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Movies / On DVD / House of Fools
House of Fools

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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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Release:

Oct 28, 2003

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Reviews for House of Fools

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Deborah Young
Deborah Young
Variety

While this film offers engaging moments, the overall impact is too blurred and lost along the way.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/25/03
E! Online

It's too often weighed down by clichés.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
04/24/03
Bill Pearis
Bill Pearis
Citysearch

The more sharply realized a dramatic moment, the more painfully fake.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
05/01/03
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sort of King of Hearts meets No Man’s Land. Gracefully told, but suffers from translation.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
04/28/03
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

So scattered that it fails to emotionally engage the viewer.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/02/03
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Ruined from the start by its insulting depiction of mental illness.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
05/16/03
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
07/11/03
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

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.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
07/11/03
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only adds to the sense that Mr. Konchalovsky has lost his artistic moorings. He has certainly lost his common sense.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/25/03
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sub-Fellini nonsense.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
06/28/03
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

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.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/07/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Konchalovsky keeps the action reasonably quick, but sentimental storytelling eventually swamps the picture.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
04/24/03
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Tiresome!

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/28/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Embarrassingly fatuous and pretentious.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/02/03
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Too disjointed, derivative and stylistically clumsy to be much more than an irritant.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
06/14/03
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

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.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
05/02/03
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Based-on-a-true-tale drama about an insane asylum on the frontlines in the Chechen conflict is tired, trite and dull.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
05/22/03
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix
 
 
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