SSSR-ROSSIJA-TRANSIT
/ THE USSR-RUSSIA-TRANSIT
DIRECTOR: ANDREJ TITOV
RUSSIA 2005
52 MIN / BETA SP, COLOR, OV w. engl. ST
Caligari: 07.04. / 3.00 pm
Bellevue-Saal: 08.04. / 8.00 pm
DIRECTOR:
Andrej Titov
SCREENPLAY:
Andrej Titov
CAMERA:
Evgenij Cigel
EDITOR:
Arsenij Guscin
MUSIC:
Sergej Sedelnikov
PRODUCER:
Irina Snezinskaja
PRODUCTION:
Snega Film Compani, Ekaterinburg
DISTRIBUTION:
Snega Film Compani, Ekaterinburg
Tel.: 007 - 343 / 261 39 12
Fax: 007 - 343 / 261 39 12
e-mail: snega@sky.ru
The three men presented by Andrej Titov demonstrate three different ways
of dealing with lost identity in times of change and of adjusting to the
new situation. The most successful in this respect is Oleg Konovalov,
whose thriving business activities allow him to concentrate on his passion
for collecting. Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev stare forth
in a dignified manner from a series of identical portraits hanging in
the businessman’s house, office and garage, while other insignia
of the bygone system pile up in every corner. Konovalov finds life difficult
to bear in a country whose former power is so diminished. When his collection
is presented at an exhibition, the only visitors are war veterans and
elderly women. Together they break into song: ‘Lenin, lead us into
a happy future.’
Michail Rvacjov, the owner of a country estate, is pleased to have a rural
retreat and the chance to pursue his own personal visions. He plans to
deploy state-of-the-art technology on his land, and to build houses for
his employees. Even after a fire destroys his barn and along with it the
entire potato harvest, he sticks by his motto that life must go on regardless.
Ultimately his mountain of debts leads to the loss of all his property;
his dream of building a church with seven golden domes on the next hill
will never come true.
The unemployed Viktor Bochkarev lives from hand to mouth, and scrapes
an income from repairing TV sets, radios and tractors. When his wife leaves
him, saying she’s had enough of his lyrical outpourings, he takes
up contact with outer space. Although he labours under the burden of responsibility
that comes with his new mission as protector of planet earth, he is at
least kept busy – sending out signals at night, for instance, or
presenting page-long notes of his observations to the city authorities.
|