I Am Dragon (2015)

Is this the "best" movie ever(?)... no! However (because my English grammar school teacher informed me never to start a sentence with 'But'), it does remind you that storytelling isn't a lost art.This is a beautiful fable; a fantasy (like 'Never Ending Story') that you can be a part of. You know what's coming; you know what happens next... but you want to see the creators 'tell' the story. Love isn't lost...

This is a beautifully made, well-acted film. The plot is elegant in it's simplicity. It is essentially a Beauty and the Beast remake in a decidedly Russian style. Aside from a rather silly "playing at romance" interlude about halfway through the film--pop music and suddenly bright lighting give it away--it is a very well-made film.

This movie is a great example of a toxic relationship that is so prevalent in the Russian culture. The woman is abused, saved then abused again, yet she gifts unconditional love that "saves" the marriage. This movie completely romanticized the idea of a woman turning a boy into a man. Her biggest reward is a child. As a human she did not contribute to humanity other than helping a sick man fight his insecurities. Classic Russian culture female oppression and perpetuality of a man's inability to be responsible for his own actions. The scape goat is a rough, cruel history and the environment Russian culture endured for hundreds of years. The dragon is an unloved child with a broken childhood. Boohoo! Poor Russian men. It is ok if they beat their wives. They had a bad mother. Pathetic!!! Too sad so many Russian women fall for it.

This film was amazing! I am really excited about this one because it's so rare to find really good fantasy films these days. So this one is a gem. The plot is excellent, with well developed characters and amazing backstory. You find yourself completely wrapped up in the narrative and even on the edge of your seat a few times. It is also relatively clean, which is a relief. It has a few mature moments, but nothing like a certain popular fantasy series with dragons that I'm still mad about because the content was so bad... never mind. Sore spot. The Russian language is also very fun to listen to. It has a sound to it that really adds something to the film and I could listen to it all day. The acting is top notch and the special effects are very well done too. All in all, I highly recommend this film to any and all fantasy fans. 10 out of 10 stars!