Review of Vovochka

Vovochka, the main character, spends the New Year's holiday at the family dacha with his parents and grandmother. Vovochka, though not actively seeking trouble, always seems to find himself in some sort of mischief. He reminds me of a Russian Dennis the Menace. His most amusing adventure stems from making a rocket out of gunpowder from his father's rabbit shot, cans, and part of the vacuum cleaner. He sets of the rocket to impress the neighbor girl. The rocket hits a power station and knocks out the power to the town. The local government assumes that this is a terrorist attack. Local officials realize that Vova actually caused the problem and cover it up. There is an interesting dynamic between Vova and the neighbor children. The neighbors, nouveau riche Russians whose dacha is complete with an indoor swimming pool, forbid their children from associating with Vova. Vova manages to help the boy sneak out of the house and ends up pouring cold water over him in a game. Vova does however steal the heart of the neighbor girl, and she sneaks next door to see Vova. Vova's father, ex-military, works in an anti-terrorist group, so that he will not end up as a guard to some other new money family. The film is very amusing and relays the typical family and socio-economic dynamics in modern Russia.