Peculiarities of the National Hunt in the Winter
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The Peculiarities of the National Hunt Under Winter Conditions
(festival title)
(more)
Osobennosti nacionaľnoj ochoty v zimnij period
Directed by:
Aleksandr RogozhkinScreenplay:
Aleksandr RogozhkinCinematography:
Yuriy ShaygardanovComposer:
Vladislav PanchenkoCast:
Aleksey Buldakov, Viktor Bychkov, Sergej Guslinskij, Mikhail Porechenkov, Yuriy Kuznetsov, Иван Краско, Semyon Strugachyov, Andrey Fedortsov, Andrey Zibrov (more)Plots(1)
Kuzmich’s hunting ground no. 13. One winter evening Kuzmich reads militiaman Semyon his philosophical tract about a Chinese hunter who searched for six years before discovering the meaning of his efforts. He is stirred from his contemplations not only by his old friends, General Ivolghin and Detective Lyova Soloveychik, who have dropped by to relax, but also by some uninvited guests: ministerial examiners and ecological inspectors – a lady of valiant appearance and behaviour and her sickly assistant. This circumstance unpropitiously influences the men’s merry rituals and even their carefully planned boar hunt. There is nothing left for the general to do but implement a tried-and-true tactic: his energetic toasts ease the tension and dull the examiners’ vigilance. The snow, biting frost and Kuzmich’s bear contribute substantially to the curious incidents that take place in the idyllic hunting grounds. The film was first conceived as a television series and was shot in only 16 days near St. Petersburg. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Reviews (1)
Russia is a vast country, but just one piece of it, elegantly covered in snow, can make for a beautiful film. I somehow can't decide whether the Russians wanted to show a parody of their own life in Siberia or if I should take this film deadly seriously. I think it’s a bit of both. The infamous vodka flows abundantly, and during the hunting, it's not about the catch but rather about how it will unfold. Well, there's also got to be something to hunt. Prey is about as certain as General Mihaljich taking the cigar out of his mouth. The philosophy of hunting is dissected under the microscope of comical figures, clearly proving that Aristotle only mastered the philosophy of his time, and in Russia... well, anything is possible.
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