Khrustalyov, Meu Carro!

This black-and-white film is a total surprise: never earlier have I seen anyone making history to live as breathtaking as Aleksei German in his output; "Khrustalyov, mashinu!" brings us the year of Stalin's death such close to us. Ghost of Stalin and the power of fear and idiotism can almost touch us through this perfect film.

"Khrustalyov" consists of scenes with prestissimo-tempo: persons are talking and walking and camera follows so many things that it is almost impossible to absorb all the material which is offered us humble spectators. The plot is not as important as how it is told.

Superb views from Moscow in the middle of the Winter with cars driving like devilish monsters are without any doubt one my greatest moments in cinema. It took a whole year from Germany to collect all the vehicles - only to show them in his film for few minutes... What perfectionism! And the whole film is same miraculous quality.

A must!

Today marks twenty-three years since Aleksei German's head scratcher premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with an overwhelmingly negative reception and provoked a mass walkout from the critics. This was German's penultimate film and i returned to the film today after 3 years. Personally, I still consider this as his finest, even many years after its creation. Some scenes just keep repeating in my memory, especially the last shot of the film.

I know the majority will lean towards his early films and the other half will go with his swan song Hard to be a God (2013). Much has been said about the latter, and it deserves all the praises.

This film an odyssey through Stalin's regime which isn't a surprise as it's a well-known fact. In 'Khrustalyov, My Car', Alexei German partly combines historical facts, draws memories, or more aptly labelled nightmares of growing up and imbues them in the screenplay. Briefly to the plot, it is set in Moscow during the final days of Stalin's regime. A series of arrest occurs targeting Jewish doctors who were accused of conspiracy to assassinate the Soviet elite. A military surgeon, General Yuri Georgievich Klensky (Yuri Tsurilo), finds himself a target of the conspiracy and escapes to avoid Gulag sentence or execution. The essential escape story is made into a complex and ambitious mosaic, interweaving surrealism, dark humour, perverse behaviour. The complexity of the drama deepens and, together with the Klensky, as he is immersed in the cold hell of uncertainty, an increasingly absurd and dangerous situations. My favourite is where all the doctors are attempting to make the dying Stalin's stomach to fart. There even more, lots of absurd sequences that is showcased during the entirety of this fever dream which some might feel as a totally confused mess.

There's no point in telling the plot and it would be an an exercise in futility if I attempt it. It must be seen as German takes us through the dehumanization of life under Stalin's regime. Its black and white tone depict a world of monstrous inhumanity and devastating cruelty blended with surrealisms and metaphors. A true visionary German knew what his universe was, this film is an example. His ability to stage great settings and he effortlessly manages to set the right accents between apocalypse and drama. This is certainly one of the craziest works ever and the production for filming are no less insane than the film itself. It took Aleksei German almost ten years to create this surreal trip.

In the past, I have seen few comments comparing screenshots from this movie and Béla Tarr's masterpiece Werckmeister Harmonies (2000). Yes, maybe few shots looks like it is lifted straight out of Tarr's universe. But I would like to mention that German's work predates Tarr and it is not an offense or a crime to appreciate the comparison.

I want to mention about the acting, it is at the center of the film and every character are phenomenal in their respective roles, i personally loved plays Klensky (Yuri Tsurilo), the shiny bald-headed neurosurgeon. I always draw comparison to Iron Sheikh class, one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. Yuri Tsurilo is impressive in this role; he is in a grey zone. He oscillates between different emotions, sometimes boisterous, and larger than life. Also, the ending is one of the most striking I have ever seen, the shot is so fresh and will remain etched in my memory as Yuri balances a glass of wine on his head and smokes a cigarette. I've seen cinephiles going gaga over Mads Milkeslene dance in the ending of Another Round (2020), they have already labelled it as the best closing ever. I would suggest the same crowd to witness the last shot in this one, an ending that commemorates the bridge between the humiliation, loss and victory. I recommend this film to the cinephiles who love the works of David Lynch, Piotr Szulkin, Yuri Ilyenko, Grzegorz Królikiewicz, Tengiz Abuladze, FJ Ossang, Herbert Achternbusch, Konstantin Lopushansky and Rogério Sganzerla.

It's hard to explain or comment on this film. It's cinematography was beautiful, but even as a Russian I found the plot/story/events almost impossible to understand. That, however, did not make me enjoy the movie much less. Granted I would have loved to have understood what i watched, but i honestly think that is what the director wanted, as another poster said, to have you be lost and confused. Why? To make the film better I guess. We watch things we don't understand, or rather we understand what we are seeing but can't put together why it's happening or how it fits into the story. I would have loved to watch this film with subtitles; my Russian is now rusty and this film had a lot of dialogue and people talking over each other.

German's genius masterpiece is of course "My Friend Ivan Lapshin", made in 1984. A movie so perfect and genius that it hurts. Both films are similar, they have the same "voice" narrating - even German's son who became a director would keep using this somber narrator's voice.

Why did I give this film a 10 even though i had no idea what the story was?? A couple of reasons. I already said genius cinematography, not as perfect as "..Lapshin" but somewhat similar and even more busy, even more free and creative. The work and though that went into this film is staggering. It's a film filled with action. A true piece of art I'd say, even though almost impossible to understand. We are given no context, no historical data, no explanations about who the characters are except a couple of words on their work. This movie proves ultimately that you can like a movie without understanding it. They should have sent a poem, I have nothing else to say about this film. A very strange and different film, see it one. But if you see this film definitely see German's masterpiece "My Friend Ivan Lapshin", it's a hundred times better, the story is perfectly clear and geniously artistically told, see it before you watch "Khrustalyov mashinu", because if you watch "Khrustalyov" first you might not want to watch the other if you don't like it, which would be the biggest shame, "Ivan Lapshin" is at the top of best Russian Soviet films.

Absolutely astonishing visuals that draw one in and totally captivate for the considerable length of this film, despite the narrative being very difficult to grasp and follow properly. We are in the grip of Alexsei German's vision and find ourselves staring in disbelief at the wondrous and surreal visuals. Astonishingly crowded interiors are contrasted with snowy streets with slow moving cars and trams. Set in late 1953 as Stalin dies this impressionistic vision is totally original, amusing and horrible by turns. There is much face slapping and crazy antics reminiscent of a Marx Brothers film but also dark horrors and hinted at atrocities. A dark and involving piece that is convincing if not always particularly comprehensible. Unique.

Aleksey German invites you on a journey through the madness of Stalinist Moscow. Not only is the story a journey with unexpected turns, also the cinematography evokes this sense of adventure; long shots, the camera following the footsteps of the protagonist, people wandering through the line of sight. With its incredible detailedness, a true living world emerges. A delight to watch with its rich visual languge, albeit intensive to stay focussed for 2h27m.

German chose a similar style for his equally masterful Hard to be a God (2013), which enters the realm of sci-fi and historical pictures, or Gaspar Noe's virtuoso Enter the Void (2009).

With its critical approach to the Stalinist period, German realised this film exactly at the right moment (1998): in the Soviet age, the film would have been censored, and in the Putin age Stalin was placed back on his pedestal, banning the hilarious British comedy Death of Stalin (2017), a film which through a different strategy aims to similarly show the remarkable climate of the last days of Stalin. What these two films have in common is the wish to reconstruct the absurdity and arbitrariness which governed human lives at that point, served with a dose of irony and black humour.