Pro urodov i lyudey (1998) AKA Of Freaks and Men
Rating: 7.0/10 (564 votes)
Runtime: 97 min
Language: Russian With English Subtitle
Country: Russia
Color: Color
IMDb Link: Director: Aleksei Balabanov
Cast:
Sergei Makovetsky ... Yohan
Dinara Drukarova ... Liza
Anzhelika Nevolina ... Ekaterina Kirillovna (as Lika Nevolina)
Viktor Sukhorukov ... Victor Ivanovich
Aleksei Dyo ... Kolia (as Dyo Alyosha)
Chingiz Tsydendambayev ... Tolia
Vadim Prokhorov ... Putilov
Aleksandr Mezentsev ... Doctor Stasov
Igor Shibanov ... Engineer Radlov
Dariya Lesnikova ... Grunia
Tatyana Polonskaya ... Dariya
Olga Straumit ... Nurse
Richard Bogutskii ... Notary
Valeri Krishtapenko ... Owner of photographic studio
Evgeniy Erokhin ... Priest
Description: Filmed entirely in sepia tone and set in turn of the century Russia, the story is centered on a man, Johann, who makes movies of women being whipped by a "nanny". Soundtrack taken from Prokofiev's ballet, Romeo and Juliet.
Also Known As:Про уродов и людей (Russia)
There are moments in this deliciously subversive film when you suspect Alexei Balabanov is being satirical and those scenes of pornographers taking over the grand houses, only to corrupt them with their nasty habits, refer to organised crime's stranglehold on the Russian economy, not to mention the state of the nation.
The film is shot as a pastiche of silent cinema, without Chaplin's famous fast motion. In old St Petersburg the bourgeoisie live innocent and privileged lives, while in the basement of an abandoned building tight-lipped Johan (Sergei Makovetsky), with his smirking, sinister sidekick (Victor Sukhorukov), organises nude spanking sessions, which are photographed and sold to sado-masochistic postcard collectors, when not purloined by their naughty maids.
The kind doctor has adopted asiatic Siamese twins, who are reaching puberty and being taught to sing. His elegant wife is blind and won't have anything to do with him under the bedclothes. The gentle widower, who is reputed to be a railway engineer, lives with his lovely daughter (Dinara Drukarova), blissfully ignorant of Johan's true nature, or what he gets up to when unsupervised. Soon both these honourable men will be gone and the circumstances of those left behind changed irrevocably changed, not always (if ever) for the better.
When evil triumphs, humour turns black. Glimpses of turn-of-the-century porn has an uncomfortable, humiliating look to it. Balabanov massages human nature's ugly heart. The film is so original and startling, it appears playful, when really it concerns an abuse of power that feeds off trust and decency, perverting both.
Rar Password: Nema
Nagrade:
European Film Awards
1998 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress Dinara Drukarova
Istanbul International Film Festival
1999 Won Special Prize of the Jury Aleksei Balabanov
Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema
2000 Won Best Actor Sergei Makovetsky
Best Cinematography Sergei Astakhov
Special Mention
Nika Awards
1999 Won Nika Best Director Aleksei Balabanov
Best Film
Nominated Nika Best Actor Sergei Makovetsky
Best Cinematographer Sergei Astakhov
Best Costume Designer Nadezhda Vasilyeva
Best Production Designer Vera Zelinskaya
Best Sound Maksim Belovolov




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