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      Window to Paris

      PG-13 Released Feb 17, 1994 1h 30m Comedy List
      43% 7 Reviews Tomatometer 87% 50+ Ratings Audience Score After Nikolai (Sergei Dontsov) loses his job as a music teacher, he's forced to move into a communal apartment with a family of Russian factory workers led by cheerful patriarch Gorokhov (Viktor Mikhailov). After a night of drinking with his new housemates, Nikolai stumbles upon a magic mirror in his room that teleports him from poverty-stricken St. Petersburg to beautiful Paris. But, since the portal will soon close for 20 years, Nikolai must decide whether or not to stay for good. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Joey O'Bryan Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Looking at the movie, I felt marooned in one of those lightweight multinational comedies of the 1970s, like If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, in which most of the jokes were based on national characteristics I didn't much care about. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Leonard Schwarz Palo Alto Weekly Rated: 3.5/4 May 20, 2003 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A noisy satire that had no bite. Rated: D Mar 3, 2003 Full Review Marty Mapes Movie Habit Rated: 3.5/4 Aug 21, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Bittersweet philosophical parable reflecting on Russian character, history and its constant struggle on being half Asian, half European people. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member The film, Window to Paris, was directed by Yurii Mamin in 1993 during the Post-Soviet era, it was filmed in both Russia and France with a joint production company to gain a budget; as for the plot the movie consists of some Russians finding a wardrobe that leads to Paris, and the story is about their experience with this discovery. The main protagonist is a Russian music teacher, Nikolai, who was slowly fading into obscurity as his profession was being overtaken by the now more popular and needed profession of business, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The story follows him getting a communal apartment with some factory workers who create instruments, drink, and play in an orchestra. They find a woman using a portal like a wardrobe to enter Paris with a cat. They enter the portal and end up in Paris, from here the film follows through with the characters learning more about the portal and their experiences with Paris and its' vastly different culture. Window to Paris, is an alright film, in my opinion, it has an interesting concept, with a relatable main character, to an extent. The film highlights key elements such as the vast differences between the way of life in Paris as compared to that in St. Petersburg. The film also has the humorous side characters that tag along with Nikolai, those being his roommates. They display the stereotypes of the Russian culture to be able to contrast the life in Paris, as they will also be the ones to commonly make remarks about the differences as well. This film, in my opinion, is a non-serious take on comparing two different cultures and ways of life and creates a story of Nikolai learning to respect and care for his own culture rather than giving up entirely. The audience for this film would be tied to be Russians, and the French as both could easily gain from this film and take away aspects of it. In conclusion the film, Window to Paris, is not the best film out there, however, it does take an interesting concept of a portal between two cities and creates what feels like a more local and indie feeling to the cultures. The film can take itself seriously at times and at others allow for a joke to be made, with my favorite being them dragging the car back through the wardrobe into St. Petersburg. Overall, I would rate the film 3 out of 5. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most creative and funny movies I've ever seen. I can't believe it's not available anywhere - I saw it on VHS several years ago and have been searching for it anywhere... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member I love this movie. Profound yet tragic. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I laughed and then laughed some more... and then a little more. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I went to a tag-sale with my step-mom and half-sisters. I had already browsed the videos, but none attracted me. I still stood near them as one of my half-sisters came up, pulled out this movie, and said, "nope, this is unappropriate." I asked her why she thought that, because the front picture was a window, before which a woman stood holding a bunch of balloons. The back revealed nothing "unapproipriate", and apon seeing it was called a satire in the reviews (not that it is, really), I read the back... it seemed okay and worth my stepmom's dollar. ^___^ So we baught it and I watched it today. This movie is hillarious, the shooting is wonderful, and the plot intriguing. The jokes about Russians and the French, and the women-hating is not good- but this movie has some good messages and a bunch of kids doing some of the funniest dances I have ever seen. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis After Nikolai (Sergei Dontsov) loses his job as a music teacher, he's forced to move into a communal apartment with a family of Russian factory workers led by cheerful patriarch Gorokhov (Viktor Mikhailov). After a night of drinking with his new housemates, Nikolai stumbles upon a magic mirror in his room that teleports him from poverty-stricken St. Petersburg to beautiful Paris. But, since the portal will soon close for 20 years, Nikolai must decide whether or not to stay for good.
      Director
      Yuri Mamin
      Screenwriter
      Guy Séligmann, Vyacheslav Leikin, Yuri Mamin, Arkadi Tigai, Vladimir Vardunas
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      La Sept Cinema, Sodaperaga Productions
      Rating
      PG-13
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      Russian
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 17, 1994, Wide
      Runtime
      1h 30m