Superman down. The first fantastic picture of the nineties was “Doping for Angels” directed by Vladimir Popkov. In fact, the fiction in this picture is more convention than component. Modest and everywhere offended by life loser, under the influence of some supernatural forces, becomes a kind of superman, bringing justice in his native town. By the way, the film treats the theme of such supermandom absolutely in the black spirit, characteristic of the cinema of the nineties. The hero’s supermanship is limited in time, and having defeated the cruel mafia, but in the end still cornered by it, the superman lost his power on the asphalt. But we must pay tribute to the authors of the film, they did not set a goal to make a grinding action movie, but made a sad parable that good is not so all-powerful in this world, even if it is with fists. And from science fiction, there is an angel who is the hero throughout the film and mentors him. That's just he was seen as a hero or appeared in reality - we can only guess.
“Doping for Angels” is a philosophical parable that solves one of the main issues that our contemporaries have forgotten. What does it mean to live in conscience, in justice? Fight bribes and live honestly. This is unclear because it is not necessary now. I love this film because it was directed by my favorite director, Vladimir Popkov. It is a pity that such a teacher has left us. Actor Albert Filozov portrayed a man in two hypostases. His first self is an intelligent man. And after doping, he's an explosive, cheerful, strong superman. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Doping for Angels – directed by Vladimir Popkov personally three of his genre hits in which he moved away from the clichés of established standards; Doping for Angels (1990), Hearts of Three (1992/93) and Kill a Snake (2007). But in Doping, the director simply surpassed himself, clothed the theme of an honest, but superfluous person in a bright genre wrapper, moving away from the established dogmatic schemes of the outgoing Soviet cinema. And it becomes clear why the frenzied car races around the city, the chase through the scaffolding of the temple, the super-colorful flight of a motorcyclist into the shop window are so colorfully staged here. The film shows how the filmmakers of that time missed such a thing, that’s how fervent and fun it was done when the dawn of the genre was just beginning.
Despite the seemingly half-hearted plot, the film actually raises global issues, especially relevant for that distant 1990, but not lost importance now. Since the film was made in 1990, it has absorbed the most beautiful features of the last period of Soviet cinema: a premonition of the impending globalism, the indifference of the majority. That is, a premonition of the natural transformation, in particular of the Soviet people, into “standard cogs of the world system”, the substitution of sincere communication between people and “living democracy” with total technocratic control over those afraid of losing their jobs and “place under the sun” by slaves.
Horrifyingly, then thirty years ago, directors and screenwriters felt it more acutely than ever, and tried to shout about it in their movies. Whether they will listen to us is another question. I included this seemingly far from the horror film in our anthology, because then, when watching in the theater (the film was in wide distribution), I was really scared; supermen - bearers of justice should not die! In 1990, I had no idea of any superman. But the credits went, and I prayed all the time - rise, rise again! Have you ever seen Superman die in an American movie? But in our movie, in anticipation of the impending catastrophe, the director changed the rule of building such stories, and I think he had the right to do so, but I could not and did not want to put up with it. And for the next decade, noble heroes and supermen almost always died in the new Russian cinema, the law of life interpreted its law and cinema. That is why Doping for Angels is a tragicomic horror for me, and one of my favorite films in a line of wonderful genre films shot in the most troubled and bitter times of Russia.