Tribeca film festival was a great example of that – six films of Russian origin were present at one of the most prestigious move festivals this spring.  Two of them were among the contesting for the title of a best feature - Playing the Victim by K. Serebryanikov and Two in One by Kira Muratova.  Now, I’ll be honest I am not a huge Russian movie fan – they usually depress me to pieces and as a true New Yorker I also have a hard time with long, melancholic scenes (Tarkovsky style).  However the reputation of both directors was convincing enough for me to have high expectations. Even though the two films are drastically different, there were some things in common – both portray the decaying moral of the Russian young (and not so young). Of course my baseline is the Dostoyevskiy principles with some Soviet-enforced guilt piled on top of it, nevertheless the speech of the captain in Playing the Victim (masterfully delivered by Vitaliy Khayev) with his Oblomov-like philosophy struck a cord. The movie’s storyline is quite unusual – Valya (played by Yuriy Chursin) works for a police detective unit playing the victim in criminal investigations of murder re-enactments. Even though the movie is anything but funny, black and masterful satire throughout makes one laugh at the absurdity of “due process.” Funny and thought-provoking with very impressive performance by Chursin, this is a move that will stay with you long after the light go back on.

Two in One by Muratova is beautifully shot with scenes of suicide, debauchery and psychosocial misfits all depicted inside a peaceful Russian winter. The endless conflict between the storyline and the background makes one admire Muratova and her vision once again.  The film is actually two in one, the first dealing with an actor’s suicide in the theater; and the second with a primal sexual urges of one of the society’s upper-crust. The films merge with one another, theater life and reality boundaries meshed, actors overlapping and everyone (including you) somehow participating. Bogdan Stupka plays the main character in the second part of the film and is “all that,” in delivering a perfect portrayal of a rich and aged Don Juan of modern Russia. The film is disturbing and shocking at times, but again, the photography is so spectacular that the visual effect almost contradicts the plot.   The film is a bit long so prepare yourself for many WTF moments.
To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed both films and for the first time in many years saw that there is much more to Russian cinema than Bumers, Brigadas and Speznazi.  I am proud that the Russian culture is not just visible but also of high quality, just like the tradition it represents.