User reviews

Based (loosely) on Chekhov's story "The Lady With The Little Dog," Oci Ciornie (Dark Eyes) features some of the most sumptuous photography of recent years. Set in Yalta, a sultry Black Sea spa for stylish Russian idlers, Dark eyes features a memorable tragic-comic performance by Marcello Mastroianni as Romano, foolish, gallant, ultimately trivial, and a superbly innocent, deeply moving performance by Yelena Safonova as the woman whom he utterly, shamefully fails. Mikhalkov's script departs from the Chekhov story in ways that some Chiekhov-loving viewers might balk at. But Chekhov's ending is perhaps too subtle and introspective for cinematic realization, and Mikhalkov's alternative, seems justified, if only as a vehicle for Matroianni's extraordinary performance.

A Russian/Italian co-production sounds like an uneasy marriage of mismatched temperaments, but 'Dark Eyes' is a remarkably cohesive mutual effort offering the best of both worlds: a wonderfully romantic story, a healthy love of laughter and high spirits, and a lingering air of Slavic melancholy. It's being sold as a showcase for the perennial charm of Marcello Mastroianni, but the film has more than just his performance to recommend it. The script, condensed from several tales by Anton Chekhov, has the elegant simplicity of a classic short story, following a charming but buffoonish husband in his pursuit of an attractive young Russian back to her native country, where he discovers a nation of people even crazier than he is. Some of the smaller roles have been drawn for the broadest effect, but under Nikita Mikhalkov's meticulous direction every character emerges as a full blooded human being, with Mastroianni himself offering a sensitive portrait of a man too in love with life to take it seriously. A nagging reservation: the final irony revealed in the epilogue adds one coincidence too many, and comes close to spoiling the already poignant mood. Just pretend it never happened.

I consider this movie a masterpiece. The performance of Marcello Mastroianni is simply sublime, one of the best I have ever seen from anyone, anywhere. Yes, the surface plot is about adultery, but the story is much more than that. I think this is a story about a man, an old man near the end of his life, looking back on his playboy, vagabond, good-for-nothing life, regretting it, but not knowing any other way to live. "Mother's lullaby and the Russian mist" is all he remembers about his own life, he says. Watch this old man cry, and it stirs you with all kinds of emotions and thoughts, makes you think about how you should live, that tragedy happens everyday, to every small man who must fend for himself and fail. You tell yourself you will never be like him, you pity him, disrespect him, despise him, but in the end you understand this man in the most profound sense. And you will never be able to forget that Russian mist either. Superb.

This Russian-Italian co-production from 1987 finds two older men, one Italian, the other Russian, talking in the empty dining hall of a slow ocean liner. The Italian tells his story in flashback, as we see him fight with his rich wife, which sends him to a health spa to recuperate, where he meets a bored, young and beautiful Russian woman who is herself unhappily married. After many overtures toward a romance, the Russian wife flees back home, and the Italian follows her, ostensibly on business, but truly in hopes of sparking the romance further.

The film is gorgeously photographed, and much attention is paid to costume and set design, as well as delicate color schemes. Marcello Mastroianni received his final of three Best Actor Oscar nominations for this, and he's wonderful as usual. Silvano Mangano plays his wife, and Marthe Keller appears as a family friend. I wasn't familiar with the Russian leads, Elena Safonova and Vsevolod Larionov, but they are fine as well. The story drags a bit in places, and lengthy passages of Russian without subtitles started to detract after a while (I'm not sure if this was the fault of the print I watched, or if it was intentional, to show the language barrier faced by Mastroianni's character).

There's no really much you can say and analyze about this movie. It's not a movie by itself, it's a piece of art lost in the ocean of mundane cinema of the 20-th century. It's like the great literature, the great paintings of history, impregnated with a mystical and hard to define quality in it's texture. For me this is not simply a "movie", i say it again. Like Nostalghia or Andrei Rubliov of Tarkovsky , here the poetics transcends what we usually call cinema, or a film, because it gets a life on it's own, and becomes independent to critical observation. It's like a tiger in the Siberian forest, that you have to simply admire. A tiger is beautiful because it's a tiger, Oci Ciornie it's beautiful because it is Oci Ciornie. Something divine happened to Mihalkov and to the cast when thy made this piece of art. It was the greatest shame and scandal when the jury at Cannes awarded "Sous le Ciel de Satan" the Palme D'or, but who cares...Time is for the art what is for the wine. The good one gets better, the cheap one gets sour and becomes vinegar.

A very good, almost great, comedy/drama/romance movie. To be more specific, it's a mostly lighthearted drama/romance movie. Don't expect hilarious scenes, this is not a funny movie, even though Mastroianni's performance will put a smile on your face, a lot.

It's mostly lighthearted but in the last 10 minutes, i warn you, you'll be crying like a baby.

