popular russian cinema today blockbusters, epics, cartoons, and comedies
TRANSCRIPT
POPULAR RUSSIAN
CINEMA TODAYBLOCKBUSTERS,
EPICS, CARTOONS, AND COMEDIES
Blockbuster: Night Watch (2004)
Director Timur Bekmambetov (clipmaker)
Based on a popular fantasy novel (witches, vampires, etc.; forces of Good and Evil)
Big budget; “clips aesthetics.” International distribution,
recognition in Hollywood. Two sequels.
A tale about moral choices in corrupted times
1612 (2007)
Director Vladimir Khotinenko, producer Nikita Mikhalkov
Genre: historical epic, fantasy and action Set in a time of civil disorder (no
legitimate tsar, Polish intervention, the Pretender).
Themes: united we win; love, loyalty and betrayal; fatal craving for power as opposed to heroic self-sacrifice.
Another controversial instance of patriotic propaganda
FLASH ANIMATION: MASIANIA
Created by Oleg Kuvaev (b.1967) in 2001 First appeared in a TV program, then
moved to the Internet The character: female, about 25 years old,
lives in Saint-Petersburg. Careless, cynical, optimistic. Loves punk-rock (sex, drugs… you got it!)
Short humorous (satirical, absurd) episodes connected only by characters: Masiania, her boyfriend Hrundel (Хрюндель) and their pal Shaggy (Лохматый).
Oleg Kuvaev and his wife
Masiania and her boyfriend
MASIANIA IN PERSON
Fun-loving…
Tough…
Not well-organized…
Time to work…
…and time to relax…
…occasionally even in a healthy way
Takes work to pinpoint her!
Masiania ’s Saint-Petersburg welcomes tourists
PITER FM (2006)
Director: Oksana Bychkova (her debut) Genre: melodrama, comedy Love story of a boy (architect) and a girl
(radio dj) who don’t even meet. The central character – Saint-Petersburg itself.
Music, humour, feel-good atmosphere, and (supposedly) happy ending.
PiterFM1 PiterFM2 Piter FM3
PITER FM (youth, love, music)
“Angry Young Woman”Main topic: coming of age Documentaries,
musical clips, and TV-series (ex., 69-episode School)
Harsh and candid films about teenagers, especially girls.
Non-conventional mock-documentary style.
Everybody Dies But Me (2008; Caméra d'or Award at Cannes Film Festival).
Valeria Gai Germanika (b.1984)
History Revisited: The Admiral (2008, dir. Andrei Kravchuk)
Based on real events and memoirs.
Love story against the horrors of history.
Strong characters; honour as the highest value.
Idealized pre-revolutionary Russia.
Flipping sides: former “villains” (the White Army) shown as heroes.
Millennial Comedies
The Election Day (2007)
Political satire; non-conformist music; situational and verbal comedy
Kiss Them All! (2013)
Witty comedy, home-video style. The most profitable box office in Russian film history!
Existential Drama
The Island (2006, dir. Pavel Lungin). Search for one’s self, repentance, Russian Orthodox Christian worldview.
The Major (2013, dir. Yuri Bykov; Nouveau Genre Award at L'Étrange Festival). A drama of tough moral choices in corrupt world; Russian Fargo.
Dark Comedy and Social Drama
Cococo (2012, dir. Avdotia Smirnova): A love-hate friendship between a provincial girl and a museum curator: Russia’s split personality
Elena (2011, dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev; Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival): A tragic parable about the modern society.