Sobachye serdtse

Superb modern parable from a seditious Russian novel of 1925 by Mikhail Bulgakov that didn't see the light of day until the 1980s. This is cleverly photographed in sepia hues alongside some brilliantly restored and copied archive-footage, but at the same time it feels very contemporary and accessible with great definition close up, haunting polyphonic choral music, excellent comic acting, so it's got pretty much everything right. The Amazon sleeve art was a little off-putting looking rather cheap and amateur which it is neither - quite the opposite - it's clearly lavishly produced, ironically by Leninfilm. Ask anyone in eastern Europe, they've seen this film, but may not have heard of the book of its long history.

The story is a biting satire of Soviet communism and even when it was released it would have packed a punch, in fact it was surely art like this and other cultural dissent, not Ronald Reagan and Gorby that dismissed the regime, just a year later.

The plot involves a slightly uncouth mongrel dog but ever so charming that undergoes an experiment that the Bolshevik-hating professor didn't bargain for.... There's a touch of horror, layer upon layer of contemporaneous & still relevant cultural/political references, but above all it takes the prize for being all this but still extremely funny, and warm and humane. A cracker.

This movie (and yes, it's a movie - it was shot as a two-parter, but the two parts together come down to slightly more than 2 hours) is one of the unsung masterpieces of world cinema. A very well-mannered, and yet at the same time absolutely savage denunciation of the Soviet regime and the type of person who flourished under it, the film is a faithful adaptation of the long-banned eponymous book by Mikhail Bulgakov. The sets are flawless, and the director made the brilliant decision to film in monochrome sepia, adding a feel of authenticity where a late-80s washed-out color incarnation would have all but ruined the film. I won't say much about the plot, which deserves to be discovered by the viewer himself, but the performances are true Oscar material; special mentions go out to E. Evstigneev, who plays the old professor with such presence, gravitas and kind wisdom that with barely a word or a gesture, he ends up stealing every scene he's in. The second, of course, is Creature/Sharikov, who, played to horrifying perfection by V. Tolokonnikov, is by far more frightening a character than Hannibal Lecter, because not only does he exist in real life - entire countries have been ran by men like him throughout history, with all that ensues.

While it's a socio political allegory, it is worth mentioning that the movie is also brimming with humor, albeit dark - there are many outright comedies which haven't made me laugh as much as this film. What's more, when laughing at this movie, the feeling is not only one of hilarity but of understanding and agreement, which is always a plus.

There is hardly a complaint I have with this movie - the only slight flaw is the tone of intellectual/bourgeois snobbery I caught at times from the "enlightened" characters. But that's a minor quibble.

Sadly, this film appears to have been bypassed by Western licensing companies. It's a crying shame that one of the all-round best movies out there is languishing unrestored and untranslated (which shouldn't be incredibly hard - though all the cultural references and the revolutionary terminology will necessarily fade in translation, the film's main themes should be accessible to all). While we're waiting with our fingers crossed for the Criterion edition, I'm considering creating English subtitles myself. Will see how that works out.

Having first watched the movie at 14, I remember being struck by hearing the word 'govno' (sh*t) for the first time ever on the then-still-Soviet TV (I bet it really was *the* first time in history — anyone wants to add this to trivia section?:)... What an open boldness and freedom, I thought! As years passed, I was more and more impressed with the movie and the incredible acting, but my feelings turned to a kind of mixture of enjoyment from a genuine piece of cinematographic art and a bitter realization of a concept diametrically opposite to my 14-y.o. impression: helplessness. There's an air of inevitable catastrophe looming throughout the movie, of primitive degenerate tide (embodied by Sharikov) sweeping the lives of the finest minds advancing humanity in their areas... It's a great metaphor of Russian revolution in general, inspired by intellectuals ashamed of their superiority and hoping to 'upgrade' the lower classes, only to unleash the power of mediocrity and get swallowed by it... An extremely fine and talented piece, wrapping a truly sad idea in a brilliantly satiric and elegant form. Symbolically enough, the movie itself marked the end of the Soviet movie traditions era before the Hollywood tsunami had knocked them over — for good, it seems, judging by most current Russian movies (most of them labeled 'blockbusters' in prerelease!!! trailers and posters:).

Funnily, that 'govno' episode is in no contradiction to Efenstor's comment above re rude language of current generation... From what I've already said it could seem that this might be the movie that showed the way for this, but it was not. A mild word by current standards, it was way too rude back then, and just rude enough to show the true nature of all Sharikovs... BTW, re Efenstor's lament, it is sooo naive to juxtapose being intellectual and using rude lexicon, especially for Russian speakers, where a single cussword could have meanings that take sentences in translation! But I join in regret that ALL the meaning in today's teenager's talk may be expressed by cusswords. I feel that this is the bigger problem than their choice of the medium that's most efficient for the task:) Well, this movie and the book are great food for thought that might change them, or anyone who might have a luxury of watching it.

After having read this incredible book by Mikhail Bulgakov I thought how Sharikov and Professor Preobrazhensky would look like in real life. Borthko found them! Sharikov and Professor are in the flesh! The satire and allegory of this superb piece of art is 'the cherry top'. I must confess, it's so rare when you see a film on the same pace of the book. The film is a brilliant screen where your fantasy heroes come true. Evstigneev's and Tolokonnikov's talent is irreplaceable! Did the director change anything from the book? God forbid, NO! Borthko has put every detail in this incredible masterpiece! It's that Bulgakov we see and would love to see! 10 out of 10!

One of the best screen versions of a great book I've ever seen. The acting is superb! The film is full of bitter satire on the first years of the communist regime and shows its stupidity and utter cruelty. I hardly believed that Bulgakov could be put on the screen with such a delicacy as to preserve the subtle hints and political/satiric subtext that characterizes many of the cultural masterpieces of the communist era. The casting is fantastic and every actor is irreplaceable. The film has reached the status of a cult movie very quickly and many phrases from it have become a part of the modern Russian language. A must see!