Eastern Western

Brilliantly conceived - an immigrant allegory told in the wild west, and incredibly well executed for a first time feature! The characters (real people casting) are complex and nuanced, and the film is huge in scope while maintaining an intimacy of emotion at all times.…

darcymckinnon

Attended a live Q&A at the Gene Siskel Film Center with directors Biliana and Marina Grozdanova, lead actor Igor Galijasevic, and cinematograper/editor Cameron Wheeless. The Western never truly dies, it just takes new forms as times change. Whether it be deconstruction,…

Jack from Titanic

Eastern Western is a very sleepy take on the western with a lot of reverence for Malick. Unfortunately it does not offer the same quality of filmmaking as a late period Malick film, instead going for these garish tight close ups in extreme shallow focus. It verges on…

Zach on Arthouse

A soulful, slowburn exploration of grief and survival that trades traditional gunslinging for quiet, atmospheric realism. Its greatest strength lies in its documentary-style grit and stunning cinematography, which captures the raw isolation of the journey toward California.…

Abhie Zibran

Quiet and languid tale of ambition, conquest, the sacrifices of immigrants, the cycle of history. Malick-y cinematography that is at times gorgeous and others a little claustrophobic. Didn’t find myself super invested in this until the third act and the true scope of the…

Gage

Probably the best performance from a child in a film I’ve seen in a long time?

Stephen Pfeil

A gorgeous Western that traverses the grand vistas, and crippling tragedies, that defined a burgeoning America, "Eastern Western" holds a complicated relationship with the concept of ambition. From filmmakers and NOFF alums Biliana & Marina Grozdanova, the film centers…

Jeremy Marshall

This film has really stuck with me since watching it.  Met the co-directing sisters on a directing panel before the screening and was intrigued by what they briefly said about it—being mostly documentary filmmakers who self-funded this first narrative and turned a 40ish…

MarkPulaski

There are a bunch of things I didn’t like, the extreme shallow focus is too much and too often.. BUT This is an amazing ambitious film punching so far above its weight ($400k budget) that I have to praise it for the incredible achievement that it is.  They have a real…

acharmercoiling