Yady, ili vsemirnaya istoriya otravleniy

I saw this movie on the Russian Film Week which is fortunately becoming a regular yearly event. Otherwise we do not have too many chances to see Russian movies in Hungary. Although most of my countrymen do not really mind this ("we had enough Soviet movies earlier" they claim) but I do, because the few Russian movies I have seen since the changes have all been excellent and so is this movie.

The starting scene was fantastic and it raised my expectations to a level that the rest of the movie was not able to reach. Still, in overall this is a very imaginative movie with a lot of extremely funny gags. Its humour is typically sarcastic and its surrealism is rather imaginative. (Russians - their literature and their films - have always been strong in these...) If you can tolerate slow-paced movies then you will enjoy this one, assuming that you have a chance to see it in your local cinema.

This film can be disappointing for those who like dynamic comedies. You'll not get to know anything new about the problems of todays' world. BUT this is the film about people's hidden desires. Just imagine that a new neighbour knocks on your door to establish contacts. In some time you feel like poisoning him, your adulterous wife, and your mother-in-law. When you make heart to go on with the scheme, you get invited to the poisoners' ball, where you meet Leo VI Borgia, his son Cesare, Caligula, Nero, Catherine Medici, Khan Mengli-Girey and many others. You'll hear their stories straight from the horse's mouth. The times have changed, it's much more difficult to make your hidden desires come true now, but the hidden desires and shameful secrets are the same, or aren't they?

Russian director Karen Shaknazarov likes to shock his audiences.He does this by transforming zany tales into absurd films about obscure topics which are not very much understood by his admirers.In one of his previous films named "Zero City",we see a post Perestroika type absurd story which defies all kinds of classification.His film "Poisons or the World History of Poisoning" is one of the most absurd Russian films which shows that ancient history can be useful if it is employed in a nice manner.It is the story of an actor named Oleg whose wife has been seduced by his neighbor.As he is thoroughly convinced of her infidelity,he would like to poison her.A pensioner named Prokhorov helps him to get rid of his wife by lecturing about famous deaths caused by poisoning.It is from Prokhorov we learn that many famous and not so famous like Cesare Borgia and Caligula were killed as they were poisoned.This is a film which has elements from drama as well as comedy films.One of the strange things about this film is that there are hardly any scenes of senseless violence in it.

From someone who sees alot of quality cinema -- this one is fantastic. Incredibly creative, comic, and a far more amazing cinematography/production design than 99% of big budget films. Spectacularly rich historical scenes.

Some people around our hero are a problem, but he does not know how to get rid of them. Things change when he meets a mysterious poison artist, who apparently knows thousands years of dark secrets as if he was there, and he tells those stories... You will witness the famous family of Borgia and many other historical celebrities.

I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.

Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=48

Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=48