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Perestroika (2009)

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Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 13
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 6

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 2

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User Ratings: 83

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Movie Info

Moscow. 1992. Sasha Greenberg, an astrophysicist, returns to the city of his birth after 17 years of exile. Formerly reviled as a traitor, he is now welcomed back as a hero. The period of "Perestroika" (restructuring) has turned everything upside down. In the midst of all this turmoil Sasha is expected to deliver a theory about the coherence of our universe. But, what he's feeling is overwhelming chaos, and the suspicion that man is the bane of a world in peril. With all he knows about the world

Unrated, 1 hr. 55 min.

Documentary, Drama, Special Interest

Directed By: Slava Tsukerman

In Theaters: Mar 20, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Oct 27, 2009

REF Productions

Perestroika races back and forth between the Soviet past and non-Communist present. The result is highly personal, talky, clunky and somehow engrossing.

April 17, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Post

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V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Top Critic

Perestroika is a curious combination of documentary and fiction, politics and science, sophisticated structure and incompetent drama.

April 17, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Times

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Nathan Lee

New York Times

Top Critic

The film, which opened March 20 in Los Angeles, is unwieldy, overstuffed and at times hopelessly clunky, yet it's also touchingly funny, visually arresting and somehow a consistent joy to watch.

March 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

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Andrew Barker

Variety

Top Critic

Perestroika asks, with a philosophical shrug of the shoulders: Why not try to be optimistic?

March 20, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Has stylish visuals and a provocative, imaginative screenplay, but occasionally drags and feels convoluted with too many irritatingly awkward moments that lack an emotional core.

April 20, 2009 Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Too much science-babble obscures the truth of Perestroika. The tragedy of the aftermath would have made a better story unvarnished.

April 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics

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Ron Wilkinson

Monsters and Critics

The Russians have a word for it: Nyet.

April 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Film Threat

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Phil Hall

Film Threat

Alternately fascinating and boring, ultimately confusing, yet heartfelt film by a Russian expatriate about returning to the homeland after Gorbachev.

April 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Film Journal International

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Lewis Beale

Film Journal International

A nuanced and fascinating film about a Russian scientist's journey home to Moscow after living in the United States for 17 years.

April 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

Thought-provoking, if not wholly satisfying, "Perestroika" is a deconstructionist filmic stew to be savored without expectation in order to enjoy its laissez-faire reality.

April 12, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

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