Ayka

It's not easy to watch. The story, as it unveils , makes one clinching hands and seems to affect viewer physically. It's graphic but remains real, almost like a documentary. There's no music (as a film score), no chance for even a short break from heavy grip of what seems to be reality. And I believe it is reality, with fictional characters and acted out (in a most convincing way). It's a reality that you won't normally hear of, unless you know someone who's forced into it. That's why it's definitely worth watching, worth grinding your teeth in discomfort. Hopefully, it will at least make us think, feel and act differently when next time we encounter someone from that kind of reality.

The camera is focus on 1 character: we share the calvary of Ayka during a few days. Be prepared for a 100 minutes apnea!

Ayka, the striking movie of Sergei Dvortsevoy, presents not only such a powerfull sense of reality, but also an excellent cinematographical narration!

Every lovers of realist cinema should see this movie. Ayka promises for a rarely seen movie pleasure in addition to hard criticism on true horrible examples of actual poverty experiences.

Depressing depiction of the miserable life of the illegal immigrants in Moscow. Hardly any serious acting, many vulgar scenes, too much blood, and tiring move of the camera. Should have been some kind of a documentary, not a movie. I wonder how the hell it got so many awards and nominations. Being a movie fan for some decades, I can say with confidence now that minimum the 2/3 of any outsider movie with many awards and nominations are rubbish. Don't waste your time unless you are of the heavy cultural kind of person that applauds the below average films "because you found quality and hidden meanings" that the rest of us missed.

"Ayka" is the main festival success of the year of Russian cinema. The director of the film, Sergei Dvortsevoy, worked for 7 long years about 7 short days in inhospitable Moscow of a woman migrant worker. A barely standing pregnant woman is struggling for life with all her strength, taking on any hard work. Absolutely fair award for the best female role of the Cannes Film Festival went to the wonderful Kazakh actress Samal Eslyamova. Sad fact: the Ministry of Culture of Russia annually distributes a huge amount of money for mediocre films, but can not forgive the debt of the director of this film, which glorified Russia.