Russian films worth watching
Dzhentelmeni udachi (Gentlemen of Fortune), 1972
Comedy
Synopsis
Kind hearted kindergarten teacher Troshkin finds out he’s a dead ringer of a fearsome criminal nicknamed Docent whose gang has just stolen the precious golden helmet of Alexander the Great. The thieves managed to hide the loot before they were busted and police ask Troshkin to go to jail and play the role of Docent in front of his men to help find the helmet. The decent man has to quickly learn prison slang and rules and keep his good nature hidden. But when authorities organize a break for the gang, Troshkin resorts to what he knows best to keep them under control – treating them like unruly children.
Trivia
–Director Aleksandr Seryj had first-hand experience of being an inmate as he served five years in prison for a knife fight over a girl. Georgi Daneliya, who co-wrote the script with Viktoria Tokareva, helped his friend greatly with the film.
–Some of the prison slang in the film was invented by scriptwriters while some is quite real.
–Censors were about to ban the film due to most of its protagonists being criminals. But Leonid Breznev, who was one of the first to watch the film, gave it the green light.
Tikhiy Don (And Quiet Flows the Don), 1958
Epic drama
Synopsis
The six-hour long film follows the fates of a Don Cossack family over the course of ten years. Deadly World War, the Bolshevik Revolution and the Civil War take their toll on the Melekhovs overturning their traditional life and leaving them with no foundation or clear guidelines. The global turmoil is mirrored in protagonist Grigory Melekhov who cannot choose whom to side with and is also divided between two women.
Trivia
–The original version was cut to just 107 minutes for international distribution.
–It’s the second and most successful adaptation of the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Mikhail Sholokhov. Sholokhov was the only writer in the Soviet Union to receive the award with the government’s approval.
–Sholokhov’s authorship of the novel was disputed very much like the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. Critics say the 22-year-old had neither the experience nor the education to write such a strong novel.
Ya shagayu po Moskve (Walking the Streets of Moscow), 1963
Lyrical comedy
Synopsis
The film depicts a day in the life of four young people in ‘fairy tale’ Moscow. They become friends, fall in love, quarrel and make-up, running through the thousand simple adventures that careless and happy youth can run through. With a barely defined plot and no conflict, the movie wins viewers’ hearts with its light and joyful atmosphere. And one of the characters is Moscow itself, its streets, metro stations, boulevards and embankments, the magical city of great hopes and bright future.
Trivia
–Urban legend claims the genre ‘lyrical comedy’ was invented for this film after censors complained that ‘a comedy must be funny.’
–The title song – an instant hit of the 1960s – was written by Gennady Shpalikov at the very end of shooting. He wrote it in 15 minutes while he waited for other crew members to finish their work and go to a restaurant as it was payday.
–Nikita Mikhalkov, who plays one of the lead roles, demanded his salary be more the tripled after a week of shooting. Director Danelia dismissed him with ‘go then, I’ll take another actor’ and the future famous actor and director gave in.
Desyat negrityat (Ten little Indians), 1987
Thriller
Synopsis
An adaptation of the classic novel by Agatha Christie. Ten people are gathered on a desolate island for various reasons. At a dinner, a gramophone record informs them that they are all guilty of murder, and since the law was unable to punish them, their host will now do the job. One by one, guests die in a way described in a nursery rhyme that hangs in every room. As their numbers diminish, they realise that no help will come and that the punisher is among them.
Trivia
–This adaptation is the only one with the original title of the novel ‘Ten Little Niggers.’ The book itself and other adaptations had ‘niggers’ replaced with ‘Indians’ and later ‘soldiers’ to avoid accusations of racism. ‘And Then There Were None’ is another popular variant.
–The film is also true to the original grim plot that leaves none of the guests a chance to survive. Nor does it change anything in the characters or their past except the motive of the real murderer.
–The filming was done in Crimea, its rocky cliffs hanging over the Black Sea helping give the impression of an island.
Polosaty reis (The Striped Trip), 1960
Comedy
Synopsis
A ship travelling from India is carrying caged tigers and lions to the Moscow Zoo. But the crew is unaware that the tamer watching over the beasts is actually just a barman from the embassy, who tricked them to get a free passage home. The trip turns into a potential disaster when an ape, given by the Indians as a ‘bonus,’ releases all the big cats. Only a brave girl with an affinity for animals can save the day.
Trivia
–Russia’s first female animal tamer, Margarita Nazarova, plays the role of the girl who tries to get the animals back in their cages.
–Scriptwriter Victor Konetsky took the idea for the plot from real life experience, when two polar bears escaped from their cages onboard a ship. Unlike the movie, the crew had to use fire extinguishers to capture them.
–In one scene, Andrey Leonov, who plays the fake tamer, takes a bath. When he washes off the shampoo foam from his eyes and sees a tiger, he pulls himself under the water in panic. The reaction is genuine: the actor was expecting armoured glass to be between the bath and the tiger, but it was removed while his eyes were shut.
