A Man from the Boulevard des Capuchines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Man from the Boulevard des Capuchines (Chelovek s bulvara Kaputsinov/Человек с бульвара Капуцинов) is a comedy Red Western film of 1987 (Mosfilm production) with a nod to the advent of silent film, and the transforming power of celluloid.
It is particularly unusual in Soviet cinema for two reasons, firstly being directed by one of the few female Soviet directors of any stature, Alla Surikova, and secondly as being a rare post-modernist outing.
The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1987 and had 39.8 Millions of viewers.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The plot involves the arrival of Mr Johnny First (or 'Fest' in some translations) in a sleepy 'Wild West' town. After Mr First starts showing the residents Chaplinesque silent films on his cinematograph, the town's wild inhabitants are tamed by the images on the silver screen, trading glasses of milk and moving pictures for saloons and brawls.
Beautiful dancer Diane falls for First/Fest, and so he ends up making a few enemies, including Diane's many other admirers, and the barman who is threatened by the new competition for "entertainment".
In many ways, the film is a comedy critique of the wild west myth, and takes the whole thing full circle. Just as Buffalo Bill mythologised his exploits, and later Hollywood elaborated the image, so in this way you have a Soviet film (i.e. the other side of the Cold War deconstructing it, and satirising it, both through the film, and the "film within film" that Johnny First shows. It is a self-reflexive fable documenting its own evolution.
[edit] Crew
[edit] Main cast
- Andrei Mironov (Johnny First/Fest)
- Alexandra Yakoleva (Diane the Dancer)
- Nikolay Karachentsov
- Oleg Tabakov
[edit] Other
- Director: Alla Surikova
- Screenwriter: Eduard Akopov
- Editor: Inessa Brozhovskaya
- Music writer: Gennadi Gladkov
