| Kin-dza-dza! | |
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| Directed by | Georgi Daneliya |
| Written by | Georgi Daneliya Revaz Gabriadze |
| Starring | Stanislav Lyubshin Yevgeni Leonov Yury Yakovlev Levan Gabriadze |
| Music by | Gia Kancheli |
| Cinematography | Pavel Lebeshev |
| Editing by | Natalya Dobrunova |
| Distributed by | Sovexportfilm |
| Release date(s) | December 1, 1986 |
| Running time | 135 min. |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Kin-dza-dza! (Russian: Кин-дза-дза!, translit. Kin-dzah-dzah!) is a 1986 Soviet comedy-science fiction film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgi Daneliya, with a story by Georgi Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze. The movie was filmed in color, consists of two parts and runs for 135 minutes in total.
The film is a dark and grotesque parody of human society and may be described as a dystopia. It depicts a desert planet, depleted of its resources, home to an impoverished dog-eat-dog society with extreme inequality and oppression. It was a cult film in the Soviet Union, and its humorous dialogue were frequently quoted.
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The story takes place on the desert planet "Pluke" in the "Kin-dza-dza" galaxy, where two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other ("Uncle Vova", a gruff construction foreman from Moscow Vladimir Moshkov, and "The Fiddler", a student from Georgia Gedevan Aleksidze) are stranded due to an accidental encounter with an alien teleportation device. The movie describes their long quest to find a way back home.
The natives of the planet appear human, with deceptively primitive-looking technology and a barbaric culture, which satirically resembles that of humans. They are telepathic; the only spoken words normally used in their culture are “ku” (koo) and “kyu” (kew), the latter being a swear word. However, the Plukanians are able to quickly adapt to understand and speak Russian (and Georgian too). The society of Pluke is divided into two categories: Chatlanians and Patsaks. Chatlanians are privileged, and a system of rituals must be followed by the Patsaks to show flattery. The basis of their difference is unexplainable (a source of a humorous episode), and for all practical matters they are distinguished with aid of a small handheld device (visator). It is also noted that the social differences between Patsaks and Chatlanians are not constant: Pluke being a Chatlanian planet, they are privileged there; but there are Patsak planets where Patsaks hold the upper hand and Chatlanians are subservient. Wef and Bi switch their social roles immediately and without any problems when visiting one such planet.
The only group empowered to use weapons (“tranklucators”) and enforce their will is the ecilops ("police" spelled backwards). The nominal leader of the Plukanian society is named PG; everybody makes their best to display fervent worship to him and disrespect is severely punished; but, when encountered in person, PG appears harmless and dumb. The fuel of Pluke is called lutz and is made from water. All naturally present water has apparently been processed into lutz, so drinking water is a valuable commodity (in fact, it can only be made from lutz).
A good deal of the plot is based on the fact that ordinary wooden matchsticks (ketse) (or, rather, the chemicals of the match head) are considered to be extremely valuable on Pluke.
The movie has been released on DVD in Russia but has gained virtually no notice elsewhere, with the exception of Japan. This is largely due to the fact that there was no official release of the movie with English subtitles for a long time.
In 2005 RUSCICO (Russian Cinema Council) released a version with Russian original sound and with English and French dubbing, It has also subtitles in English and other languages.[1]
An animated version of the same story, named Kin-dza-dza-dza!, is being made in Russia, and is planned for release in Summer 2011. This version will be targeted more at children and the international audience. Work began on February 12, 2005, and it has a budget of 140 million rubles.[2] The finished film is expected to be 100 minutes long.
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