The camera is focus on 1 character: we share the calvary of Ayka during a few days. Be prepared for a 100 minutes apnea!
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FrenchEddieFelson23 February 2019
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With 'Ayka', director Sergei Dvortsevoy has proven to be a contemporary master of the classic impetus of Russian art: depicting the depths of human suffering, despair, and the lengths at which one might go to simply remain alive. Leading actress Samal Yeslyamova goes beyond mere acting and gloriously succeeds in telling her story through minimal dialogue and maximal emotional performance. The story does stumble a bit throughout the first act, but it is sufficiently augmented by a gripping third act and an emotionally draining ending.
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vcuty29 November 2018I saw this film , in gala opening of Cairo film festival , held in Egypt Its a film about the suffering of a helpless young woman...how to survive in a country she knows nothing about ...illegaly working and living in it... On so many levels the story line is moving...but my comment was why all the excessive details..and long scnes repeating the same thing over and ober It was more of a documentary film.... My second comment was the overdose of blood ...it needed to tone down abit in this regard Some people who watched it felt that the director did not utilse the story well... Also the actress ( who won best actress in Cannes film festival 2018) had the same expresion almost all the film..not much of acting as much as the story its self that deserved a prize
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Horst_In_Translation13 May 2019"Ayka" is a co-production between no less than 6 countries that premiered back in 2018 already, but took until now to make it to cinemas here in Germany, which is a bit surprising because Germany is one of these countries. Not the defining one though because this is almost completely in the Russian language. Director os these 100 minutes is Sergei Dvortsevoy, a bit of a late bloomer as he is not too far from the age of 60 anymore and this is only his second full feature film after a bunch of short movies. He is also the co-writer and he received a great deal of awards recognition for his effort here. Same can be said about lead actress Samal Yeslyamova, who also appeared in Dvortsevoy's previous work a decade ago and these two films are actually her only acting credits. Anyway for this one here, she won a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious acting awards of the year without a doubt and this award also made me curious about her portrayal. And while I think she gave a good performance and she basically is the movie, I am not sure I would agree with this win. It is an incredibly baity character honestly, who has to go through so much pain and siffering from beginning to end that it is utter awards material honestly, also during these scenes when we see she is a fighter, not one who only reacts to circumstances, but one who also acts for example when she communicates with the woman who took her job (according to her). So yes the title is pretty simple here: the name of the protagonist that is and it is also a really simple premise in this movie, maybe you could say a simple movie, even if the solution to Ayka's problems is everything but simple, rather impossible. This is the story of a woman who tries to survive and we see her in every scene of the movie. Just like we do with Leonardo Di Caprio in The Revenant or with the protagonist in "Son of Saul". These films take place centuries/decades back in the past, but I could see some parallels, even if Ayka's struggles are different in detail compared to these two men. And with her being a woman. I guess her woman-related struggles (no need to go any further into detail here, you know what I mean even without watching the movie) probably made it even more baity for awards bodies as there is always a question of dignity involved with that. Or like I said earlier sometimes you see what a tough broad she is and one example would be when she rejects a man who is interested to her. Near the end we find out she got pregnant because of a rape incident. If that is true or if she is lying to her hunters, we will never know.
