User Reviews

I saw this movie by accident in a Moscow theater and did not regret it one bit. It's funny, subtle, and well-acted, a rarity among the modern Russian films. Only later did I find out that Sorokin the co-writer of the movie is the famous controversial writer (whose books I happen to like as well), which really shows in the form of the good script and humor (none of his usual gross-out stuff, those who know what I mean need not worry. Well, almost.) Unfortunately for the non-Russian viewers, the most enjoyable moments are probably going to be lost in translation, because one has to have lived in the USSR to get the numerous inside jokes in the movie (think "South Park" shown to any non-American audience).

If you've read anything by Vladimir Sorokin, who co-wrote the script to this movie, you'll know the feeling. Grotesque outbursts that mock the typical realistic manner of storytelling and the literary cliches associated with the certain "brand" of writing tradition and/or ideology, carefully reconstructed only to be ruined in the absurd.

This movie skims over Russian urban epos of the past 30 years, telling the story of a Soviet automobile, the first VAZ-2101 ever issued, a "people's car" that was in fact a cheap and ugly Fiat knock-off -- and its owners through the time. From a revered status item in the luxury-strapped Soviet reality, to a ridiculed relic from the grim past, through a Politburo member, a physicist, a KGB agent, a prostitute, a gambler, an avant-garde artist, an alcoholic car mechanic, a nouveau riche -- the car suffers through comic and thrilling events of their lives, ruined and restored many times. Think of all the "historical" episodes in Forrest Gump, only woven around a car instead of a retard. Perhaps you'll find a ton of stuff that seem outlandish or impenetrable, but it's instantly recognized by the people who lived through that place and time, as it plays on stereotypes and funny stories etched in their common memory (though, clearly, some background notes are added for the movie to be "exportable"). There are also several brief appearances of well-known cultural figures: Sorokin and Dykhovichny both appear in tiny roles; Petlura, a midget from the art posse, pops all over the movie; the "alcoholic pop" singer Sergey Shnurov plays, well, the drunkard who sticks a knife into the fat businessman. All this spiced with trademark Sorokin's wickedness and fixations (worms, urine, recurring phrases). Excellent stuff for those who dig, or wants to dig, modern Russia and, dare I say, post-modernist humor.

Dykhovichny is one of the best Russian directors. While as eminent Russian directors as Nikita Mikhalkov, Sergey Soloviev etc has deep age-specific creative depression, Ivan Dykhovichny has brilliant creative form! Dykhovichny is one of the best Russian directors. While as eminent Russian directors as Nikita Mikhalkov, Sergey Soloviev etc has deep age-specific creative depression, Ivan Dykhovichny has brilliant creative form! Dykhovichny is one of the best Russian directors. While as eminent Russian directors as Nikita Mikhalkov, Sergey Soloviev etc has deep age-specific creative depression, Ivan Dykhovichny has brilliant creative form!

I just saw this movie last night on TV. It started at 1 am, but I could not tear myself away from the TV set. It made me think about how here in the US there are very few real movies made, and the ones that are made by real artists, are invariably never distributed. That's a very effective form of censorship. Anyone who has listened to their grandparents talk about the great depression, can relate to the stories these guys tell about having two shirts only: "One cotton for every day and one flannel for the holidays". The movie really touched me in a special way. The people in the film are truly real and have universal appeal. Oh God, how spiritually impoverished we Americans have become! It also reminded me of a young and talented (and pretty) russian country girl I met 4 years ago, and how our american system and values corrupted her in a very short time; In just the same way urban russians are probably been corrupted by the consumer society. Can mankind find a "middle" between misery and what we have now? America too had pockets of normality and "real" places up to the early 70s. I suspect the road back home will have to pass through cataclysmic tragedy and loss.

I don't know how I always end up watching weird movies. This movie was very confusing. It kept changing from one scene to the next.

I didn't understand how the car, the Kopeck, was really involved in the movie. You only see the car in some scenes, but that's it. The rest of the movie revolves around the lives of the characters. I seemed to be quite disturbed by the movie at some points, even though this movie isn't really disturbing. All I know, is that I need to watch out what movies I see and don't. If you want to see a weird movie that is somewhat entertaining, then this movie is right for you.