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House of Fools (2003)
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:18
Rotten:29
Average Rating:5/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some violence and nudity
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: In House Of Fools, a beautiful young Chechen woman, Janna (Julia Vysotsky) is one of several inmates living in a psychiatric hospital. Insulated from the world, the inmates are oblivious to the war... In House Of Fools, a beautiful young Chechen woman, Janna (Julia Vysotsky) is one of several inmates living in a psychiatric hospital. Insulated from the world, the inmates are oblivious to the war that rages around them. Janna spends her time playing her accordion. Her playing soothes the mischievous, and sometimes violent, behavior of her fellow patients. In her private dream world, Janna finds comfort and safety when "fiancé" Bryan Adams sings her love songs. One evening, the train that had nightly delighted the inmates, does not pass. In the morning, when the patients awaken to discover that the medical staff has vanished, the problems of the outside world begin to invade their refuge. As Russian troops near, the patients must fend for themselves. The insane, the fragile and the handicapped must now organize themselves as best they can. As some begin to think of leaving, the sound of nearby bombing sends them running back for cover. A group of Chechen soldiers invade the hospital and settle in with the patients. Janna becomes attracted to a soldier and plans to leave with him. But she is left behind when the Chechens leave. Disappointed and saddened, all she can do is play her accordion and revel in the love of her "fiancé," Bryan. Persona, Hachette Premiere et Cie, Bac Films and Paramount Classics present House Of Fools (Dom Durakov). Written and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, the film stars Julia Vysotsky with a special appearance by Bryan Adams. The film is produced by Andrei Konchalovsky and Felix Kleiman. The creative behind-the-scenes team is led by cinematographer Sergei Kozlov, production designer Lubov Skornia, costume designer Svetlana Volter and editor Olga Grinshpun. Original music is composed by Edward Artemiev. -- © Paramount Classics [More]
Starring: Julia Vysotsky, A. Kalyagin, Sultan Islamov, Evgeni Mironov
Starring: Julia Vysotsky, A. Kalyagin, Sultan Islamov, Evgeni Mironov, Stanislav Varkki, Elena Fomina, Vladas Bagdonas, Ruslan Naurbiev, Cecilia Thomson
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Screenwriter: Andrei Konchalovsky
Producer: Rene Cleitman, Jean Labadie
Composer: Edward Atemiev
Studio: Paramount Classics
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Reviews for House of Fools
While this film offers engaging moments, the overall impact is too blurred and lost along the way.
The more sharply realized a dramatic moment, the more painfully fake.
A sort of King of Hearts meets No Man’s Land. Gracefully told, but suffers from translation.
It's an odd mix to combine the harsh reality of war with the surreal world of mental patients. This makes for a bizarre movie, but it has some really tender moments.
It ultimately feels like a folly that sounded great in the filmmaker's head, so great that he had to be put on screen, where it flounders around with no small degree of embarrassment.
Only adds to the sense that Mr. Konchalovsky has lost his artistic moorings. He has certainly lost his common sense.
House of Fools was Russia's official entry for this year's Academy Awards, and if this is the best they can do, their worst must be horrifyingly bad.
Konchalovsky keeps the action reasonably quick, but sentimental storytelling eventually swamps the picture.
With its cast of nauseatingly lovable lunatics, House of Fools may make you feel like you've been tricked into suffering through the Kevin Spacey flick K-Pax with subtitles.
Too disjointed, derivative and stylistically clumsy to be much more than an irritant.
You know the song. It's the one with the chorus that goes: 'Have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman?' I mean, really.
Based-on-a-true-tale drama about an insane asylum on the frontlines in the Chechen conflict is tired, trite and dull.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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