I really disliked this movie. Granted, my expectations and reasons for requesting it were slightly inconsistent with the average review – I was interested in the Black Sea landscape – I knew that 'Roads to Koktebel' was a road movie, but even at that, it failed to hold my interest.
As a fan of road movies, from 'Harold and Maude' on down to Wim Wenders' 'Kings of the Road' it is my experience that this genre lives and dies on the strength of their experiences if not the subjects of their conversations. Sadly, with a middle-aged man and an 11 year-old child, neither their wits are matched, nor is either character sufficiently self-absorbed to make the film entirely self-sustaining.
Good road movies perform functions that were explored by the Lettrists and Guy Debord's <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International">Situationists</a></i>. The best road movies where the protagonists are allowed to have experiences that intersect and interrogate the landscapes that they cross, whether, in the case of 'King's of the Road' the influence of the West on Eastern Bloc landscapes.
Though the cinematography of 'Roads to Koktebel' was compelling, the narrative was hardly compelling. A boy and his grandson hitch-hike from one side of the Black Sea to the other, performing menial labor as a means to fund their journey; by the 40 minute mark, nothing in the actions or behavior of either character had elevated itself to the level of subtext, so I lost interest.