Friday, October 21, 2011

Okno v Parizh

 
.... which brings to mind this fun movie from 1993, Okno v Parizh, that captured the sense of longing for the West during the waning days of the Soviet Union.  Unfortunately, for poor Nicole all these new house guests prove overwhelming and she soon finds herself on the wrong side of the window, hidden by an old wardrobe.  What makes this film special is how Yuri Mamin  plays both sides of the "window."
 
Mamin found himself on the outside looking in when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and had a hard time financing this film, but his French backers stuck by him and the movie was a big hit in France and at the Berlin Film Festival that year, and was subsequently picked up by Sony Pictures.

My Paris


Nice to see this classic book in print again, Moi Parizh, a highly impressionistic photo journey through Paris by Ilya Ehrenburg and El Lissitzky.  It was originally published in 1933 and would cost you a small fortune for a first edition.  I love these books as they capture a side of the Russian avant-garde not often seen. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Shooting Party


Here's a classic movie based on a classic novel.  Oleg Yankovsky and Galina Belyayeva in Chekhov's The Shooting Party.  Sorry, you will have to search for subtitles.