• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Film

Eastern Boys – Film Review

By Emma Siverthorn  @HouseOf_Gazelle From its opaque start through to its ambiguous denouncement Robin Campillo’s Eastern Boys is a brilliantly complex exploration of power dynamics. In the opening scenes, the Eastern Boys, (hailing from the Ukraine, Russia and Romania), roam the Gare Du Nord, their purpose and intention unclear but their sense of pack protection […]

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2014-12-06 11:53
in Film
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

By Emma Siverthorn  @HouseOf_Gazelle

From its opaque start through to its ambiguous denouncement Robin Campillo’s Eastern Boys is a brilliantly complex exploration of power dynamics. In the opening scenes, the Eastern Boys, (hailing from the Ukraine, Russia and Romania), roam the Gare Du Nord, their purpose and intention unclear but their sense of pack protection obvious. Yet as the film progresses this sense of immigrant solidarity quickly darkens and shifts to something more akin to captivity than camaraderie. The leader of the boys gang, (wonderfully played by Daniil Vorobyov), is pimp like; only ever referred to as ‘Boss’, he is the provider of both fun and finance, alternately charismatic and frightening.

Campillo however refuses to allow the audience to form simple judgements of his characters and the designations of victim and exploiter shift from moment to moment. This shift being especially prevalent in the early punter/rent boy encounter between middle-class, middle-aged French business man Daniel (Oliver Rabourdin) and paper-less young immigrant Marek (later Rouslan, played by Kirril Emelyanov). Daniel is undoubtedly on the inside and Marek and his friends are undoubtedly ‘other’. Yet Marek and the gang easily entrap and shame Daniel and so for a moment hold power. This win however is shaky at best, within the context of their lives. Marek/Rouslan is it turns out an orphan, his parents having been killed in the Chechnya war. Even excluding this traumatic background, the sense of social isolation and exhaustion felt by Marek and the other boys is palpable and the difference between their lives and Daniel’s is vast.

Eastern Boys adroitly manages to tackle such weighty issues as immigration, the power of naming and the strain of commercial sexual relations turned romantic, whilst maintaining the pace and interest of a thriller; a nuanced and emotive portrait.Highly recommended.

Eastern Boys is released on December 5th.

 

 

RelatedPosts

Cannes 2022 Review: Holy Spider

Cannes 2022 Review: Triangle of Sadness

Cannes 2022 Review: Enys Men

Cannes 2022 Review: Three Thousand Years of Longing

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

American Idiot moves into top 20 in charts ahead of Trump visit

Cinematographer dead after prop gun fired by Alec Baldwin on film set

Rugby World Cup: Team of the Tournament

Jacinda Ardern’s progressive leadership has been a shining beacon of light in these uncertain times

Saudi Arabia sentences five to death over journalist Khashoggi’s murder

Vaccinations in the Workplace: Can They Save Your Business Money? 

Andy Burnham ‘would run for Labour leader again’

Fire Service Receives Record Number of Call-Outs to Obese People

Lucas: A general election is not going to solve the Brexit crisis

Starmer: ‘Young people’s futures can’t be held back by Conservatives’ incompetence’

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.