PADRAEG SULLIVAN I think this film has shown both the dark and positive side of Russian culture. The absolute power of the Czar is contrasted with the American chaos, and the hero's free spirit. That spirit seems to have been oppressed more by the czars, than in the rest of Europe. The tragic hero is felled by a flaw, unrelated to his heroism. But that is the conventional Russian melancholy. I believe this is overcome by the hero, in spirit, and is leading the way to a new awakening. I really solicit comments on this view!Also, I think it absurd to ban someone who violates displaying the spoiler. Being uncertain if my comment above is truly a spoiler, but thinking some may think it so, i selected that box.The punishment should be to mark ALL the offender's comments as spoilers. 100% guarantee not to repeat the offense, deterrence, even punishment, but not capital punishment!

richard2robinson The second time I saw this film I could see why people had said it was sentimental, overly staged. However I thought it was worth seeing a second time...Because the first time I saw it, one woman in the group of friends I went with was an international expert on Russian literature and Dostoyevsky in particular. She said she thought the film got to the nub of a Russian preoccupation... this woman wrestling with her identity. (OK she happens to be an American woman). If such an intellectual heavyweight thought it worth her 3 hours, it can't be that bad.The comments in other threads about the film not getting enough coverage don't tell us anything about the intrinsic value of the film. If anything they simply tell us that markets everywhere are different (a triumph of anti-globalism?) AND/OR that many many good films are made which we never hear about. Many good books are written and never published. Many beautiful people never make it to Hollywood...

blentus Saw it today (3 hour version), and loved it. Although I didn't expect much, I was pleasantly surprised with both the picture and the story.Quite many people gave bad reviews based on their 'political perception' of Russia in that period of time, but since movie was made like a fairy-tale comic tragedy, at no point of time did I even think "Is this true image of Russia from that time?" At the end of the day, this is not a documentary (nor was it intended to be) about Russia at the end of 19th century - it is just a story, and should be watched like a story.Acting was fantastic (I even liked Julia Ormond very much), shots were great, and altogether, this is a movie worth seeing.At least, you will experience emotions after you see it. You'll either like it, or hate it.

johnyzero_2000 I guess I'm an odd one for using the word "fun" to describe this movie but it's the only word I could think of after viewing the Barber of Siberia. BOS isn't the typical period piece, it's not stuffy like the English ones and it's not heavy handed like in your standard Russian flicks. It has something that a lot of period films lack, HUMOR! The movie doesn't take itself too seriously and it goes along at a very brisk pace. Julia Ormond is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses of all time and this is an excellent vehicle for her. I will say this isn't the movie for serious film snobs, it's very light and audience pleasing. I would recommend Barber of Siberia to anyone looking for something different.