A welcome revival of a 1980s comedy prophesying the collapse of the Soviet Union
Here is a revival of a 1983 film from the Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia (still alive at 90) and it is revealed as an intriguing, and perhaps even remarkable creation: a dapper, droll satire on Soviet bureaucracy, a shaggy dog story of absurd humour that creeps up on you, culminating in a truly bizarre apocalypse. The satire was arguably lenient enough to get the film made and lenient enough to win it the Ussr State prize, but we can see from our 2023 vantage point that it is a deadpan prophecy of the Soviet Union’s imminent collapse. If we could go back in time to this film’s first release and tell Shengelaia that just six years later the Berlin Wall would come down and with it the entire Soviet system, would he have been surprised? Perhaps only...
Here is a revival of a 1983 film from the Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia (still alive at 90) and it is revealed as an intriguing, and perhaps even remarkable creation: a dapper, droll satire on Soviet bureaucracy, a shaggy dog story of absurd humour that creeps up on you, culminating in a truly bizarre apocalypse. The satire was arguably lenient enough to get the film made and lenient enough to win it the Ussr State prize, but we can see from our 2023 vantage point that it is a deadpan prophecy of the Soviet Union’s imminent collapse. If we could go back in time to this film’s first release and tell Shengelaia that just six years later the Berlin Wall would come down and with it the entire Soviet system, would he have been surprised? Perhaps only...
- 2/6/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
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