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Strangiest movie that brings us back to so-called "parallel cinematograph" that used to be in ex-USSR in 80-s. Wonderful hand camera (long and wide views at the same tome), actor playing, "parallel" artifacts and so on will definitely bring you a lot of pleasure, especially for those who used to live in that country. See also: - "Nastroyschik" by Kira Muratova; - some early movies by Yufit like "Daddy, Santa Claus is dead". What is something exceptional is its sound - full of screaming birds, industrial sounds. It pressed me down to feel the movie as i needed to feel it. Actor ensemble also deserves to be granted, specifically Shurov - leader of punk-ska band "Leningrad".

This is what we really can call "new Russian cinema".

My best recommendations!

For me, it is one of the best Russian movies of the year 2005. It takes to what is called "collective unconscious" - but I guess only if y're Russian about 30 y.o. living in large city:) I was really amazed by Ilya Chrzhanovsky's astonishing work because it's his first full-length movie. Vladimir Sorokin, who wrote the script, is very scandalous author who loves to shock audience. Besides, he is obviously postmodernist, so his stories are always full of different layers of meaning, contain a lot of symbols. Often you can't understand for sure whether he is kidding or being serious. The last but not the least, the movie is brilliant at camera work and has an amazing soundtrack.

Was this Andy Warhol's "Pets or Meat" ? or Henry Jaglom's "Motel Hell"? Possibly Mike Leigh's "Night of the Living Dead"? Anyway, this film has my nomination for best ever use of clones with crones, and also for best use of crones overall. Did you know that if you play this film it matches up very well with Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain"? No? Well maybe it doesn't but it should! Try it!

I found this film consistently involving even though it became increasingly unpleasant and difficult to categorize or interpret. It appeared to have two distinct halves, each with different pacing and tone. The lively and stimulating first half took place in the city (Moscow?) and showed the stories of several characters unfolding. The 2nd half focused on one character and a separate set of people she knew in the country (until the very ending bits). This 2nd half was more claustrophobic, squalid, and disturbing.

After the Seattle 2005 screening during the Q/A session with the director, one Russian woman ranted at him for an act of "treason" in this disturbing portrayal of Russian life, and said it and he were "dirty!", asking him where he lived *now*, he must have been well paid for this, etc. He responded that unlike her he still lived in Russia, that in fact life was *harder* than he portrayed and that Russians drank *more* than he portrayed, etc. After she walked out, he explained that her reaction was typical of the culturally *soviet* people in Russia, who were brought up to always present the best face of Russia at all times.

4 stray dogs on the street open the film. 4 persons (3 customers and a bartender) accidentally meet at a bar late night. The three drinkers make up their alternate fictional professions. The woman among them is one of 4 sisters. This woman Marina, (played by actress Marina Vovchenko) meets up with two of her other sisters (played by real life sisters, if we go by their surnames and physical similarity). The fourth sister just died. Dogs are everywhere, following all the characters--at the meat factory, at the village to eat up the dolls (made up of chewed up bread!), following the thief who robs the watch on the hand of one of the initial three drinkers at the bar. There is a Muslim who breeds bizarre round piglets (genetically modified?) and kicks a dog (2 animals devout Muslims hate to deal with) and is promptly reprimanded for his action by a non-Muslim. 4 planes take off with prisoners who are forcibly trained to be soldiers. The village reminds one of the derelict world of Tarkovsky's "Stalker" The odd male in the all-female village commits suicide.

There is some fascinating elements to the film (script by Vladimir Sorokin. Does the film belong to the director Ilya Khrzhanovslky (his debut feature film) or to Sorokin or to both? The film is audacious and critical of modern Russia.reminding one at times of Joseph Heller's "Catch 22." Somewhere, the mad script comes together. Reminds one of another debut film --this time from China--Bo Hu's "An Elephant Sitting Still" (2018), This film could have had an alternate fitting title "4 dogs not sitting still."

Don't worry, I'm not going to give away the ending- couldn't even if I wanted to. Not really sure what the ending was, the screen went black & the house lights went up but that was the only clue I had the the "story" was over. Let me put it this way- during one scene an entire row of people got up and left muttering things like "This isn't a movie! I don't know what this was but how dare he!" and "Go back to Russia" That's when I knew that the director was really on to something. Again, not really sure what he is on to or into for that matter but this movie is definitely worth seeing. It's beautifully shot, one scene more enthralling than the previous one, the acting is great especially since I don't think any of the actors are actually actors & the sound & music brought on an acid flashback. All pluses in my book. It's not for the faint of heart or vegetarians. Good luck. (FYI- my spell check tells me that I write at a 6th grade level so what do I know-)