“Zooey was in dreamy top form. The announcer had them off on the
subject of housing developments, and the little Burke girl said she
hated houses that all look alike-meaning a long row of identical
'development' houses. Zooey said they were 'nice.' He said it would be
very nice to come home and be in the wrong house. To eat dinner with the
wrong people by mistake, sleep in the wrong bed by mistake, and kiss
everybody goodbye in the morning thinking they were your own family. He
said he even wished everybody in the world looked exactly alike. He said
you'd keep thinking everybody you met was your wife or your mother or
father, and people would always be throwing their arms around each other
wherever they went, and it would look 'very nice.”
- J.D. Salinger, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction
In the film "Ирония судьбы или с лёгким паром" a series of drunken errors lead our protagonist Zhenya to love on New Years. In Russia, as in much of the world, New Years Eve is a time to celebrate with those close to you. The movie's plot centers around the Russian tradition which says that how you spend your New Years will dictate how you spend the rest of the year. It's an enjoyable holiday film (albeit a bit long at around 3 hours) in the same vein as many American Christmas movies i.e. I'm far from home, and may miss spending the holidays with my beautiful family. It differs in one major regard, Zhenya realizes the hopelessness of getting back to his fiancee in time for the New Year, and instead forms a new relationship on the spot.
I greatly enjoyed the first half of the film. It's pacing was much quicker than the section following the intermission, and it created in me that beautiful cringing feeling as the situation just progressively worsens. The mayhem begins in the bathhouse with Zhenya attempting to refuse the first shot of vodka knowing it will inevitably lead to many more. From that first drink it's only a short hop, skip, and a jump to all of the men drunk as all hell and mistakenly loading Zhenya onto a plain bound for Leningrad. This whole sequence was wonderful, and the drunkards logic used in the airport to discover which of them was boarding the plain was hilarious. It is a bit sad though, because there are some serious alcoholic behaviors being exhibited. Specifically the attempt to avoid the first drink, knowing that once the bender begins it is out of their control.
The second half of the film moves very slowly. There is some nice comedic interchange between Zhenya and Ippolit, darling Nadya's original fiancee, but much of the second half drags. The action largely takes place in one small apartment and the whole feel is a bit claustrophobic, not to mention that much of the dialogue is circular. On the plus side everyone has a wonderful voice and, as we all know, everyone in Russia is constantly singing to each other.
The songs are beautifully written. I managed to catch that the lyrics to one song were taken from the verses of a famous Russian poet, Bella Akhmadulina. They describe wintry scenes of lovers finding each other and parting. One of which, played at some point towards the middle of the second act, talks of a man whose lover leaves him to marry his best friend (я спросил у ясеня где моя любимая). This song struck me in particular because it greatly reminded me of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat". The songs are very similar in mood and theme, and both are written very poetically. Check em:
Famous Blue Raincoat-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fMnF0Fvdpo
я спросил у ясеня где моя любимая- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0YtojZT2Xs&feature=related
When it comes to the housing developments, I tend to disagree with what seems to be the ultimate message of the film. It ain't no beautiful thing! The last ten minutes of the movie would be touching if they didn't seem like so much propaganda. Zhenya says he is grateful that in a distant city there stands the same street, the same apartment building, and the same apartment that led him to love. However, it seems that the women and men themselves are also interchangeable. It turns out that only a surprisingly brief amount of time is needed to forget one's previous love and fall willingly into the arms of (literally) the first drunken sod that stumbles by.
Sure, it's romantic and wild and heartwarming. But in reality it's a bit disturbing. There are societal pressures which are demanding the two leads marry, frequent mention is made of how old (34!) Nadya is. If she doesn't marry now, who would ever want her? Not to say this attitude isn't overwhelmingly present in Western films, because it is. It's just such brazen representations of sad and tired social constructs are depressing, especially knowing that this film was made in the 1970s and yet the same messages are perpetuated today.
I enjoyed the movie while I was watching it, but when I reflect back on it I'm struck by it's resemblance to a commercial. Soviet housing developments were peaking in the 70s and this is an obvious attempt to represent them as something new, modern, and fun. Here are attractive professionals who crack jokes about their salaries and living conditions, but they are ultimately happy and satisfied with them. They thank the fates for the creation of these conditions which led them to one another. It teaches that a light-hearted acceptance of a low standard of living is what is desirable, and that it leads to love and happiness. Much as Christianity once taught that humility in the face of adversity leads to a life of joy and happiness in the kingdom of heaven.
At the close of the film Nadya asks, "Do you think I'm being frivolous?", which is really the message the film carries. We want you to be frivolous, to be care-free, so that the same system can continue to function. Whoa, I got a bit serious here at the end. It's both a light-hearted film and an interesting social commentary!
I'm drawn to quickly add something here just for the sake of comparison.
In walking around Williamsburg, Brooklyn I'm confronted by an array of hastily constructed towers. Each one contains elements hijacked from modern architecture, but overall the designs are uninspired and destined to stand as beacons of poor taste for generations. Do these residential towers differ much in essence from the pre-fab housing developments of the Soviet Union? What Salinger is getting at in that quote is a kind of ego-death which opens up humanity to a panoply of compassion. Williamsburg condominiums, if anything, promote the opposite. This film is severely lacking in that ego death as well. The lovers may be interchangeable, but as soon as one is found they are jealously clung to. Zhenya feels it necessary to tear up Ippolit's portrait on the mantle, to stake his claim. Ganya's heart is broken and no stranger rumbles into her life to embrace her. In the film the ego is still going full force, the externals mask the internal hypertrophy of ego.
I'm drawn to quickly add something here just for the sake of comparison.
In walking around Williamsburg, Brooklyn I'm confronted by an array of hastily constructed towers. Each one contains elements hijacked from modern architecture, but overall the designs are uninspired and destined to stand as beacons of poor taste for generations. Do these residential towers differ much in essence from the pre-fab housing developments of the Soviet Union? What Salinger is getting at in that quote is a kind of ego-death which opens up humanity to a panoply of compassion. Williamsburg condominiums, if anything, promote the opposite. This film is severely lacking in that ego death as well. The lovers may be interchangeable, but as soon as one is found they are jealously clung to. Zhenya feels it necessary to tear up Ippolit's portrait on the mantle, to stake his claim. Ganya's heart is broken and no stranger rumbles into her life to embrace her. In the film the ego is still going full force, the externals mask the internal hypertrophy of ego.
