La maison de fous

For some I can't stop thinking about this little gem of a movie, it has more heart and soul than most of an entire decade of mainstream films combined. Konchalovsky is an interesting director, certainly when you think at the wide range of his work (Runaway Train, Shy People). I was somewhat fascinated and semi-perplexed when I first saw this, but the more I tried to peg it down ("ok this is the Russian Cookoo's Nest--with some 'I Never Promised you a Rose Garden' mixed in") the less it became so. This is an original one of a kind film, highly underrated, highly overlooked, especially in this country. Which is too bad, the rest of the sleepwalking brainwashed masses can flock to see their "Bruce Almighty's or Matrix Reloaded's every week, I'm glad I'm aware of films like this.

I watched this movie on 7/14/06 with the Middle east ablaze and the Bush Administration still spouting their tired nonsense about democracy while Palestinians are slaughtered by the scores. Folks, the only language we, homosapiens, understand is force. Northern Ireland, Palestine, Chechnya and on and on. Might makes right and the rest is fluff. The movie is not so much, at least I don't think so, a commentary on the war on Chechnya as much as it is on human follies. For those of us who have known the wrath of a woman the scene after the newly-wed husband leaves and she stabs his pictures with a broken glass is so frontal-lobe. And then the silence when he returns! A master piece indeed! Perhaps the moral of the story is that might IS right and love insane! Enjoy.

Deceptive innocent entertainment from Konchalovsky (director and original scriptwriter). On the obvious take--a film on good humans with mental problems incarcerated in a mental asylum, run by an efficient doctor who is dedicated and intelligent. On the not-so-obvious side--it is based on true incidents in Chechnya (Russia) during the Second Chechen War of 1999-2000. For those unfamiliar with Chechnya, it is a constituent republic of Russia with a predominant Muslim population. Russians predominantly follow the Russian Orthodox Church. Konchalovsky has proven his Russian orthodox credentials in all his cinematic works.

In this film, the inmates of the asylum include patients of both faiths living in harmony. Outside the asylum, there is war (between the Muslim Chechens and the Christian Russians). Konchalovsky's script underscores the camaraderie between the warring factions when they fought side by side in Afghanistan saving each other. During the Chechen war soldiers of both sides recall that they were once friends.

When the asylum is bombed by the Russians, many of the inmates cross themselves out of fear of impending death--indicating the majority of the inmates are Christian. Ahmed, a Muslim Chechen and a pacifist incarcerates himself with this motley group of inmates as he finds safety and friendship among the "crazies" who accept him as one of their own.

The participation of rock singer Bryan Adams as an actor and singer in the film is Konchalovsky's masterstroke along with the words of the songs sung by the singer. Other important trivia, the lead actress Yulia Vysotskaya is the director's wife of over 20 years. Her acting capability is showcased in wide variety of roles she has played in her husband's films--most importantly in "Paradise" and "Dear Comrades."

The film is further strengthened on the aural front beyond Bryan Adams by the music of composer Eduard Artemyev. Artemyev is often bypassed by the fans of Tarkovsky (in Solaris, Stalker, Mirror), Konchalovsky (in Siberiade, The Inner Circle, Homer and Eddie), Mikhalkov (The Barber of Siberia, A few days in the life of I. I. Oblomov) etc.

The crux of the film lies in the quotation of Tolstoy "Why is man happy when he kills another? What is there to be happy about?" recalled by a Russian army officer (played by a famous Russian actor, Evginiy Mironov, in the film towards the end.

A hospital near a monorail.A merciless war.The soldiers' grimness.The psychiatrist left his "psihushka" to seek means of securing his patients.The clinic is taken over alternatively by Chechens and by Russians,and made over into a battle scene.

The mad people:some are grovelling,others are grumpy,others grinning, contentious, fractious, petulant,forlorn, babyish,foul, fossils of disease.

The Chechen soldiers are portly,while some of the young ones are very handsome.

My favorite scene is the Chechens' song:heart-breaking and manly.It also offers a sample of the beauty and musical valences of that Oriental language.One of the best musical moments in cinema's history.

"Dom ..." is made of suavity and infinite tenderness.The story is limber.In depth,this flick about an amorous insane woman is a parable about the ambiguity of life.The score is a profusion of beauty and Oriental privacy.

Mrs. Vysotskaya is amazing as "Jana";the rest of the cast is first-class.

Visually,the movie is not as beautiful as many Russian movies are (e.g.,Utomlyonnye Solntsem).The photography is deliberately made to look like that of a documentary.The hospital is not grisly;"Dom Durakov" is not about madness in a clinical sense,nor war,nor love,for what love could be that;it is about the ambiguity of life,about the hidden infinite suavity.The hospital itself is a parable.It is a clinic of parable and symbol,not one of cruel naturalism.The aesthetics is one of insobriety,extravagance,fancy and powerful exuberance.

"Dom ..." features a pleasurable and plain cosmopolitanism:Adams and Chechen songs.

Konchalovsky is back in high form,with this work of contemplation and insight.

Tocilescu,the Romanian director,praised to the skies this film's richness.

House of Fools follows the lives of a group of patients abandoned at a psychiatric hospital during the Chechen War in Russia. The protagonist, Janna (Yuliya Vysotskaya), must reconcile her dreams/delusions for a happy life (with Canadian pop star, Bryan Adams) and the real, violent war going on around her.

Offering an insightful parallel between the minds of psychiatric patients and war-torn soldiers (from both sides of the war), the director, Andrei Konchalovsky, poses the questions: What is "madness" and who is truly "crazy"? Without losing its quirky humor, the film's questions are brought to light through emotionally moving and complex characters and plot.

Konchalovsky provides a sympathetic contrast between the psychiatric patients and soldiers upholding his theme that true insanity comes from human aggression like war rather than mental disorders. The film first depicts the psychiatric patients as "crazy"; however, the arrival of the soldiers and war suggest a role reversal. The insanity of violence and two sides fighting against each other (who had previously fought with each other in the Soviet war in Afghanistan) is highlighted, while holding on to something—a hope for love, dreams, fantasies, and, above all, humanity—is presented as the combatant to insanity.

For those who love quirky films with deeper emotional and philosophical meanings, this film provides a perfect balance. Yuliya Vysotskaya's performance as Janna is astonishing. At moments she makes you feel both utterly sad and joyously optimistic at the same time. She plays the role beautifully and intelligently, using her humor as relatable and lovable, rather than as a gimmick. Not only is the film shot beautifully, but the plot and character are just so interesting that one is left wanting to watch it over again with somebody new. I would definitely recommend it to all of my friends and family. If not for the cinematography, moving themes, plot, and characters, then for the references and appearance of Bryan Adams which is just funny.