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12 | 2007 | PG-13 | - 3.8.4
Russian remake of "12 Angry Men," which earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination in 2008: A jury of twelve men deliberate the guilt, and determine the fate, of a Chechen teenager charged with murdering his stepfather. With Sergey Makovetsky, Sergei Makovetsky, Valentin Gaft, Mikhail Yefremov and Nikita Mikhalkov. Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. In Russian with English subtitles. [2:39]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A man mentions that he has to have sex with his girlfriend -- who is 21 years old -- every half an hour (he uses a crude term). A man mentions having "wet dreams" about his girlfriend. A man tells a story about his father being unfaithful, leaving his wife and starting a new family with another woman because of her beauty. A man talks about his girlfriend saying that she has breasts (using a crude term) like melons and chocolate brown nipples, and uses a crude term to refer to her buttocks. A man finds a bra in a school gymnasium and discusses breast size including a reference to a female student's large breasts. A man yells out, "A man who has hidden his head under his wife's petticoat will never find his head again!"
VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - In multiple scenes, we see repeated images: a dead dog, dead bodies, a burnt-down house, buildings in a city that have been burned, a dead woman with dried blood on her face, a dead man slumped over (we do not see his face), a dead soldier lying on a tank, a bullet lying in bloody feathers, a car on fire, soldiers running and shooting rifles, a burnt-down carousel, and a dog running in the rain carrying a dismembered arm in its mouth (we see flesh and bone sticking out).
► A woman is shown with a large knife sticking out of her abdomen and blood on her face (she has been murdered).
► On a war-torn city street, a small boy holds his puppy as gunfire comes out of windows, and a missile is launched causing a large explosion (the boy screams and the puppy is shot in the neck, blood spurts out and it appears that it has been killed).
► Dead bodies are seen from a distance as rain pours down. A rifle is seen with blood stains on it. A young boy looks closely at a dead man's face as rain drops into the dead man's open mouth. A child huddles in bed as shots are fired near him (he does not get hurt, but the bullets enter dead bodies that lay around him). A man looks through crime scene photos (we quickly see images of a body and a knife).
► A group of Chechen rebels hold guns and play with knives (some are young boys). A man gives a small boy a large knife, and the boy swings the knife around and dances with it as Chechen rebels cheer. A young boy takes out a large knife. A group of Chechen rebels drive off in jeeps and fire guns in the air as they drive away.
► A man grabs a knife and in a stabbing motion, simulates stabbing another man yelling, "I'll kill you!" A group of men discuss a knife and examine it (it is a murder weapon). A man says a knife has "devastating stabbing power" and to demonstrate throws a knife so it cuts through a thick pile of paper. A man takes a knife out of his briefcase and stabs it through a thick pile of papers. A man twirls a knife and does expert tricks with it. A man dances around with a knife (he throws it up in the air and catches it, he balances it, and he twirls it around in a fast motion).
► A man grabs a knife and pulls another man to the floor (they are reenacting a crime). A man simulates stabbing another man and mentions that to kill it must "reach the heart." A man pulls back another man's head and simulates cutting his throat "from ear to ear." A man talks about a teenage boy "cutting his father's throat like a sheep." A man yells, "He killed him! Because of money!"
► A man torments another man creating a scenario where the man would come home to find his wife and child raped and murdered. A man tells a man to imagine his wife "raped and hacked to pieces." A man tells another man to imagine coming home and finding a pool of blood emerging from under the door. A man cries and becomes ill when another man has him imagine his wife and child murdered.
► In multiple scenes, a jury discusses a teenage boy and whether or not he is guilty of murder. In multiple scenes, men are angered when they discuss a teenage boy killing his father. In multiple scenes men call a teenage boy a "killer." In multiple scenes, men discuss a life sentence and prison. Men discuss a possible robbery connected with a murder case. Members of a jury reenact a crime scene. A sign reads "Do Not Shoot Women and Children Here." A man tells a story about being a young boy and watching his grandmother die in front of him. A man speaks of witnessing a lot of stab wounds.
► A man cries when he talks about beating his child. A man says he dragged and punched his child. A man says about his child, "I'd beat him." A man mentions that his child's face was bloody after he had beaten him. A man says he found his child in a closet holding a noose made from a belt. A man talks about his son yelling, "Papa, don't!" (referring to getting beaten him).
► In various scenes, a teenage boy is shown in a jail cell. A teenage boy is seen in a courtroom and is handcuffed. A teenage boy in a jail cell tells a guard he is cold and the guard laughs.
► A man speaks negatively about the Chechen people while describing a robbery. A man calls a teenage boy a "Chechen dog." A man calls a teenage boy a "Chechen monster." A man torments another man about being Jewish.
► A man throws a heavy ball at another man and he falls over in his chair onto a gym mat (he is not injured). Two men throw a ball violently back and forth at one another as they argue.
► In a few scenes, men rush to use a restroom and are teased by other men. A man rushes to the restroom to vomit (we hear continuous and loud sounds of retching and gagging). A bird defecates on a man's head. A man yells, "I'm blind!" and rinses his face with water (he in not injured). A man mentions his son "pissed his bed." A man squirts a type of medicine first into his eyes, then up his nose, and then into his ears. A man mentions sniffing glue.
LANGUAGE 4 - 9 sexual references, 2 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 12 mild obscenities, derogatory references made about Jewish and Chechen people, name-calling (killer, monster, scumbag, savage, uneducated, nuts, thugs, monkey, pig, dog ), 9 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - A man pretends to cut and snort cocaine on a table, and a man mentions sniffing glue. A man finds a hypodermic needle with a clear liquid in it in a school gymnasium, throws it at a dartboard, and discusses heroin claiming his brother died because of "junk." Men talk about drinking vodka. Men smoke cigarettes in multiple scenes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Murder, trial by jury, reasonable doubt, motive, Chechen rebels, Chechen culture, Russian culture, Jews in Russia, Moscow, anti-Semitism, robbery, rape, infidelity, second chances, careers, reminiscing, child abuse, scamming, prison, drug abuse and alcoholism, family life, children, mercy, suicide, terrorism, racism, bigotry, war, knives, anger, death of a loved one.
MESSAGE - Anything is possible.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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