Little Odessa (1994)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

James Gray

Writer:

James Gray (writer)

Release Date:

19 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Between good and evil and heaven and hell is...

Plot:

This film tells a bitter tale of a dysfunctional family. Joshua, a cold-blooded professional killer...

Plot Keywords:

Dysfunctional Family | Brother | Mother | Abusive Father | Hitman

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Joshua Shapira
Edward Furlong	...	Reuben Shapira
Moira Kelly	...	Alla Shustervich
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Irina Shapira
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Boris Volkoff
Natalya Andreychenko	...	Natasha
Maximilian Schell	...	Arkady Shapira
David Vadim	...	Sasha
Mina Bern	...	Grandma Tsilya
Boris McGiver	...	Ivan
Mohammed Ghaffari	...	Pahlevi
Michael Khmurov	...	Yuri
Dmitry Preyers	...	Victor
David Ross	...	Anatoly
Ron Brice	...	Man with one leg

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (bw) | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Fine Line Features

Trivia:

It took director James Gray two years to get the financing in place to make _Little Odessa (1994)_.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scenes where Mr. Schell is supposedly speaking Russian, his language is unintelligible beyond the simplest words.

Quotes:

Joshua Shapira: [Joshua is about to execute Pahlevi] Hey, do you believe in God?
Pahlevi: [sobbing] Yes!
Joshua Shapira: Good. We'll wait ten seconds and see if he comes to save you.

Movie Connections:

Features Vengeance Valley (1951)

Raw, naked, haunting & cold.

I saw this movie at a quite low age, I consider it one of the films that evoked my passion for this art form. This film is very bare, very raw yet somehow harmonious, as well. The violence is very well depicted, in a very cold & frightful way. This is a film without any greater hope, without any greater optimism of our future. A rapid & haunting way of showing the true face and consequences of brutal violence. Intensively and artistically this film displays a chaotic & desperate family, a destiny very honest and very haunting. Cinematography is stunning, as is the environment, which very well defines the fundamental characteristics of this film, cold, naked, intense & raw. Great debut by the very promising James Gray.