The Ghost of Lenin A witty absurdist comedy – no, not about revolution – about how a person is transformed in the eyes of others, when his habits change, and how those around him change in his society.
The main character Grigory Zuev is a six in his cell, a clean sheet. They even jailed him for vagrancy, which also hints that the man has no home, no identity - nothing. There is not even a voice: he is either silent or barely audible. You can fill it with anything. Fate so happens that during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birthday of the Leader, Zuev is given a major role in the prison play for external similarity. And so tabula rasa becomes the living ghost of Lenin. Let him speak with phrases borrowed from the works of Ilyich, and copy the movements, intonations, manners from a cinematic image, but the empty shell is filled with the monstrous charisma of an ambiguous, but undoubtedly a genius speaker and leader.
Now we turn the other way and look at the reaction of the prisoners. Those who had only yesterday molested poor Zuev suddenly became blind, struck by their resemblance to the Leader, and they saw the Leader, not a quiet cellmate. It is scary to say, but the viewer himself is also a little succumb to the energy that comes from the main character, and will sober up only at the end of the tape.
Of course, this is also a satire on the Soviet obscurantism around the figure of Lenin. The filmmakers laugh not only and not so much at Ilyich himself as at his attitude towards him. But similar religious devotion to the Leader has long faded, and therefore in this respect the picture has lost its significance. But, on the other hand, “Comedy of strict regime” clearly shows the relationship between the masses and any leader. It's just about names.
Special praise deserved the episode with the concert itself. Poems in which socialist themes and typically zecian mannerisms and jargon are mixed; the proletarian-prison spirit is faced with the need to somehow portray patriotism and faith in the Party and now tries to correspond to the role of a true Communist, the result is amazing and at the same time ridiculous creative finds (and failures). Directly recall the early poems of Prigov – there is something in common between them and the play from the “Comedy of strict regime”.
Strange, psychological, subtle, albeit gloomy comedy.
P.S. I will make a reservation that I can only guess how Ilyich’s 100th anniversary was actually celebrated, so some of the humor passed by me, unfortunately.
9 out of 10
Original