Operation 'Y' und andere Abenteuer Schuriks

My first time watching a Soviet film and I enjoyed it. It was certainly unique and unlike anything I have watched before; despite reminding me a little of other comedies. Mr Bean, Chaplin, The Monkees - these all came to mind at moments during the film.

Of course, 'Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures' is incredibly "Russian" too and showcases some of that unique Russian humour. It actually feels more like 3 episodes, as opposed to an actual movie. It works though, and the runtime flies by quickly as a result.

Each segment features the main character Shurik getting himself in various predicaments. It's 100% slapstick. Not all the humour translated across to this Australian viewer, but I still laughed out loud more than once.

By far the best 'segment' is the middle one titled "Deja Vu". It felt ahead of its time and was incredibly intelligent. A wonderful showcase of slapstick comedy that makes it worth the watch alone.

This feature actually consists of three half-hour-long story lines one after another, related only in that they all star the same hapless protagonist. I read somewhere that the director took Charlie Chaplin as a model for his comedy, and the influence shows here, even to the point of the short-subject-length segments -- and especially in the first story. That one is basically a pure slapstick comedy, drawing gags from the situation of the Sharik character (who actually ends up resembling Harold Lloyd in appearance and behavior more than Chaplin) working part time on a construction site, alongside the man who he caused to be working there as a sentence.

The second segment is the one I thought to be the greatest success, as it combines the visual humor (many sequences of which, throughout, would work without dialogue at all) with a well-tuned funny situation and good actor chemistry. The third and titular segment is amusing as well, but perhaps get a little too involved in its own story.

Overall, it's funny material and recreates well what made the silent comedies of the short-subject era funny, if without the inspiration of an actual Chaplin on set.

Since it is a Soviet movie, it was shown a lot on Azerbaijani TV in the 90s and before the 2000s. My Russian wasn't very good, but because I watched it as a kid, it will always be a good movie for me. Nostalgic.

Three stories about a young man - Shurik and his adventures. for the fans of Soviet comedies from "60-"80 - nothing new. for the viewer from East Europe, all familiar. because the moral lessons, the romanticism , the gags - inspired by American mute comedies , Yuri Nikulin ,Aleksandr Demyanenko are pieces of a cinema who defines the Comunist period in profound sense. and, maybe, this is the difference of perception between different European publics.the work site, the emotions beyound an exam. the citizen lookout for protect the proprieties of the state are the small pieces defining a period, a political system and, sure, a kind of public.

This naive old comedy is a landmark of Russian cinema. The humor is mostly Charlie Chaplin style (cake in the face etc.), however many verbal jokes from this comedy have made it into everyday language. There are three novels in this movie: one about a convict doing community service hand by hand with a student with orthogonal morale, another about college students cheating, and the last one about a trio of junks (the famous Russian comedians Nikulin, Vitsin, and Morgunov) staging a burglary to cover the real one.

I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.

Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=69 .

Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=69 .