Absurdistan

Reportedly based on a true story (though with quite a bit of legendary embellishment, one assumes, at least in its more fantastical elements), "Absurdistan" takes place in a remote village where the women wage a full-fledged battle-of-the-sexes, agreeing to withhold their conjugal duties until the men in the community repair the pipe that for decades has brought water to the town. The story also features Tamelko (Max Mauff) and Aya (Kristyna Malerova) as two teenagers whose own plans to finally consummate their relationship must now be put on hold.

Homespun in appearance and humanistic in tone, "Absurdistan" (a German film done in Russian) is highly reminiscent of those quirky Czech comedies that enjoyed such popularity here in the States back in the 1960s. The scenes set in the past have been deliberately designed to look like aging home movies - grainy, washed-out, and scratchy - while those set in the present are crisp, clean and bursting with color.

The movie blends small town humor with touches of magic realism and the occasional flight of fancy. There are times, admittedly, when the movie gets a little too silly and cutesy for its own good, but, on the positive side, it never takes itself too seriously or condescends to its characters. The mood is upbeat and the details charming in what amounts to a modern-day (but not TOO modern-day) version of "Lysistrata."

Veit Helmer's "Absurdistan" is a satire on the temptation to shirk one's responsibility. It's set in a village in the Caucasus ignored by all the surrounding governments. The men are so obsessed with proving their manliness that they've ignored the aging pipe that provides the village with its water. So, the women use their own power to force some change.

One trick that the movie uses is to never identify the country in which the story takes place. They speak Russian, but it could just as easily be Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan (or even Chechnya). The point is that this village is one of the world's forgotten places. The people rely exclusively on each other and their know-how. It's inevitable that the two young protagonists get caught up in the village's traditions and lackadaisical attitude towards a glaring problem. For all that we know, there could be places like this in the US or Canada.

I recommend the movie.

This feature was filmed in Azerbaijan. This is remarkable since the main theme of the story involves sex, and in a Muslim country, this type of movie is definitely frowned upon. The story surrounds a young couple, Ava and Temelko. They are madly in love and have been told by her fortune-telling grandmother the night they may consummate their relationship. However, before the special night arrives, they run into problems as the lazy men of the town they inhabit have not performed any maintenance on the town's water pipes and they have broken. The women are fed up with having to do without water and go on "strike"...no water, no sex. The movie reminds me a little of "The Gods Must Be Crazy;" silly and slapstick humor along with a little more subtle humor underneath. The performances of Kristyna Malerova and Max Mauff were sympathetic and amusing.

To the reviewer below, I got my "facts" from the director of the film at the screening I attended...I was just repeating what I heard. I took the man (and the others involved in the film who agreed with him) at his word, and I think you are taking this commentary just a tad too seriously.

This is a quirky comedy on similar lines with movies like Amelie and like Amelie has a strong visual style with minimum dialog. Personally I really like this kind of movies, which surprise you and delight you at every turn without any Hollywood clichés. The movie just keeps on moving from one absurd situation to other.

The female lead Kristyna Malérová is definitely easy on the eyes and has done a great job. As the movie has much less dialog as compared to a normal film, it requires the actors to convey a lot with their body and facial expressions, and the actors don't disappoint.

If you like quirky comedies like Amelie, give this one a go.

I'll start by attempting to summarize the difference between "American comedy" and "East European comedy" in broad terms. Trust me, this is going somewhere...

American comedy focuses on characters. Gags rely on the personalities of the people involved, facial expressions, closeups, voice tones, and what we, the audience, are led to feel about these characters. For example, when Christopher Walken says "It needs more cowbell" that's all she wrote. A million intricate nuances of Walken's personality and delivery are what make that joke fly.

East European comedies (I'm thinking mainly of films by Kusturica, Paradjanov, and early Forman which remind me of "Absurdistan") seem to rely on situations and surroundings rather than close characterizations. Shots are filmed from a distance so that we take in more of the scenery and atmosphere, and we rarely get lingering closeups the way we do in American comedies. For example, in Forman's hilarious "The Fireman's Ball", one of the funniest scenes is the chaotic madness at the beauty competition where the camera stays far from the action and we don't really see any faces. We just take in the absurdness of the whole scene.

===OK FINALLY... THE REVIEW OF ABSURDISTAN=== "Absurdistan" falls squarely in the "East European comedy" category. The characters are deliberately 2-dimensional, as if the director is telling us that the story is what's important, not the actors. Like a Paradjanov film, it's a fairytale that doesn't want to be upstaged by human interference. Thus, no time is wasted on personal backstories, dramatic emotions, or charisma. None of the characters even have names except the main two. There aren't many pauses for reflection, and there's only one real monologue scene showing us the girl Aya's inner self.

Normally I would have no problem with this presentation. Like I said, Forman's "The Fireman's Ball" is one of the funniest films I've seen, even though I couldn't name a single character or describe their personalities. But in "Absurdistan" it presents a noticeable void in that this is a love story. For a love story to have maximum effect, the director must invest some time creating an emotional connection between the lead character(s) and the audience. Here instead, most of the characters are caricatures of vices, making them thoroughly unlikeable. Even the two lead characters commit certain acts that may make you dislike them.

So if you decide to see this movie, don't expect a very personal story. This Ain't no Hugh Grant flick. Instead, take "Absurdistan" at a distance as the movie is probably intended to be watched. This movie is a metaphor, a fable, a fairytale, and we aren't supposed to get caught up waiting for some personal emotional payoff.

If you've seen Viet Helmer's prior film "Tuvalu" it has much of the same approach. Except Tuvalu is not a love story, so the disconnection between characters & audience works. Here in "Absurdistan" it presents a conflict which may or may not fly, depending on how you like your love stories.

A final note, which may or may not mean anything to you, is that there are a few disturbing scenes with animals. A mule getting pulled & prodded, a chained dog getting soaked, a horse being tied up in a nasty looking horse-shoeing device, and a dead chicken that looked pretty real. Since this film was made in Azerbaijan outside the American Humane & RSPCA's jurisdiction, there certainly wasn't any "No animals were harmed" disclaimer at the end. If anyone knows how those scenes were monitored please post something about it.