Starting was kinda dull. During the first 20 minutes i was wondering if i took a wrong choice by watching this movie. Just boring people doing boring stuff. However, that changes fast. Movie is finding its pace and rhythm ,and gradually, it's becoming more and more interesting and enjoyable. It's a 2 hours movie and i wish it was longer.

Mastroianni is excellent, overall it's well acted and well directed.

This ending though.. I bet it will make you think a lot about your life too.

Yes, its story is an old chestnut. There's an excuse for Marcello Mastroianni to tell a story about himself and a Russian woman, and he does it, and there's an aftermath. But the story is so good and so well told (and acted and directed) that the device is like an old friend. This is one of Mikhailkov's best, right up there with Burnt by the Sun. It draws on Heifetz's Lady with a Dog (and Chekhov's short story too, for that matter) and parodies (or pays homage to) Fellini's 8 1/2--both just right for this Italo-Russian piece about Italians and Russians, which I found a pure delight. It revels in both poking fun of and warmly enjoying both Italian and Russian types and moods. For me, there was the additional pleasure of seeing Innokenti Smoktunovsky, who played the title role in Kozintsev's Hamlet, now middle-aged and as fine an actor as ever. Will it ever be released on DVD? It's about time this one is rediscovered.

I wouldn't add anything more than what these brilliant reviewers above have already written about this stunning film.

Here are a few words to say that despite incomprehension I have seen in several Western European countries — but Italian — movie theaters, I do think that "Очи чёрные / Occhi neri" is one of the three best films Mikhalkov has ever directed, together with "Utomlyonnye solntsyem" and "Urga" — if I can judge fairly, as I have seen absolutely all (but one: Утомлённые солнцем 2 - предстояние) his films (sometimes in different versions), including the short films he wrote and shot during his studies.

And, of course I wouldn't like to forget to mention the performance of those marvelous actors: Innokentiy M. Smoktunoskij, Marthe Keller and Yelena V. Safonova.

There are many wondrous qualities to this movie, especially the performance of Marcello Mastroianni. I only want to mention one scene, my favorite. It occurs when Romano (Mastroianni) arrives by train in the Russian village of Sisoev where he is to set up a glass factory.

Upon de-training all he sees is a peasant woman with a cow. Suddenly, on the other side of the tracks a band plays. Romano walks across the welcome-carpet to a crowd of townspeople giving him a raucous reception. Actually folks here want the factory for themselves . The Italian is offered Russian bread to sample. Young girls bear doves and present the man with wreaths. The mayor recites a poem and gives a welcome speech. A medal is bestowed. Kisses galore are planted.

Singers and balalaika players appear. Caviar and lethal vodka is thrust upon the man, who is barely able to cope with its potency. It's a distillation (pun intended) of Russian-ness which overwhelms the guest as he is conducted by carriage to his hotel and carried in, tired and soused, later muttering "Sabatchka," the name of the little dog belonging to Anna, the Russian girl that has aroused his passion. Great, great!

Nikita Mikhalkov made practically only masterpieces, but this ought to be his most beautiful film, in fact, one of the most beautiful films ever made, ranking on a parallel position with Josif Kheifts' film of 1960 on Anton Tchekhov's short story "The Lady with a Dog" and clearly influenced if not inspired by it: their beauty is of the same kind. Also here the story is rather vague in character, as the end of the film becomes the beginning of the real story, which we cannot know anything about. A passenger on a boat goes to the bar to have something to drink and is met by the fact that the bar will not open for an hour, but another man is sitting there, an Italian called Romano, and when the passenger proves to be Russian, Romano is overjoyed, because he has been to Russia, and they tell each other the story of their frustrating marriages. The whole film has very much the character of Anton Tchekhov's stories, the same melancholy, the same futility, the same kind of pathetic characters displayed with warmth and compassion, and the same depth of the unfathomable strangeness of human destiny. As Marcello Mastroianni's wife we see Silvana Mangano in her full maturity, while the lady Marcello falls in love with, Elena Safonova, really is indescribable in her lovability. The scenery is idyllic all the way, almost all constantly dressed in shining white, it happens in 1903 and 1911, and all the paradisiacal beauty of that lost age before the First World War is rendered in constant breathaking beauty - the music by Francis Lai is perfectly appropriate as well. In brief, this is to enjoy and more than one time if not forever.

Dark Eyes is beautiful. His beautifully shot, beautifully acted, beautifully directed, and the whole movie is visually and emotionally pleasing. You're able to learn this whole guys life in two hours, and see where he ends up. I was a little confused in the middle, maybe it's just because I'm slow but I was a little confused. The ending is superb.

