The film opens with a black screen, and we hear the
voices of two men, one of whom says he took a wrong turn. And then we see them;
or, rather, we see one of them: Anton, in the passenger’s seat. It’s an
interesting introduction, because it stresses the idea of the wrong turn before
we even see the characters. And though it’s Vlad (Andrey Kurganov) who took the
wrong turn, for the rest of the scene it’s Anton (Renat Shuteev) that we see,
as the camera remains focused on him for the entire scene. Anton teases Vlad
about the wrong turn, which will take them by his old high school, hinting that
Vlad misses his childhood.
Because the whole scene is one shot focusing on the
passenger, we catch a glimpse of what occurs outside the passenger window (but
could easily miss it as well, which is perhaps the intention). Anton sees the
beating, and tells Vlad to stop the car. Anton wants to help, but Vlad says
they should call the police instead of risking getting hurt or killed
themselves. He starts the engine again when someone bangs on the car. The scene
ends with Anton’s look at Vlad as they leave the area – a look of surprise,
disappointment, anger, a look that speaks of a sudden chasm opening between
them. What a strong opening for the film. (And obviously, the shot had to be
carefully timed and rehearsed.)
The movie then shows us an ordinary scene in the morning
over breakfast, and the love they have for each other is clear. Anton then goes
about his day, helping various elderly women. I love how he’s close enough with
the women he cares for that he doesn’t hide his sexual orientation from them,
and is almost playful with them about it. For example, in one scene, a woman is
watching sports on television and she asks Anton if it’s true that gay men can
recognize each other as gay, and Anton replies yes and, glancing at the
television, says, “I see nothing but them on the field.” The camera movement
feels natural throughout all of this, like it’s catching bits of life rather
than orchestrating it.
At night over drinks, one of Vlad and Anton’s friends
mentions a young guy who was brought into the hospital after a beating near the
school and is now in a coma. Anton is sure it’s the boy they saw and didn’t
save. And soon Anton and Vlad learn that the boy has died, and Anton feels
impelled to launch his own investigation, to become involved after the fact
since he was stopped from becoming involved at the time. And we as viewers are
torn – we want to learn more, but want him to be safe, simultaneously taking up
the positions of both Anton and Vlad. What’s great is that we only saw the
incident from inside the car. We know no more than they do. We’re not even sure
of what we saw. So how can they be sure?
As Anton’s obsession grows, Vlad gets sucked in too, more
because of his passion for Anton rather than his belief that they will solve
this crime. It seems like play for him, like when he tells Anton they should
come up with a name for their secret operation. I couldn’t help but think back
to the opening, about that one wrong turn and the idea of Vlad wanting to
return to childhood. Perhaps it’s true, and perhaps that’s part of why he plays
along with Anton’s investigation. With the walkie-talkies and binoculars and so
on, it is like a childhood game.
But perhaps they have stumbled onto something. I love the
way the film slowly builds until you suddenly start fearing for Anton’s safety
yourself. There is a tense scene as Anton waits on a bench for the person the
boy was supposed to have met the night of his murder, the filmmakers allowing
the scene to go on long enough that we feel both nervous for Anton and that he
might be wasting his time. But the film is more about their relationship, and
how that wrong turn and this quest have affected it, and have affected Anton in
particular.
Stand is presented in its original Russian
language, with English subtitles. It was directed by Jonathan Taieb, and was released
on DVD on August 4, 2015 through TLA Releasing. The DVD includes the film’s
trailer.
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