Dzhentlmeny udachi

Those who share an experience with others generally develop mutual empathy and a willingness to help and support one another. When living on the margins of society, crime is often an obvious choice, but sometimes, by associating with polite and empathetic people, a criminal feels the need to redeem himself and fit into a society that has shown him the possibility of accepting them.

The dangerous criminal San Sanych Belyy (Evgeniy Leonov), along with his two unlikely accomplices Gavrila Sheremetyev (Georgiy Vitsin) and Fyodor Ermakov (Saveliy Kramarov), steal the precious helmet of Alexander the Great from the excavations of archaeologist Nikolay Grigoryevich Maltsev (Erast Garin), managing to hide it before being captured by the police. The archaeologist and the police convince kindergarten teacher Evgeniy Ivanovich Troshkin (also Evgeniy Leonov), a lookalike of the gang leader, to fake a prison escape in order to recover the precious helmet. Things immediately get complicated, as the two thieves and the teacher are joined by Vasiliy Alibabayevich (Radner Muratov), a common prisoner who immediately joins the group.

Director Alksandr Seryy adopts a slow pace, but balances comical and thoughtful moments; the screenplay, a collaboration between Georgiy Daneliya and Viktoriya Tokareva, manages to avoid melodrama, and entertain thanks to lively and original dialogue; Evgeniy Leonov gives a great performance, masterful in both roles.

Best moments: the entire sequence with the Russian Olympic cross-country team was truly hilarious. A must-see for those who enjoy smiling, even with bitterness, while reflecting on the human condition.

As soon as the New Year comes, this film is immediately shown on all TV screens in Russia, and I have a strong association with this holiday. As for the plot, it is very interesting and even a little adventurous. The convicts in this witch are presented not as villains, but as simple and even good people. Of course, such an image would not have been possible without the brilliant performance of the actors playing the main roles. Alexey Leonov, Savely Kramarov and Georgy Vitsin brilliantly coped with their work. So, it's great soviet comedy.

Since it was a Soviet movie, I found the vhs-in at my grandfather's house. My Russian is not very good, but not quite my style.

The plot develops rapidly from the very beginning. An ordinary kindergarten teacher, a good-natured plump uncle who adores his pupils, finds himself in an unpleasant situation: he is exactly like a recidivist thief who recently stole Macedonian's golden helmet. Out of altruistic motives, the protagonist agrees to help the investigation in finding the criminal, pretending to be the villain. Further, I advise you to watch it yourself, because one review cannot convey even a little of the atmosphere of this film. Each scene makes the viewer experience a range of emotions and tune in a positive way.

Aleksandr Sery's "Dzhentlmeny udachi" ("Gentlemen of Fortune" in English) is one of those movies whose purpose is to be silly. Yevgeny Leonov plays a kindergarten director who get hired to pose as the leader of a criminal gang to find out the location of a stolen helmet. I understand that Sery had previously been in jail, and so he knew what the jail scenes should look like. But mostly, the movie consists of over-the-top acting and a couple of scenes that made me think "Wait...what?!" Some of the cast members also starred in Leonid Gayday's 1967 comedy "Kidnapping, Caucasian Style" (one of the zaniest movies that I've ever seen). Basically, any one of these movies is a good time. You're sure to love it.

PS: Savely Kramarov (Fedya) eventually moved to the US where he appeared in movies such as "Moscow on the Hudson".