Zhmurki
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| Zhmurki | |
|---|---|
 Russian DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Aleksei Balabanov |
| Written by | Aleksei Balabanov Stas Mokhnachev |
| Starring | Nikita Mikhalkov Dmitrij Djuzhev Aleksej Panin |
| Release date(s) | 2005 |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| IMDb profile | |
Zhmurki (Russian: Жмурки, En. Blind Man's Bluff) is a 2005 Russian black comedy/crime film similar to Snatch and Pulp Fiction,
Director Aleksei Balabanov, who directed Brat and Brat 2 , uses "uniformly ace" (Variety) cameo performances, by Russia's most prominent actors, to send up both the greed-is-good mentality of the newly democratized former Soviet Union and the self-conscious Quentin Tarantino/Guy Ritchie-style crime films of the 90s. The film suggests that on the mean free-market streets of modern day Russia, the only real liberty is the freedom to kill.
Approximately 50 liters of fake blood were used in the film. With the exception of a few scenes in Moscow, the film was shot in Tver, the city formerly known as Kalinin, and Nizhniy Novgorod, the city known as Gorky in Soviet times
The stars of the film include famous Russian actors such as Nikita Mikhalkov (best known to American audiences for his work in Burnt by the Sun), Dmitrij Djuzhev, Aleksej Panin, Sergej Makovetskij, Igor Sukachev, Viktor Sukhorukov, and Renata Litvinova. Actually, there are more than 20 Russian-movie stars in the film, but it's not easy to recognize them immediately since they are all in disguise.
[edit] Plot summary
The film opens with a group of teenagers sitting in a Russian classroom. The teacher tells them that "start-up capital is what begins everything - with it, you can start a business and multiply your investment many times over. The key thing is how to get it..."
The movie then flashes back to a Russian town outside Moscow in "the 90s" where we meet two criminals, members of "bratva", Simon and Sergei. These small time hoodlums are working for the local mob boss, Sergei Mikhailovich (played by Nikita Mikhalkov). Unfortunately, neither gangster is very bright and trouble ensues when they are ripped off by a corrupt cop and another gang of dimwits.
Sergei and Simon have to deliver a suitcase full of heroin to Mikhalych or else they will be killed. There is one minor detail: the only problem-solving technique they are familiar with is a shot in the head.
[edit] External links
- Zhmurki at the Internet Movie Database
- Trailer and Screenshots
