Humour, whimsy and visual beauty turn Stephen Sinclair’s Russian Snark from a typical migrant tale into something near-poetic. As Russian artists Misha and Nadia struggle to find their feet in Auckland, Sinclair gently takes shots at artistic pretentiousness (Misha’s making a black-and-white film of naked bodies in the landscape), exposes the painful choices migrants have to make and draws fine, natural performances from Stephen Papps and Elena Stejko as the couple, and especially Stephanie Tauevihi as their wise and compassionate neighbour.

Helene Wong, NZ Listener, 25/6/11