Nonureva
Really Surprised!
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Lee Eisenberg
Quirky what-if flick about young Australian communist Joan Fraser Welch (Judy Davis), who gets impregnated by Joseph Stalin (F. Murray Abraham, who seriously does manage to look like the dictator) on the day that he dies, and has to raise the son without letting the boy know the whole story. "Children of the Revolution" gives one a sense of the sometimes tense situation down under in the '50s, which prompts Joan to go to the Soviet Union in the first place. But more than anything - in my opinion - it shows how, even though the USSR clearly betrayed its ideals, Joan maintains hers. She and her family never give up hope of a better future. Definitely worth seeing. Also starring Geoffrey Rush, Richard Roxburgh and Sam Neill.
MartinHafer
I knew absolutely nothing about this film before I saw it and I don't think I had any an preconceptions. The story sounded oddly interesting--a woman who claimed her son was the bastard of Joseph Stalin! Well, despite the quirkiness of the premise, it just bored me immensely. It certainly wasn't funny nor was it particularly entertaining. I think part of the problem is that IF it originally was meant to be a comedy (and I'm not sure that really was the intention), how can Joseph Stalin be funny?! You would think that the fact that he was one of the greatest murderers in human history would preclude any attempt at comedy! If that WAS their intention, it was a very sick joke and may perhaps illustrate a problem with whoever was responsible for this film. Was this film, perhaps, meant less as a joke and more as a homage to Stalin or to paint him as not such a bad guy? Who knows. For that matter, who cares? All I know is you shouldn't waste your time.FYI--if you think I am being too narrow-minded or unfair to the picture, try substituting "Joseph Stalin" for Hitler, Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer as the focus of this movie. Do you think all their victims would find this movie a barrel of laughs?
MovieAlien
One unsettling attribute of this movie is that it presents itself as if it were based on a true story. Judy Davis plays a Socialist who allegedly had an affair with Josef Stalin (F. Murray Abraham), and when she gives birth to a son with all the revolutionary's traits, there is some dispute about whether he is who everyone thinks he is. During the film he gets into all sorts of trouble with the law and eventually falls in love with a cop that frequently arrests him (Rachel Griffiths). Only at the end does the whim tone down to a serious drama. Whatever this movie has to say, it kept my attention all the way through.
rep1
Judy Davis is a young communist in 1950 Australia. She corresponds with Stalin and gets an invitation to Moscow. The trip changes her life (of course) which we get to follow for the next 40 years. You'll be hooked after the first two minutes of this very original film. Great performances (especially from Judy Davis) and unique plot twists made this film worth watching.
