Leon is a young boy growing up in Russia at the end of the 1900s. He has a nervous problem (possibly anxiety) and has a hard time at school and with other people in general. Leon quickly falls in love with movies, specifically those from Hollywood after seeing them for the first time. Like so many other people who are not exactly social for one reason or another, he trades social interaction for watching films. His love for movies over the years borders on the edge of obsession as he knows not only actors and directors but also the Russian’s who voice over the tapes to translate them. His daily and weekly schedule revolves around what movies are being played on TV or at the theaters.
He takes readers through the difficulty of obtaining some of the popular movies that can be found just about anywhere here in the United States. This difficulty is not only because of how much Russia censored movies from just about anywhere but because the titles are often changed as well. Leon shares his excitement and the challenges he faced to get his first VCR play and to transport his VHS collection when his family moved. He even talks about when owning a VCR was illegal in Russia and when people would give anything to have one, including offering to trade a boat for a VCR.
What I liked best was that the informative quality of the book was wonderful and the author clearly did his research (I even wondered at times if the book was based on the author’s own childhood). I appreciated the human qualities of the book, such as the struggles Leon faces at school. New facts about Russia was presented to the readers in a way that prevented anything from feeling too overly informative. What I did not like was the fact that the book ends fairly abruptly. I would have liked to see at least one chapter about after the family’s move to Germany. There were also multiple sections where it would begin on one topic and end on another, seemingly unrelated topic.
Movie fans will enjoy this book but it is recommended that they be somewhat familiar with movies from the 1980s (I think was the time period of most movies mentioned in the book, I myself am far from a movie buff at all) and newer. High school students may not be able to fully appreciate the cinematic history in this book and may feel more like a history book to them. It should also be noted as VHS tapes are already a thing of the past (I am holding on to a few to show my children in the future) upcoming generations may not know what the book is talking about without asking their parents or google. Finally, I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4. This book is very informative about a topic not many people are probably aware of. Sadly this gives it a very narrow target audience. The way the book is written makes it feel like it is an autobiography about a movie lover growing up where movies are largely controlled. The plot of the book is frequently lost through during all the movie talk.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Ducklady (1174 KP) rated In the Tall Grass (2019) in Movies
Oct 11, 2019
Was a really slow start with a lot of shouting, but the acting was great from most of the characters. The middle of the movie picked up a bit and got me interested and then the ending arrived and just confused everything. I can kinda make sense of some of it, but it left too many questions that I don't even want the answers to.
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966)
5.0
Rate It
Movie
Fourth in the series of films based on Ronald Searle's cartoons about an anarchic girls' school. St....
Asian Sacred Natural Sites: Philosophy and Practice in Protected Areas and Conservation
Bas Verschuuren and Naoya Furuta
Book
Nature conservation planning tends to be driven by models based on Western norms and science, but...
Adobe Fireworks CS6 Classroom in a Book
Book
Those creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe...
CKD (37 KP) rated Before We Were Yours in Books
Dec 7, 2018
This book is based on actual events. The stories of Rill and Avery are fiction but some of the facts around the Tennessee Children's Home are factual. The kidnapping and eventual adoption of these "orphan" children was organized by Georgia Tann, Director. She had lots of influential people that looked the other way until she was eventually closed the center down after a state investigation into numerous instances of adoption fraud.
Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: An International Perspective
Nigel D. Morpeth and Razaq Raj
Book
From the early part of the 21st Century, religious tourism has seen both economic and...
Climate Change and the Aviation Industry: An Economic and Managerial Perspective
Frank Fichert and Peter Forsyth
Book
Climate change has become a crucial issue for the air transport industry. Back in 1999, the United...
The Music Therapy for Multisensory and Body Awareness in Children and Adults with Severe to Profound Multiple Disabilities: The Musense Manual
Roberta Adler, Olga Samsonova-Jellison, Andrea Clarke and Xueyan Hua
Book
This book offers the practical, ready-to-use MuSense program. Originally designed for music...
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
8.5
Rate It
Movie
Biopic of the martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, based on his life-story as written by his wife....
kung fu