Nastroyshchik

"The Tuner" is a comedy drama by cult director Kira Muratova. An easy and kind story about the love of a piano tuner for a beautiful and spoiled girl, for whom the main character decides to commit a crime. A magnificent acting ensemble led by Alla Demidova and Renata Litvinova.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was turned off by the acting/directing style. I'm a native Russian speaker from Moscow, and I've seen enough Soviet/Russian movies to expect them to stray from Hollywood conventions. But whereas many Russian films push the envelope in artistry and expression, this one just sucked.

For one, the overacting was painful to watch. Not only do no Russians act that way, I don't think that any humans act that way. It actually made me think that what I was seeing on the DVD was the unedited raw reel. People would repeat their lines over and over for no apparent reason, as if doing multiple takes - except that we get to see all of it. Some of the actors themselves are old pros, and so I figured that this was done intentionally, for the effect so to speak. The lines were delivered in most unnatural tones, as if they were reading them for the first time, and didn't know where to put the accents and pauses in a sentence. But what effect this could possibly be producing, other than making me want to turn the movie off several times is not clear. And speaking of the lines, they often sound clumsy, like a direct translation to Russian from another language, or like somebody trying to make up how people would talk without ever observing them.

Also, I found the sound to be very strange. It seemed like every piece of speech was dubbed - recorded separately from the video footage and then mixed together. The voices didn't move with the actors, and their facial expressions didn't always seem to match the volume or expression of the text. It basically sounded like listening to a radio broadcast - everybody sitting nice and close to the microphone, but no dynamics or liveliness to the speech. Again, this had to have been done intentionally, but I can only fathom for what purpose.

With this in mind, my favorite scene was the silent stretch of Andrei fetching water for the bath. It was the most serene, least annoying part of the movie.

The actual plot of the script is interesting, and is really the only thing that kept me from turning this off. The script presents opportunities one after another, and the movie fails to make anything of them time and again. Despite the initially intriguing plot, I'd still say this is not worth watching.

I haven't seen Kira Muratova's movies for a while, but I can say after watching "Nastroyshchik": she is the most controversial director ever... For benefit of others: Kira Muratova is a famous Soviet/Russian film director, her movies were not allowed for public view a long time until Gorbachev/"Perestroyka" took over the Soviet Union. Most of her movies (maybe all of them?)were shot in Ukraine (Odessa).You may feel like you are watching the documentary. This movie is done with true Muratova's style, much different than common film directing. I think Muratova has a lot in common with Woody Allen I'm recommending the people who are Woody Allen fans or simply like non- Hollywood movies to watch this piece. (Sorry for English, it is not my prime language)

Kira Muratova is known for the dark side in her movies which makes watching and analyzing her movies often a challenging job for those who are ready for such mental and emotional work. But this fantastic movie combines elegant screenplay, amazing operator job, charming melodies by Valentin Silvestrov, one of the best group of actors ever in Russian (or should I say Ukrainian as it was produced in Odessa, Ukraine) cinema - both "great four" (Demidova, Ruslanova, Deliev, Ruslanova) and actors in supporting roles WITH a moral concept which gets exposed only by the very end of the movie conveyed to us through the speech of absolutely fabulous actress, Alla Demidova. It feels like the actors "enjoy the feast" as well - their performance is light, charming and perfectly convincing. This movie is nothing it can be compared with, and will give a true pleasure to all lovers of the great Russian cinema. I would dare to call it a comedy with some serious moral issues discussed - a rare combination, isn't it?

my expectations usually end with the disenchantment. but not that time. it is obligatory to watch if you have chosen another dimension of films and of living itself. brilliant and lively heart-rending, IMHO is one of the most excellent muratova's works. renata litvinova as usually - how to say it and not to repeat oneself, she acts herself with all of her soul - beautiful and originally glamorous. georgy deliev is to be one of the most fascinating thieves. they both make together the definition of love out of conventions. nina ruslanova and alla demidova are the second pair in this game. they are one of the most famous actresses in the USSR, former and rip, here playing two typically untypical soviet elderly women,dreaming to be loved and so defenseless in their lonely conditions. this is a drama, detective story without police, romance, comedy and some piano,as a lemon jelly for enjoying!