Freeze Die Come to Life (1990) review

Mischievous Valerka (Pavel Nazarov) lives with his prostitute mother (Yelena Popova) in decrepit eastern Russia (near Vladivostok) where he tries selling hot tea and becomes "friendly" with significantly smarter Galia (Dinara Drukarova), but keeps getting into serious trouble: he puts yeast in his school's sewer, he derails a train and then bands together with a group of murderous thieves.  I suppose it's intended to be this story of kids "bonding" in the most foul conditions, but its main interest is in rubbing the audience's face in the snow, mud and human waste - there's a scholar-turned-lunatic who attempts to make pancakes in cold slush - and watching Valerka get physically abused and chased after by nearly everyone (he's caned, slapped, repeatedly punched, etc.) is tiresome.  Many reviewers seem to compare this to a certain key French New Wave release with its stark black and white photography, but Kanevsky doesn't possess a scintilla of Truffaut's empathy, concluding it in an even more alienating way, with Galia dead and a naked madwoman bouncing around on a broom.  The first two words of the translated title are correct ... the last three less so.