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xyzman
Reviews
Khottabych (2006)
Screw uncle Billy, h4}{}{0r2 are coming!
While US & Europe enjoyed Snakes on a Plane, I've got a perfect birthday present - a release of a good movie. What makes good movie for me? Reality, some humor, some drama - and something that makes to think.
Khottabych is a name of genie from old Soviet fantasy book. The hero of this film meets a genie as well: a nerdy geek who gets kicked by every girl he goes out with finally seems to have some good luck. Corrupt officers, gangsters, even Microsoft - Russia is crazy - only serve to add more hilarity. Main idea? Screw the laws, and enjoy the world. The world built by geeks. In our age of huge industrial giants, which value money over everything, emotionless is the disease. Khottabych shows that there is still some hope left. Hope that dreams of everyone will be fulfilled.
Unfortunately, most of people probably won't get all the humor. Don't be afraid, you'll still understand everything from a point of emotions. Yes, one of the best things about this movie is that screenplay authors and actors found the way to retrieve those emotions of casual nerd perfectly. Few have done this before. Maybe the life in graffiti-painted den with just a PC and bottle of beer ain't THAT bad?
Brat 2 (2000)
Six years after this thing was filmed, it's still sounds great.
Near the end of 90s Russian cinema market was full of cheap gangster-related action movies. And, of course, there were comedy films - laughing at different kinds of fraud. People were buying it, because of the similarity of situations depicted to the real life. Economy collapse of 1990s in Russia when criminals were ruling everything played it's role. Even the original "Brat" was influenced by these ideas - to depict how artificial this life of "raw power" was. Today you are great and in power but tomorrow you're dead and no one remembers about you.
Brat 2 appeared in 2000, when everything in Russia started to change. And this film is a milestone declaring the change in Russian cinematography. Raw violence was utilized to show that it isn't an ultimate power.
You may say that Danila uses violence to prevail as well. But the following monologue show the main idea of the whole film: - Say me, American, what the power is? Money? My brother says that as well. But TRUTH is the power. You may steal from someone or lie, but that other person will have the truth behind him. And that's why he is stronger.
Raw power is nothing when it's used against the TRUTH. To get money or recognition. There always would be something taking the offender down.
The secondary value of this work is to respond to immigration problem of 80s-90s when "Iron curtain" broke down. Life abroad is not that good. African American ghetto gangsta, Ukrainian mafia of Chicago - that was of course a hyperbole showing to Russians that it isn't good to run from their problems to other country either. That's why so many Russians value this film so much. It was the first film in decade with such big patriotic value.
So, summing up, the film was fit for its time. In fact, that's why I'm watching it once again and again - to relive all my emotions of 90s. That is one of the few modern films that I'm willing to show to my future children along with classics of 60s/70s.