‎Beanpole (2019) directed by Kantemir Balagov • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Beanpole

2019 ‘Дылда’ Directed by Kantemir Balagov

Set in post-WWII Leningrad as two female soldiers return from war and attempt to rebuild their lives in the ravaged city.

Viktoriya Miroshnichenko Vasilisa Perelygina Andrey Bykov Igor Shirokov Konstantin Balakirev Kseniya Kutepova Olga Dragunova Timofey Glazkov

Alternative Title

Dylda

drama war

134 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Karsten Runquist ★★ 5

felt bad for falling asleep for 15 min until I realized everyone fell asleep during this. where is youtube’s 2x speed function when you need it.
Review by davidehrlich ★★★★

Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) suffers from post-concussion syndrome after fighting on the frontlines during the Siege. Now a nurse in a musty Leningrad hospital that heaves with the dead and dying, she’s prone to sudden fits of paralysis; her muscles freeze, her voice is swallowed by a feeble croak, and her long alabaster body is no longer under her control. In these vulnerable moments, Iya truly earns the nickname that gives “Beanpole” its title: The crane-like twenty-something — whose white eyebrows make it seem as though the cold she experienced in the army may have altered her on a genetic level — goes stiff as a stick, and would tip right over at the slightest touch.

Iya’s condition may be unique,…
Review by Allison M. ★★★

Cannes 2019
Film #5

Some moments of the movie were framed so perfectly... like it was a modern Persona. Unfortunately, the story and actresses don’t measure up to an Ingmar Bergman level of filmmaking. There are tons of closeups which feel special as opposed to intrusive.

In this film, it’s all about the two women: Iya and Masha. Men are a means to an end. The women’s social roles are not standard as Iya asks an older gentleman to dance; Iya doesn’t want children but is capable of having them and Masha wants kids but cannot have any more. Yet Iya is stuck with watching Masha’s kid and Masha asks her to carry a child for her, because she wants another one.

All in all, it runs way too long. However, the cinematography, forward-thinking woman, and off-beat situations make an interesting enough viewing experience.

Additional alert: a girl is violently run over by a train.
Review by Jake Cole ★★★

Less positive on this than I was at time of review. I think its self-seriousness holds it back a bit, and despite some of the interesting things Balagov is doing here it can feel too one-note at times. Still, a gorgeous film, and one often charged with a searing pain of trauma and an inability to cope.

Full review: www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-beanpole-blisteringly-traces-the-traumatic-wounds-of-war/
Review by kmarus ★★★★½ 3

TIFF 2019 Film #3

Yo, Kantemir, I also read Svetlana Alexievich's The Unwomanly Face of War, but I didn't go make a movie about it afterwards. Stop making us (almost) 28-year-olds look bad! In all honesty, Beanpole presents one of the more fascinating female-female dynamics I've seen in awhile. Echoes of Cristian Mungiu's equally frigid 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Still unsettled on a few things, but I won't be surprised if I leave Toronto calling this the best of the fest.
Review by alex ★★★★

not an easy watch at all. glacially paced and filled with incredibly fraught situations, i had to remind myself to breathe at times. i saw many people walk out of my screening. it's worth noting that the production design in this film is out of this world. the attention to detail is such that i can't believe that Kantemir Balagov is only 28 years old.

Recent reviews

Review by Film at Lincoln Center

In immediate post-WWII Leningrad, two women, Iya and Masha (astonishing newcomers Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina), intensely bonded after fighting side by side as anti-aircraft gunners, attempt to readjust to a haunted world. As the film begins, Iya, long and slender and towering over everyone—hence the film’s title—works as a nurse in a shell-shocked hospital, presiding over traumatized soldiers. A shocking accident brings them closer and also seals their fates. The 27-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov—whose debut feature Closeness caused a stir at Cannes and the New Directors/New Films festival just last year—won Un Certain Regard’s Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this richly burnished, occasionally harrowing rendering of the persistent scars of war.

See the New York premiere on Oct. 6 & 8 at the 57th NYFF.
Review by Josh Cabrita ★★½

A Cinema Scope capsule that, alas, never was:

One could be forgiven for initially thinking Kantemir Balagov’s follow-up to 2017’s Closeness yet another sanctimonious story about the casualties of war, and not the exceedingly deranged and unabashedly pathological story that it is. Set in Leningrad in 1945 (i.e. in the immediate aftermath of one of the longest and most fatal conflicts in history), Beanpole at first luxuriates in the derelict detail expected of an art house film of this type, but at around the half-hour mark things begins to turn askew: Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko), the tall nurse whose nickname gives the film its title, inadvertently kills the toddler she’s been assigned to care for, and the boy’s actual mother, Masha…
Review by Jake Cole ★★★

Less positive on this than I was at time of review. I think its self-seriousness holds it back a bit, and despite some of the interesting things Balagov is doing here it can feel too one-note at times. Still, a gorgeous film, and one often charged with a searing pain of trauma and an inability to cope.

Full review: www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-beanpole-blisteringly-traces-the-traumatic-wounds-of-war/
Review by alex ★★★★

not an easy watch at all. glacially paced and filled with incredibly fraught situations, i had to remind myself to breathe at times. i saw many people walk out of my screening. it's worth noting that the production design in this film is out of this world. the attention to detail is such that i can't believe that Kantemir Balagov is only 28 years old.
Review by rahasalehi ★★★

tiff-2019
Review by raebundy ★★★★★

I've been trying to articulate what this film means to me since I saw it at Cannes in May and I just ... wow.
Review by BMuggs ★★★ 1

Most aspects of this movie were good. It was nicely shot, and well acted, and it had some interesting ideas. But the pace was just so shockingly slow. Perhaps this was a personal thing, but for me it really detracted from all the good qualities on display.
Review by bethchestnut ★★★★

**fyi watched in russian w french subs so I didn’t get all of it but I got more than enough*

1. Excellent knitwear.
2. I usually hate movies that utilize strong greens, yellows, and reds as the major color scheme but it works really beautifully here.
3. People who made this movie are so goddamn young. Good for em. Proud of em.
4. Would maybe let go of my lesbian ways for that world weary doctor.
5. Some of the scenes are absolutely gut wrenching.
6. HANDS.
7. Soundscape of machinery, high pitched whine, and silence juxtaposed with small nature details on wallpaper, blankets etc.
8. One of the many things that this movie brought back to mind from my…
Review by pazienzo ★★★★

ilk filmi closeness ile cok heyecanlanip takibe aldigim balagov’un bundan sonraki ilk filmiyle iki gomlek daha buyuk bir is cikarmasinin soku icerisindeyim. tek problem tipki kendisi gibi genc bir yonetmen olan bi gan’in long days journey into night filmindeki gibi elindeki guclu tansiyonun buyusune kapilip akisi fazlaca suslemeye kalkismasiydi. bu film cekmeye yeni baslayan yaratici yonetmenlere ozgu olan acemilik disinda sahane bir evren yarattigini soyleyebilirim. yilin en iyilerinden.