I think as a whole, this was a good film. Many parallels and metaphors included in here, some felt good and appropriate, others a bit clumsy. For example the parallel between the mother dog and her many children and Ayka and her own child that she is taking care of these dogs getting milk, but abandoned her own kid is one I found fairly interesting. There's many more no need to mention them in detail. There is a crime aspect in here as Ayka borrowed some money from dangerous criminals that you really don't want to mess with, but it is never a crime movie. It is a story of desperation and survival and a truly depressing movie that shows us how imminent danger is not necessary, not even in our modern world for people to fight for survival each and every single day. The scenes when we see how hungry she is were especially sad. Or how she is willing to work, early on with these chicken, but gets tricked (along with other workers) by her employer. I also want to say a few words about the ending. With all the terrible that has been going on, it was kinda remarkable that this was the first time we saw Ayka cry. It is safe to say the presence of her child got her all emotional there and how she was scared of losing it (to death or these crooks). Of course there would not be a happy ending, not a solution, this would be highly unrealistic. Maybe they kill her and take the child. Maybe she actually finds a way to get away. It would have been nice for her to get lucky for once, especially after that daring movie to escape with her baby. We will never know. But we don't need to, we can imagine on our own what happens next. Also there was a brief moment of harmony as we see her united with her baby and the latter is drinking the milk, good for the baby, good for Ayka too to avoid the illness mentioned earlier. But no surprise after all that happened before, Dvortsevoy won't let us get out of this film on a high note as the worries and aforementioned crying are oh so dominant again. This is not a film that will put a smile on your lips whatsoever, heavy stuff at times, rarely mediocre, sometimes very good, but most of the time a decent movie. It is absolutely not a film for everyone, but if you manage to get dragged in (maybe with the depiction of weather a better and more atmospheric watch in winder), then you are in for something well done. After seeing how good this was, I really hope Dvortsevoy and Yeslamova will be a mit more prolific in the future in terms of their upcoming movie projects. We will see. Until then, go check this one out, but not really if you are already in a depressed state beforehand. Oh well, even then the film could show you that other people are off way worse than you, so I don't know. I thought it was good, so yeah don't miss out, no matter if inside your local theater or on a small television/laptop screen. -
Millions of migrants have been living in Moscow since mid 2000s. They take all kinds of work and receive wages that seem humiliating even to native Russians who are themselves mostly paid worse than anywhere in Europe. This movie is a well executed attempt to relive one of their mostly invisible lives, consciously ignored by both government and general public. This might be the only feature movie that puts some harsh, Dardenne-style light onto this part of life in Russia. It presents no answers or ideas, not even in a metaphorical way (almost). Instead it follows an indebted girl fighting with herself and recognizable features of modern Moscow: alienation, hypocrisy, absence of rule of law, acute social stratification. No person in the movie looks too horrible or too humane. The environment of the city however seems to be the thing that keeps everybody in a sort of struggling motion, depreciating hopes and turning them into little nightmares that further dissolve or turn into silent tragedies. No overdramatisation or extra lipstick is present however. Definitely something to watch.
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musiczimmer1 February 2019It's not easy to watch. The story, as it unveils , makes one clinching hands and seems to affect viewer physically. It's graphic but remains real, almost like a documentary. There's no music (as a film score), no chance for even a short break from heavy grip of what seems to be reality. And I believe it is reality, with fictional characters and acted out (in a most convincing way). It's a reality that you won't normally hear of, unless you know someone who's forced into it. That's why it's definitely worth watching, worth grinding your teeth in discomfort. Hopefully, it will at least make us think, feel and act differently when next time we encounter someone from that kind of reality.
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Zhorzhik-Morzhik8 March 2020"Ayka" is the main festival success of the year of Russian cinema. The director of the film, Sergei Dvortsevoy, worked for 7 long years about 7 short days in inhospitable Moscow of a woman migrant worker. A barely standing pregnant woman is struggling for life with all her strength, taking on any hard work. Absolutely fair award for the best female role of the Cannes Film Festival went to the wonderful Kazakh actress Samal Eslyamova. Sad fact: the Ministry of Culture of Russia annually distributes a huge amount of money for mediocre films, but can not forgive the debt of the director of this film, which glorified Russia.
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princeofmontecito8 February 2019We see a film that makes love to questions our souls seldom ask. The pain of attachment whispers to those of us finding love sacred, until we are all alone screaming in torment's silence.
A woman in Moscow attempting the forbidden, crossing the bridge of survival in the ice and snow of human apathy. As we are there with her, helplessness unflowering shock, the garden of our selfishness wants us to leave this immersion, are we drowning or escaping...Although we are the prisoner of our own denial, we would beg to lose the shackles of the woman in this film. Samal graces the river of my senses with a waterfall of paralysis. A rainbow of emotion awaits you. Become the fire of the sunrise. Or the darkness before the dawn. Fire does not burn. It illuminates. A film that blinds, that you may truly see and feel. Close to home... -
manoseimenis8 November 2022Depressing depiction of the miserable life of the illegal immigrants in Moscow. Hardly any serious acting, many vulgar scenes, too much blood, and tiring move of the camera. Should have been some kind of a documentary, not a movie. I wonder how the hell it got so many awards and nominations. Being a movie fan for some decades, I can say with confidence now that minimum the 2/3 of any outsider movie with many awards and nominations are rubbish. Don't waste your time unless you are of the heavy cultural kind of person that applauds the below average films "because you found quality and hidden meanings" that the rest of us missed.
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gokselll2 September 2020Ayka, the striking movie of Sergei Dvortsevoy, presents not only such a powerfull sense of reality, but also an excellent cinematographical narration!
Every lovers of realist cinema should see this movie. Ayka promises for a rarely seen movie pleasure in addition to hard criticism on true horrible examples of actual poverty experiences.