Film Review: Eastern Boys

Eastern Boys is an excellent and often intense drama about a man whose life suddenly changes when he propositions an illegal immigrant. This unusual love story features some excellent performances by Olivier Rabourdin as Daniel, Kirill Emelyanov as Marek, and especially by Daniil Vorobyev as Boss.

The film opens with wide shots of young men meeting on a city street, our view being mainly from above, from a distance, like we’re spying, or like we’re snipers waiting for the perfect shot. It’s kind of eerie, kind of unsettling, as we watch the young men move through the crowd without a destination. But soon it becomes clear what they’re doing, as we see them glancing at older men who walk by them. It’s done without dialogue, just street sounds, but again these sounds are fairly low, as from a distant perspective. And after a while we see them together in a fast-food restaurant, and now the camera – perhaps because of restrictions of the location if not by design – is closer to them, when they are relaxed among themselves. I love how long this opening sequence is allowed to go on. Eventually, we begin following a man as he follows one of the boys. And we’re ten minutes into the film before the first actual dialogue, where the man, Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin), propositions the boy, Marek (Kirill Emelyanov), and they set up a date for the following evening at Daniel’s home. The film then returns to a brief shot of the crowded street, and then a wide shot panning over the city, perhaps implying that this is happening all over.

Then the perspective switches a bit, and we’re with Daniel at his place, just before their scheduled encounter. But when the knock comes at his door, it is a much younger boy standing there, claiming to be Marek. He is inside Daniel’s apartment before Daniel can think, and then threatens to scream if Daniel touches him. Soon the rest of the gang arrives, including its leader, addressed only as Boss (Daniil Vorobyev). Daniel is clearly at a loss as to what to do, and the scene is quite tense as the boys (and one girl) make themselves at home, using his computer, drinking his liquor. They begin dancing, and after a while Daniel gives up and joins them (while boys in the other rooms begin removing his possessions). There is an interesting moment when Marek finally does show up and the Boss leads him over to Daniel. So much is done without dialogue in this film, and particularly in this scene, which is wonderful. The actors are quite capable of expressing their thoughts and feelings with body language and looks. There is a reason for it within the story as well, that being that the boys are from Eastern European countries, and not all of them speak French or English. Daniel watches as the boys begin removing more things from his home, now right in front of him. This scene does go on a bit too long, past the point where it feels tense, and to the point where you begin wondering if the film will move on.

But eventually we get to the aftermath. The camera pans with Daniel’s gaze, and we see, as he does, the state of his home. The film stays with him as he slowly begins to replace his possessions. And we wonder how he plans on dealing with these boys, or if he does. But answering a knock on his door one afternoon, he finds Marek standing there. And thus begins an unusual relationship.

Watching this film, you first feel for the boys on the street, then for Daniel, and then you begin to feel for them both. Which is lonelier? Which is sadder? Whom can we trust? We remain with Daniel for a good part of the film, but we don’t see him outside of his apartment for a long time. We know he has acquaintances and a job, but we don’t see him out. His world is quite small as presented to us. And then, interestingly, the film later takes us inside Marek’s world, and even Boss’ life at the hotel where the gang stays, and we begin to understand where everyone is coming from.

Mostly the film is done extremely really well, without a heavy hand, with the possible exception of the fireworks scene (but that is brief). There may be a few moments when you question why a character is handling things the way he is, but the performances are so good, and the tone is realistic, that you believe these people. And the film takes us in some surprising directions without feeling at all contrived.

Eastern Boys was directed by Robin Campillo. It is presented in English, French and Russian, with English subtitles for the French dialogue.