A fictional standup confronts his limits in this intriguing time capsule of 1980s Soviet history
It’s 1984: the Ussr is on the verge of collapse, and so is Boris Arkadiev (Aleksey Agranovich), a fictional standup who has enormous mainstream success but crumbles under bouts of insecurities. A failed novelist, Boris now tours the country with a banal routine about … a naughty monkey. The Kgb approves and the audience roars with laughter, but Boris merely simmers with apathy.
Boris’s problems lie in his political spinelessness. His friends chastise him: Simon (Semyon Steinberg), an outspoken writer, mourns Boris’ idealistic literary past; Max (Yuri Kolokolnikov), an actor enamoured with American culture, concludes that the comedian should defect. Adding to the horrors, Boris’ teenage son writes anti-communist rock tunes in a bedroom plastered with posters of David Bowie and T Rex. This failure to communicate reaches a surreal peak when Boris is...
It’s 1984: the Ussr is on the verge of collapse, and so is Boris Arkadiev (Aleksey Agranovich), a fictional standup who has enormous mainstream success but crumbles under bouts of insecurities. A failed novelist, Boris now tours the country with a banal routine about … a naughty monkey. The Kgb approves and the audience roars with laughter, but Boris merely simmers with apathy.
Boris’s problems lie in his political spinelessness. His friends chastise him: Simon (Semyon Steinberg), an outspoken writer, mourns Boris’ idealistic literary past; Max (Yuri Kolokolnikov), an actor enamoured with American culture, concludes that the comedian should defect. Adding to the horrors, Boris’ teenage son writes anti-communist rock tunes in a bedroom plastered with posters of David Bowie and T Rex. This failure to communicate reaches a surreal peak when Boris is...
- 3/8/2021
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Happy Times’ will be released by Artsploitation Films in Q1 2020.
M-Appeal has closed North American deals on two of the most prominent titles on its virtual Marché slate.
The Berlin-based sales outfit confirmed that Artsploitation Films has acquired Michael Mayer’s Happy Times, a horror comedy set over the course of a Shabbat dinner in a luxurious Hollywood mansion. Mixing satire and genre elements, the film stars Israeli actor Michael Aloni (Shtisel) and Stéfi Celma.
Happy Times is produced by Mayer, Paola Porrini Bisson and Tomer Almagor. Executive producers are Gabrielle Almagor, Richard Bisson and Erri De Luca. Artsploitation plans...
M-Appeal has closed North American deals on two of the most prominent titles on its virtual Marché slate.
The Berlin-based sales outfit confirmed that Artsploitation Films has acquired Michael Mayer’s Happy Times, a horror comedy set over the course of a Shabbat dinner in a luxurious Hollywood mansion. Mixing satire and genre elements, the film stars Israeli actor Michael Aloni (Shtisel) and Stéfi Celma.
Happy Times is produced by Mayer, Paola Porrini Bisson and Tomer Almagor. Executive producers are Gabrielle Almagor, Richard Bisson and Erri De Luca. Artsploitation plans...
- 6/23/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based boutique sales outfit M-Appeal has acquired erotic drama “Fidelity” (Vernost), a Russian female version of Steve McQueen’s “Shame.” Nigina Sayfullaeva’s film – a box-office hit at home for Sony Pictures – will have its international premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival in January.
“Fidelity” centers on Lena, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and her husband Sergey, who is an actor in a provincial theater. Their relationship is tender and close, but devoid of sex. Lena suspects that he is having an affair, but she suffers in silence without letting her jealousy show. She starts cheating on him with random men, and slowly but surely, her infidelity spins out of control.
The film has attracted much comment in the media and social media in Russia, where the issue of female sexuality is less openly discussed than in the West. Russian film critic Anton Dolin said the film “is a revolution because...
“Fidelity” centers on Lena, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and her husband Sergey, who is an actor in a provincial theater. Their relationship is tender and close, but devoid of sex. Lena suspects that he is having an affair, but she suffers in silence without letting her jealousy show. She starts cheating on him with random men, and slowly but surely, her infidelity spins out of control.
The film has attracted much comment in the media and social media in Russia, where the issue of female sexuality is less openly discussed than in the West. Russian film critic Anton Dolin said the film “is a revolution because...
- 12/3/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin-based sales agent M-appeal has picked up the rights to black comedy “The Humorist,” directed by Michael Idov, one of the scriptwriters of “Leto,” a competition title at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“The Humorist,” which makes its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market on Feb. 8, stars Aleksey Agranovich, Alisa Khazanova and Yuri Kolokolnikov. It is produced by Metrafilms’ Artem Vasilyev, who was one of the producers on Alexey German Jr.’s “Dovlatov,” a competition title at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Set in the mid-80s in the Soviet Union, “The Humorist” revolves around Boris Arkadiev, a Russian-Jewish stand-up comedian who is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship, but also by his own insecurities. Fame and the lack of personal freedom contribute to his unbalanced state of mind. When the leaders who dictate what he can and can’t joke about summon him to their villa,...
“The Humorist,” which makes its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market on Feb. 8, stars Aleksey Agranovich, Alisa Khazanova and Yuri Kolokolnikov. It is produced by Metrafilms’ Artem Vasilyev, who was one of the producers on Alexey German Jr.’s “Dovlatov,” a competition title at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Set in the mid-80s in the Soviet Union, “The Humorist” revolves around Boris Arkadiev, a Russian-Jewish stand-up comedian who is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship, but also by his own insecurities. Fame and the lack of personal freedom contribute to his unbalanced state of mind. When the leaders who dictate what he can and can’t joke about summon him to their villa,...
- 1/25/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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