/1wOj85hvdbgac2mmUdcTHB4JDMB.jpg

Zerograd (1988)

Genre : Drama, Comedy

Runtime : 1H 37M

Director : Karen Shakhnazarov

Synopsis

Karen Shakhnazarov’s surreal satire of Communism follows an Everyman engineer named Varakin who arrives in a remote city where nothing quite makes sense, but everyone acts as if it does. He’s quickly drawn into the investigation of the suicide (or possibly murder?) of a local restaurant chef, Nikolaev – who may (or may not) be Varakin’s missing father. The more complex and absurdist the mystery becomes, the more poignant and plaintive Varakin’s predicament – “I have to get back to Moscow,” he pleads to no avail. Along the way we’re treated to a bizarre and wonderful sideshow of non sequiturs out of a Wes Anderson film, including an underground museum filled with a thousand years of real and imagined Russian history (“Here’s the pistol with which Urusov shot the False Dimitry II.”) Frozen in time, frozen far beneath the surface, the waxwork figures are strangely beautiful and forlorn, like Shakhnazarov’s marvelous and enigmatic satire of Soviet bureaucracy.

Actors

Leonid Filatov
Leonid Filatov
Aleksei Varakin
Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Basilashvili
Vasiliy Chugunov, The Writer
Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Menshov
Nikolay Smorodinov, The Prosecutor
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
Pal Palych, the factory manager
Aleksei Zharkov
Aleksei Zharkov
investigator
Pyotr Shcherbakov
Pyotr Shcherbakov
Stepan Ivanov, chairman of the city executive committee
Evgeniy Evstigneev
Evgeniy Evstigneev
museum curator
Olga Konovalova
Olga Konovalova
Liza
Yuriy Sherstnyov
Yuriy Sherstnyov
Kudryumov, waiter
Yelena Arzhanik
Yelena Arzhanik
Nina, secretary
Tatyana Khvostikova
Tatyana Khvostikova
Anna
Alexander Bespaly
Alexander Bespaly
Misak Gevorkyan
Misak Gevorkyan
young Stalin
Oleg Savosin
Oleg Savosin
mushroom picker
Lev Lugkovsky
Lev Lugkovsky
rock'n'roll night visitor (uncredited)

Crews

Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Shakhnazarov
Director
Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Shakhnazarov
Writer
Aleksandr Borodyanskiy
Aleksandr Borodyanskiy
Writer
Lidiya Milioti
Lidiya Milioti
Editor
Lyudmila Kusakova
Lyudmila Kusakova
Production Design
Vera Romanova
Vera Romanova
Costume Design
Igor Mayorov
Igor Mayorov
Sound
Eduard Artemyev
Eduard Artemyev
Original Music Composer
Nikolay Nemolyaev
Nikolay Nemolyaev
Director of Photography

Trailers and other movies

Gorod Zero

Posters and backgrounds

/1wOj85hvdbgac2mmUdcTHB4JDMB.jpg
/qZfKokBI7regpiHwjczym2oa4P.jpg

Similar

Yellow Submarine
The wicked Blue Meanies take over Pepperland, eliminating all color and music. As the only survivor, the Lord Admiral escapes in the yellow submarine and journeys to Liverpool to enlist the help of the Beatles.
Fragment of Fear
A reformed drug addict travels to Italy to find out who murdered his aunt.
Zerograd
Karen Shakhnazarov’s surreal satire of Communism follows an Everyman engineer named Varakin who arrives in a remote city where nothing quite makes sense, but everyone acts as if it does. He’s quickly drawn into the investigation of the suicide (or possibly murder?) of a local restaurant chef, Nikolaev – who may (or may not) be Varakin’s missing father. The more complex and absurdist the mystery becomes, the more poignant and plaintive Varakin’s predicament – “I have to get back to Moscow,” he pleads to no avail. Along the way we’re treated to a bizarre and wonderful sideshow of non sequiturs out of a Wes Anderson film, including an underground museum filled with a thousand years of real and imagined Russian history (“Here’s the pistol with which Urusov shot the False Dimitry II.”) Frozen in time, frozen far beneath the surface, the waxwork figures are strangely beautiful and forlorn, like Shakhnazarov’s marvelous and enigmatic satire of Soviet bureaucracy.
PHANTASY
A fantastic fashion show with the most marvelous sights the screen has ever seen!
The Initiated
Volodya, who lives with his mother in the apartment on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, gets a pre-revolutionary book on magic rituals of Africa. Reading it, Vladimir realizes that he became an owner the supernatural gift – he can kill people by his own will.
En mi cajón / Entra acéchame
Myuné dreams a fantasy world about her past that soon turns into a ghostly nightmare.
Larry Wessel's Palace of Wonders
Larry Wessel invites you to explore the phantasmagorical worlds created by a variety of artists, writers, photographers, musicians and collectors.
Nekrokosm
A phantasmagorical fantasy nightmare set deep within a strange galaxy where two lovers are torn apart as they try to survive a malevolent invasion.
Magnolia
An epic mosaic of many interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Once Upon a Time in the West
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
American Beauty
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Citizen Kane
Newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.
Dancer in the Dark
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles - even if just for a moment - by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
The Devil Wears Prada
Andy moves to New York to work in the fashion industry. Her boss is extremely demanding, cruel and won't let her succeed if she doesn't fit into the high class elegant look of their magazine.
Miller's Crossing
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Jarhead
Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.
To Catch a Thief
An ex-thief is accused of enacting a new crime spree, so to clear his name he sets off to catch the new thief, who’s imitating his signature style.
Apocalypse Now
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.
Inside Man
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.