Durak

Yuri Bykov's "Durak" ("The Fool" in English) looks as the current state of affairs in Russia. This story of a plumber facing an intractable bureaucracy when he tries to draw people's attention to a precarious apartment building is merely one look into an oligarchic society that's seen little infrastructural and political advancement since the Soviet collapse. Indeed, the city government seems as hopeless as the private citizens. The truth is, none of this should come as a surprise. Boris Yeltsin turned Russia into a kleptocracy. Vladimir Putin stabilized the economy but restored the Soviet-era authoritarianism. Corruption has dominated the country ever since the USSR collapsed (and was certainly widespread in Soviet times).

"The Fool" is mostly an indictment of Putin's Russia, but can be seen as an indictment of any society in which corruption is so ingrained that the citizens practically accept it. Worth seeing.

The Russian film Durak (2014/II) was shown in the U.S. with the title "The Fool." Yuriy Bykov was the writer and director. The overall theme is consistent with Dostoevsky's "The Idiot." In that novel, Prince Lyov Nikolayevich Myshkin is an honest, kind, helpful person. No once can believe that anyone could truly be this good, and that's why the call him an idiot.

In a small Russian city, Syn Dimy (played by Gordey Kobzev) is also an honest, kind, helpful person, and no one respects him for it. He's a low- ranking foreman of a municipal plumbing repair crew. Syn discovers that one of the municipal housing units is about to collapse. He reports this to the authorities, but no one wants to hear it.

In a previous film by Bykov--The Major--we learned that the police department was a cesspool of corruption. In The Fool, we learn that the entire municipal system is based on corruption. Everyone is on the take. No one really cares about the 820 people in the building. The only question is how to continue in positions of power and affluence after the building collapses.

This is a brilliant, but very grim film. There's no humor in it. We saw it in the excellent Dryden Theatre at The George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It's primarily set indoors--in the night club where the mayor is celebrating her 50th birthday, or in the doomed building, which houses very poor, very angry people. It will work well on the small screen. It's a movie you don't want to miss. Find it an see it.

During a nightly emergency repair a plumber discovers that the appartment building is in a really bad shape and is about to collapse. He comes into action but the municipal administration and the real estate mafia (who turn out to be connected inseparably) let their own (financial) interests prevail.

"Durak" is of the same year as "Leviathan" (2014, Andret Zvyagintsev) and about the same subject (real estate corruption in Russia). "Durak" is a bit less philosophical but it has a thriller element in the form of the appartment building that can collapse every minute.

In Dutch "Doerak" means "rascal". In Russian "Durak" means "fool". The title of the film says something about the Russian society, because in Western eyes the main charachter of the film is not a fool but a hero. In Russia however, they look different at these things. Not only is the real estate maffia not amused with the actions of the pluber, so are his wife (you bring the family into danger) and the occupants of the appartment building (leave us alone).

The appartment building may be in danger of collapsing, the Russian society has already collapsed in the film, permeated as it is with cynism in all layers of society.

By the way, also in the Western world there are accidents attributable to deferred maintenance. Remember the 2017 fire in the Grenfelltower (England), an appartment building with mainly poor occupants and poor fire safety.

I am surprised that this movie didn't get more attention. "The fool" is such an interesting and unique movie, set in a poor town in Russia, where corruption is a big issue. This movie focuses a lot on the characters motivations and morals, even though the topic of political corruption is so often made into a "evil big politics vs good poor people" theme, this movie tries to be more grey in its depiction. Instead of just showing you political higher ups that are just assholes for the movies sake, it goes deeper and presents its whole system as flawed and as a result people only caring about themselves. The plot revolves a lot around the question of responsibility and sacrifices. The characters are relatable and the movie can create so much tension, the acting is good overall and in some scenes it really shines. The atmosphere created by its music and camera shots was perfectly fitting to the scene, from long drawn out shots with jarring noises that makes you feel the cold of this Russian winter, to conversations in conference rooms which makes you feel claustrophobic. Overall I would say that this movie is perfectly made, from its very gripping story to its interesting questions about morality.

In the wake of the tragic Rana Plaza accident ten years ago, where hundreds lost their lives due to the authorities' negligence, a surprising film has emerged from Russia that tells a similar story. "Durak" in Russian and "The Fool" in English, is a hyperrealistic depiction of disenfranchised people living in squalid buildings. Plumber Nikitin discovers a crack in a water pipe leak in a building where 820 people reside, and realizes that the building could collapse at any moment. He rushes to alert the city's administrative officials, who are drunk and dancing at a party. With great difficulty, he convinces them of the impending danger, but soon realizes the complexity of the situation. Where will 820 people be moved, and how will the allocation of 120 million rubles for building renovation be spent? Corruption runs deep in every vein of the city, and saving the lives of 820 people would mean exposing the truth and risking jail time.

The film offers nerve-wracking dialogues and incredible portrayals of characters. The music and acting were top-notch, and the story's complexity kept the tension in check. The connection to the Rana Plaza incident was uncanny, but even without that bias, "Durak" is a classic. It highlights the struggles of disenfranchised people and the corruption that runs deep in our society. Watching this movie reminded me of Himu, another 'fool' who fought for his life during the Rana Plaza incident and took part in the rescue operation like a madman. Unable to recover from the trauma of the incident, he eventually committed suicide by setting himself on fire out of anger and resentment towards the system. "Durak" leaves a powerful message that we need more idiots like Nikitin to fight the corrupt system and create a better world.