Anton Chekov's short stories amalgamated into a single film. Nikita Mikhalkov, the half brother of Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky makes an enchanting light-hearted film of exquisite quality. (His half-brother prefers to make more serious films.)

Mikhalkov gets Marcello Mastroianni to give his most fascinating performance deservedly winning the Best Actor award at Cannes. Mikhalkov also gets wonderful if not the best performances from the three actresses Silvano Mangano, Marthe Keller, and Elena Safanova. Plus yet another interesting turn from the talented Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy (immortalized in Kozintsev's Hamlet). Isabella Rossellini gives a cameo appearance towards the end of the film.

It's a film that will be remembered for its well-weaved screenplay of several Chekov stories into a seamless single tale, the lovely performances, the art direction and last but not least, director and co-scriptwriter Nikita Mikhalkov.

I am rewatching movies that I love the most!!!I believe this is from a story by Chekhov. So many wonderful moments.......

It's a movie in the best Mikhalkov's manner: simple but deep; funny and serious; a Russian picture with (this time) Italian colors; and as always, about the deepest depth of a Russian soul. Some may say, Mikhalkov's movies are of universal things - true, but they always touch something deeply Russian. Waiting ... love ... faith ... sincerity. When all that meets in one point, harmony and happiness come; when at least one element is missing, ... Romano comes. With all the consequences. Mikhalkov reminded me again - we live by the consequences of our actions. (i need to add a bit - they asked for the 10th line here :) BUT quantity is not quality!)

Dark Eyes can be expressed as a film that arises in greatness in the landscape of Russia -a story that never quite ends in thousands of miles of imagination to regain a love that was lost in a nostalgic desire of melancholy....

The film was directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, who has a wonderful talent to convey such a love story that sweeps across the beautiful houses of both Russia and Italy in a magnificent film image of travel.

This is a rare film of quality that might have otherwise felt dated by its period drama...but it is a story of love that will never grow out-of-date in changes to its shifting scenery: A love that is unmoveable like a mountain - only changing in nature and season of time - and a love that cannot be separated in an extended landscape of endless thought....

The film is not as stunning as 'The Barber of Siberia' in epic proportion, but is not unlike that film in its allurement of mystique of storytelling -of a lost love that draws itself into the past and present as though time itself were one of an imaginary thought of reality - only age will eventually capture love lost souls together in times end?

Macello Mastroianni is a wonderful actor and excels in his light and comical portray of the Italian whose life is easy going, and has the time and wealth to enjoy his leisure in the film's haunting theme of love....

'Dark Eyes' has world class status -with Nikita Mikhalkov as the master, film director, and Marcello Mastroianni as the exceptional actor: a combination that in itself is remarkable! It is a film of my personal choice.

for its wise simplicity. for its touching beauty. and for the high Mkhalkov precision to create the details. a film with an impressive cast - Mastroianni is the first violin but not the one - and example of inspired manner to use the Tchekov spirit and the glamor of a century beginning. a film like a puzzle in which each image, performance or scene is charming like a kind of gem, delicate and illustration of art of a master. a special meeting between art of few great actors and an unique director. and the flavor of a Russia who becomes different in contact with Mastroianni - it is not the only meeting , Sunflower is another , but in this case, far by war or Sophia Loren, the story seems be a precious drink in a crystal glass.for me, one of films who, after its end, proofs than it represents one of movies who you search for without know than it exists.

At first it seemed a terribly slow start. This was exacerbated by our mistaken notion that "Oci Ciornie" was just another title for "Urga" - we kept wondering when and how they would ever get to Mongolia in that boat!

However, once we'd determined the actual story line the dilatory beginning seemed somehow apropos. Did Mikhalkov really mean to show us the emptiness of adultery? Or is he just an astute observer of the human condition? The parallels to the 1960 B&W "Lady with the Dog" (Russian) were striking. Especially the watermelon scene. But "Dark Eyes" takes the story further and carries the theme to its logical conclusion. My daughters hated it - they prefer stories of fidelity. But I did think it was refreshing for a film to come nearer the truth for a change. Adultery is not that fulfilling.

after its end, the only strange remains the source of his seduction. sure, it is a Mikhalkov film, the meeting between Mastroianni and Smoktunovsky is a happy event, the favorite of Fellini does an admirable job, the old text of Chekov has new nuances but each new explanation is far to be enough. the secret could be the strange status of story. it seems be well known. it could be a story about yourself. the emotion becomes profound scene by scene. the feelings about poor lead hero are ambiguous more and more. the virtue of film - it presents not only a touching story but an expected one. a film about life, errors, hopes and regrets.confession of an Italian full of authentic Russian states of soul. and that is the key - except Mastroianni, nobody can act his character. except Mikhalkov, nobody can give the air of familiarity to a strange story like that. a seductive film. but the roots of its seduction are so profound presented in its viewer experiences....