Geniy

Genij (or Genius) is a russian comedy about an overly intelligent person trying to make his way in new after-communist Russia. Though it meant to be comedy (and it is), its filled with few moments that make hearts of veteran russian viewers ache for past times, as they see all too well in this movie how expensive their freedom is. But beyond that, its just a pleasant criminal comedy about charming super-intelligent gentleman who changed his now useless diploma of engineer for less legal methods of money making. Fooling around with police, small time crooks, freshly baked businessmen and even all-powerful mafia, the main character walks out unscathed and free - just like all fiction heroes do.

This is one of my favorite movies from childhood. It inhabits the weird time shortly after the Soviet collapse, but before the movie industry completely replaced quality with a salad of Western techniques and terrible acting.

And the best thing about this one is the acting. You have a number of big Russian names, including Smoktunovskiy as the villain, and they are all fun to watch even when they just monologue away. They are supported by good writing and there are a number of genuinely funny moments, and often not because there is a joke or something like that but because the people involved sell their lines really well with perfect timing.

The story is really good. The movie is named "Genius" and indeed the protagonist and his machinations seem smart, even if some of them are only smart on the surface and the technical details are conveniently unexplained. There is not so much a main premise as there are a number of chapters showing the interconnected adventures and misadventures of the main protagonist, the intelligent fraudster.

Let us touch upon the music. The reason why I am writing this review is because, so many years later after watching this movie, the main theme just jumped into my mind and made itself at home as if it never left. Much of the rest of the music is your average 80s / 90s techno track, but the main song, using existing lyrics from the early 20th century and sung by the lead actor, is really memorable.

The unfortunate reality though is that this movie is not timeless. You need to know the situation and problems of the period immediately following the Soviet collapse to grasp the messages and themes that this movie shows.

Also, towards the end, the movie gets a little campy when it tries to be an action movie, which it isn't. Occasional campiness aside, it is still a treat to watch, especially if you remember the 90s and understand the background for the story and its characters.

This two-part film mixed a little bit of everything, but in short, it can be described as "a crime tragicomedy with farce elements." A former promising engineer-inventor changes his shoes into an enterprising co-operator at a vegetable warehouse somewhere in St. Petersburg. In general, he combines "white" commercial activities with large-scale scams, without particularly choosing who and how much he and his accomplices will "heat up" this time. Anyone will do, be it former major party leaders or seemingly random visitors from somewhere in the Caucasus.

In turn, the people in the enterprising gang are no match for their organizer and, apparently, were recruited not on the basis of any principles, but purely spontaneously, in the nearest gateway, which, by the looks of it, is far from stupid for the "combinator", will turn out to be bad. In this context, upon closer examination, most of the characters, ranging from the local police to the longed-for passion of the main character, and their actions are often not distinguished by special intelligence or logic, which quite regularly generally comes into dissonance.

Various elements of the era flash in the background and by chance - the resale of Western and Japanese equipment, a dissatisfied woman who was hung up at a kiosk and promises to complain to Sobchak, "Tom and Jerry" on the TV screen, etc.

At one time, the film probably could have been remarkable in its own way, but it most likely has not stood the test of time, and the narrative, running time of two hours and forty-two minutes, feels drawn out. The same previously released "Thieves in Law" (1988) feels much closer to actual realities. Yes, for the sound of the constantly beeping distance sensor, for a good few minutes of the film, minus a point.

I can't say anything nice about the director's work, but the scenery, I think, is very smart and interesting. This movie shows us sad realities of 90-s in Russia. It could be better with another director, I think. But, against, the story is good, the actors (especially my favorite I. M. Smoktunovsky)are charming and play their parts really good. The art-director's work was horrible, sorry, but it's true. Abdulov was too passive and bored me in the first part of the film, but in the second he came alive. I. M. Smoktunovsky is GREAT. As usual. He's my favorite Russian actor, He Is The Genius. I recommend you to see "Prestuplenie i nakazanie" - his Porfiry Petrovich is incredible.