Little Odessa (1994)

Actors: Edward Furlong (actor), Maximilian Schell (actor), Olegar Fedoro (miscellaneous crew), Nick Wechsler (producer), Paul Webster (producer), Andrew Saxe (miscellaneous crew), Rick Washburn (miscellaneous crew), Vanessa Redgrave (actress), Paul Guilfoyle (actor), Tim Roth (actor), Eddy Collyns (miscellaneous crew), Tuesday Knight (actress), Natalya Andreychenko (actress), Moira Kelly (actress), Gavin J. Behrman (miscellaneous crew),

Plot: This film tells a bitter tale of a dysfunctional family. Joshua, a cold-blooded professional killer, returns to his Brighton Beach boyhood home for a "job." He knows it will be difficult to return to the Russian-immigrant community of his youth--in his eyes, we see anticipation of the inevitable emotional pain and psychic turmoil that seeing his forsaken family and estranged companions will bring him. To do his job, and try to maintain some semblence of sanity, he has had to wall off his humanity from even himself. Seeing his kid brother, who adores him, talking with his dying mother, who still loves him, and yes, arguing with his abusive father, begins to wreak havoc with his personal defenses. As his steely demeanor begins to dissolve, we are shown the soul of a hit-man crumbling away, piece by piece. Finally, all that he now allows himself to admit that he loves is agonizingly torn away from him and he is left with the ultimate punishment for his transgressions.

Keywords: abusive-father, accidental-killing, assassin, assassination, blood-vomiting, brooklyn-new-york-city, brother-brother-relationship, cancer, cremation, dark
Genres: Crime, Drama,
Taglines: Between good and evil and heaven and hell is... Brothers in blood. Partners in crime.

Quotes:

Joshua Shapira: [Joshua is about to execute Pahlevi] Hey, do you believe in God?::Pahlevi: [sobbing] Yes!::Joshua Shapira: Good. We'll wait ten seconds and see if he comes to save you.

Arkady Shapira: You know there is a saying: When a child is six years old, it says, "the father can do everything". When he's twelve, he says, "the father can almost do everything". When he's sixteen, he says, "the father is an idiot". When he's twenty-four, he says, "the father wasn't maybe such an idiot", and then, when he's forty, he says, "if I could only ask my father". But I'm afraid my sons will never ask themselves that.

Reuben Shapira: I haven't been to school in like, months.::Joshua Shapira: Why not?::Reuben Shapira: It's boring. Rather be smoking bud in a museum. Let's go see the snakes.::Reuben Shapira: [after a pause] I'm fucked up.

[first lines]::Joshua Shapira: It's done.

[Joshua has returned home with Reuben. He faces his father for the first time in years]::Arkady Shapira: [to Reuben] Did you let him in?::Reuben Shapira: [shrugs. Arkady slaps him, and Joshua punches his father in retaliation]::Joshua Shapira: He gets what I got, is that it?::Reuben Shapira: Josh...::Joshua Shapira: Don't you fuckin' hit him!::Arkady Shapira: Get out of my house.::Reuben Shapira: Josh, come on...::Arkady Shapira: Get out of my house, or I swear to you, you get belt.::Arkady Shapira: [brandishing his belt] Get out of my house! Get OUT of my house! [they start to fight]::Joshua Shapira: Fuck you!::Arkady Shapira: Get out of my house!::Joshua Shapira: I'll fucking kill you! You fucking lay a hand on me!::Arkady Shapira: Get out. [Reuben pulls Joshua away]::Arkady Shapira: Get out, I said! Get out! Murderer! Out!

Reuben Shapira: Josh. Josh, hey. It's me.::Joshua Shapira: Get outta here.::Reuben Shapira: Can't we meet later?::Joshua Shapira: It's not safe.::Reuben Shapira: Then we'll meet later somewhere else.::Joshua Shapira: Can't do that. I'm sorry. You look good, though. You're growing.::Reuben Shapira: Mom's gonna die. She got a brain tumor.::Joshua Shapira: Pop still work at the stand?::Reuben Shapira: Yeah.::Joshua Shapira: Be under the boardwalk. Near Nathan's, tomorrow at four.::Reuben Shapira: Okay.::Joshua Shapira: C'mere. How'd you know I was here? I won't do anything, just tell me.::Reuben Shapira: Sacha Ronov told me.::Joshua Shapira: Nobody can know I'm here. Not your friends, not their relatives, nobody. Don't discuss it with Sacha or anybody else. Okay? See you tomorrow.