkov, Andrei Krasko, Maria Mironova, Sergei Oshkevich, Alexandre Samoilenko
Director: Pavel Lounguine
Screenwriter: Alexandre Borodianski, Pavel Lounguine, Yuli Dubov
Producer: Catherine Dussart, Vladimir Grigoriev
Composer: Leonid Diesyatnikov
Screenwriter: Alexandre Borodianski, Pavel Lounguine, Yuli Dubov
Producer: Catherine Dussart, Vladimir Grigoriev
Composer: Leonid Diesyatnikov
Reviews
The filmmakers would have been better off with a more direct, linear story line that might have allowed for some real character development.
04/02/04
A criminally unimaginative gangster story based on the life of notorious high-roller billionaire entrepreneur Boris Berezovsky.
03/30/04
The combination of arresting melodrama and eye-opening editorial commentary really works.
01/06/04
Wants to be a Russian version of 'Citizen Kane,' but it's more like 'Mr. Arkadin'...a film of modest accomplishment and equally modest interest.
11/11/03
The movie's Citizen Kane-style narrative sometimes works against it, and a lack of coherence is often frustrating. Despite this, Tycoon does land a few punches while telling a story that is distinctly Russian.
11/06/03
Taking cues from Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America and GoodFellas, this Russian mob film is, frankly, not tall enough to get on the ride with the big boys.
09/29/03
Although Lounguine has a lot to say about Russia's struggle in its transition to global capitalism, his film is strangely uninvolving, lacking dramatic sweep.
09/26/03
The movie is handicapped by a jittery editing style that prevents us from getting involved in the flow of the narrative.
09/12/03
Top Critic
A meaty, well-crafted thriller that absorbs and disturbs you from first frame to last.
09/11/03
What's fascinating is that, even in the absence of sympathetic characters, Tycoon sucks you into a world of power where politics and business are the same thing.
09/05/03
The combination of historical sweep and the need to read subtitles doesn't allow for the kind of subtle character portrayal that made the Godfather series, but Mashkov is a major force as Platon.
09/05/03
Plato's fast-talking gamesmanship has a sly con-artist's feel in the early stretches, but as his wealth multiplies, the game turns serious and the film becomes preachy and ponderous.
09/04/03
An uneven political thriller that suffers mostly from a highly convoluted story line.
08/22/03
structured like "Citizen Kane" but never gets into the heart and mind of its protagonist
08/20/03
Evokes a melancholy awareness of the seemingly eternal exploitation and impoverishment of the Russian people.
08/08/03
Top Critic
Chilly and convoluted, too eventful to be boring, but never taking the time to immerse us emotionally in Makovski's world.
08/07/03
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