If you browse through my reviews (recommended!), you will notice my fascination for left-wing solutions of social problems. This explains my interest in the film "Das Blaue vom Himmel" (German title; Golubyje Gory), which was produced in the Soviet Union of 1984, so just before the onset of Perestroyka. It concerns the efforts of a writer in order to get his manuscript published. Everybody knows that the Leninist states suffered from a rigorous and rather absurd censorship. I hoped that this film would elaborate on this theme, particularly because it is a comedy. Unfortunately my hope is idle, and censorship is not mentioned, except for one single allusion about a disappeared manuscript (Stalinist-like orders from above). So if the story was meant to be about censorship, then the censors have done a good job. The whole narrative turns on the rigidity and ineffectiveness of the state bureaucracy. If you suspect that this is a covert criticism on the Leninist system, then you are wrong. For it is not the system that is incriminated, but the workers that constitute the system. In fact the Leninist elite loved to complain about the laziness, the ineffectiveness and the lack of moral of the common people. If only the people would have the Leninist attitude, then the system would definitely work. Here are some of these official jokes from the East-German (German Democratic Republic, GDR) comics magazine Eulenspiegel. "The day will come that our products will be so good, that we will need gate controls". Or: "Waiter! Wouldn't it be better if you help your colleagues instead of making music?" (REAL joke: waiter = one who thinks money grows on trays). Or: "Turned on and immediately out of order? All costumers who come here claim that, defendant (accused)!". It is a bit like blaming the victim. There was cabaret in the same style, for instance Distel in Berlin. In spite of my disappointment it is still an amusing film. The colors have an unpleasant shade of grey, but that may be on purpose. My version of the film has been dubbed by DEFA in the former GDR. This creates some problems: "male organ" is translated into "mine shaft" etc. But although I prefer subtitles (in the Netherlands we hate to disturb our neighbors), I can live with this. After all they were all Leninist comrades - Russian or not. Nevertheless, if you really prefer a film about censorship, try "Feigenblatt fuer Kuhle Wampe" (about censorship during the German Republic of Weimar). Oh, and don't forget to check off the "useful: yes" ballot. I love comments.
