''Give Me Liberty'' is a 2019 American

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

directed by

Kirill Mikhanovsky Kirill Mikhanovsky is a Russian-American director, screenwriter, editor, and producer, best known for directing the critically acclaimed 2019 American comedy drama ''Give Me Liberty''. Biography Mikhanovsky grew up in Moscow. While attending the ...

. The film had its world premiere on the opening night of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

on January 24, 2019. The film was screened in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

section at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became t ...

. The film stars Chris Galust, Lauren "Lolo" Spencer, and

Maxim Stoyanov Maxim Stoyanov (russian: Максим Владимирович Стоянов; born June 29, 1987) is a Russian stage and film actor, known for his work in the 2019 American comedy drama ''Give Me Liberty''. Biography Stoyanov was born in Tighina ...

Summary

The film follows medical transport driver Vic as he shuttles his Russian grandfather and émigré friends to a funeral.

Cast

Chris Galust Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian (given name), Christian, Christina (given name), Christina, Christine (name), Christine, and Christos (given name), Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, ...

as Vic * Lauren "Lolo" Spencer as Tracy *

as Dima *

Darya Ekamasova Darya Nikolaevna Ekamasova (russian: Дарья Николаевна Екамасова; born 20 May 1984) is a Russian theater and film actress. Her film credits include ''Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman'' (2011), '' Free Floating' ...

as Sasha * Zoya Makhlina as Vic's Mom * Sheryl Sims-Daniels as Tracy's Mom *

Anna Maltova Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 122 ...

as Anna * Arkady Basin as Vic's Grandpa * Michael Earvin as the Cadillac Man

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "''Give Me Liberty'' expertly juggles resonant themes and a madcap series of events to produce a chaotic comedy with heart." Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Manohla Dargis described ''Give Me Liberty'' as “a jolt of a movie, an anarchic deadpan comedy that evolves into a romance just around the time the story explodes…It’s irresistible,” while ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it “a boisterous, free-wheeling joyride.” Matt Fagerholm of

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...

described it as "electric" and "a fresh all-American crowd pleaser".

Accolades

The film received four

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

nominations, including for Best Male Lead (Galust), Best Supporting Female Actress (Spencer), Best Editing (Mikhanovsky), and Best Feature Under $500,000 (John Cassavetes Award), winning in the last category. It was the winner of Macau IFF 2019 (Best International Picture). It was named to the following "Best Of" lists: ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''The New York Times'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

( Top Ten Independent Films), ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', and

(Sundance Best Performances).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Give Me Liberty 2019 films 2019 comedy-drama films 2019 independent films American comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Russian-language films Films about buses Films about disability Films set in Milwaukee Films set in Wisconsin 2019 multilingual films American multilingual films 2010s American films John Cassavetes Award winners