#18 - JRL 7281
Los Angeles Times
August 8, 2003
movie review
Chasing riches in a new Russia
'Tycoon,' a major work, is a political thriller on an emerging society.
By Kevin Thomas, Times Staff Writer

Pavel Lounguine's sprawling "Tycoon: A New Russian," which tells of the
rise and fall of the richest man in Russia, has been compared to "Citizen
Kane" and "The Godfather." It is a vigorous, boldly stylish and ambitious
work, freely moving back and forth from 1985 and the era of perestroika to
roughly 2000. It bristles with dynamic, sharply defined portrayals and is
in every way a major work. Inspired in part by the career of
trouble-plagued tycoon Boris Berezovsky, it is as timely as this week's
headlines: Yukos Oil chief Mikhail Khodorkhovsky announced Tuesday he is
prepared to take on the Kremlin in his fight with Russian prosecutors,
declaring it a clash between an emerging civil society and the federal
security system with roots in antiquity -- a struggle that is at the heart
of this film.

"Tycoon" is also impossible to follow with any consistency. A Russian woman
attending a press preview estimated that the English subtitles, while
literate and lively, convey only about a third of the meaning of all that's
being said and going on. It may be that it's beyond the capacity of
subtitles to communicate all the nuances and developments in an intensely
dense film.

"Tycoon" is demanding, but its broad outlines, central issues and vivid
personalities are clear enough to reward the conscientious viewer with the
film's disturbing and inescapable implications for a country at a time when
ties between government and big business seem uncomfortably close.

With the advent of perestroika, a charismatic university student, Platon
Makovski (Vladimir Mashkov), encourages three of his friends to forsake
academia to plunge into private capitalism. They are Viktor (Sergei
Oshkevich), a brilliant but naive mathematics genius; Moussa (Alexandre
Samoilenko), Platon's burly, none-too-bright childhood pal; and Mark
(Mikael Vasserbaum), who has the most trouble with his conscience as the
group engages in increasingly shady dealings. Starting with investing in a
counterfeit brand of stone-washed jeans, they soon become involved in
importing Mercedes cars in large numbers, which brings them in contact with
a suave Georgian, Larry (Levani Uchaineshvili), who soon becomes Platon's
right-hand man.

Seesawing between past and present, the film becomes a group portrait --
dominated by Platon -- of the four pals as they are transformed by their
ever-escalating wheeling and dealing in a climate of corruption.Getting
away with just about anything that pops into their heads, they attract the
attention and the enmity of the Russian secret service, a successor to the
KGB that is intent on curbing the entrepreneurs' power to preserve their
own status and aspirations.

There is a nascent triangular situation between Platon and the secret
service's authoritarian Gen. Koretski (Alexandre Baluev) and Koretski's
beautiful, soon-to-be-ex- wife Maria (Maria Mironova), but Platon is so
swept up in his constant maneuverings he hasn't time for love and romance,
merely commercial sex. The more threatened Platon becomes, the more daring
he becomes as well, taking over a TV station and trying to control a
presidential race. "Tycoon" unfolds as a stingingly satirical political
thriller driven by an investigator from the Urals, Chmakov (Andrei Krasko),
who digs into Platon's affairs with the aura of a dogged, world-weary
private eye. Throughout the film there is an implicit anti-Semitism
directed toward Platon, which could well serve, perhaps unconsciously, to
help him rationalize his escalating unscrupulousness.

Intricately structured, "Tycoon" cascades operatically to its convoluted
denouement, its sweep heightened by Leonid Diesyatnikov's richly varied
score. Vladimir Mashkov is widely regarded as Russia's top star, and his
magnetism and talent are crucial in holding the film together.

In the end "Tycoon" above all evokes a melancholy awareness of the
seemingly eternal exploitation and impoverishment of the Russian people.

'Tycoon: A New Russian'
MPAA rating: Unrated.
Times guidelines: Some nudity, language, gangster violence, highly complex
adult themes.
Vladimir Mashkov... Platon
Andrei Krasko... Chmakov
Maria Mironova... Maria
Alexandre Baluev...Koretski
Levani Uchaineshvili...Larry
A New Yorker Films release of a CDP, Arte France Cinema, France 2 Cinema,
Gimages Films, Network Movie, ZDF/Arte Magnat, Kominter, STV co-production
in association with The Studios Etalon Films and with the participation of
various other organizations. Director Pavel Lounguine. Producers Catherine
Dussart (CDP), Vladimir Grigoriev (Magnat). Screenplay Alexandre
Borodianski, Pavel Lounguine and Yuli Dubov; adapted from the novel by
Dubov. Cinematographer Alexey Fedorov, Oleg Dobronravov. Editor Sophie
Brunet. Music Leonid Diesyatnikov. In Russian with English subtitles.
Running time: 2 hours, 8 minutes.

Exclusively at the Cecchi Gori Fine Arts, 8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly
Hills, (310) 652-1330; the Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino,
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(800) FANDANGO No. 142.