Fairytale thrash Whatever you say, the world has never seen. Now I know that even among the fairy tales (!!) there is a hard, ruthless thrash that tears down the roof and hits the ashes. Caution - when watching you may visit lethargic softening of the brain. “Flying ship” is a thing so reckless and miserable, just as cool and incredible. I think Ed Wood Jr., filming his “plan 9”, and did not suspect that over the years his brainchild will become a cult example of thrash fiction. But Ed Wood Jr., as well as Russ Meyer, Don Doler and many other creators of “bad taste” masterpieces could bite their elbows with envy, looking at what happened to the creators of “Flying Ship”. All these people did not even dream how to do thrash!
How to start dissecting this cuttlefish, from which side to approach it? Well, first of all, it's a fairy tale. Well, it's kind of a fairy tale. In fact, everything starts quite decently and within the expected limits. Titles in the old Russian style, plus even before that a kind of epigraph - the dedication of the film to the children of Moscow from the Ukrainian creators. Truly sounds like a message to Earthlings from an alien mind. However, in this similarity of phrases there is definitely a rational grain. Where were we? Oh, yeah, we found out it was a fairy tale. This is where the rules of the game end. It would seem that one can expect something “second”, “third”, in order to establish at least some more limits of what is allowed, to outline some additional facets. But no, what follows is what is called a free flight of fantasy. The fantasy is wild.
I would not like to seem banal, making assumptions about what the creators of the “Flying Ship” could smoke, but as if there was no other way out. I doubt a man in his right mind could do such a thing. No, not to create something like that, but to create it like that. About such with assumptions and stretches can be forgiven and understood - the idea of the directors is basically good and quite peaceful. The little brother, having discovered the heroic power in himself, goes to rescue his sister from the captivity of the villain. The path is ahead, of course, not close and full of dangers. It's kind of a general canvas. What exactly is included in it needs to be analyzed in more detail.
One of the features of the film is that it is shot in the pavilion scenery. This in itself is strange and unusual, because we remember that it is “like a fairy tale”. But for a fairy tale (at least for the Russian one), God himself ordered to use full-scale surveys - dense forest, fields and meadows, groves and expanses of plains, paths and clearings, swamps, streams and rivers. This is all ours, Russian, original! All this is very characteristic of Russian fairy tale production. Take, for example, the works of B. Krytsarev, G. Vasiliev, M. Yuzovsky and others. And about the titans-fairytale writers A. Ptushko and A. Rowe, I am generally silent – it is impossible to imagine that they filmed a fairy tale, as they say, within four walls. But the creators of “Flying Ship” decided to go a different way and cut off all the real, living, natural in the environment of the film. Well, I have to admit there's some originality here. I don’t know what was dictated by this decision: it was the director’s idea, or limited budget (this fact is beyond doubt), but what is that – 63 minutes of the film we live in a world created by wild fantasy. It is curious that in this world the backgrounds of the scenery for some reason often resemble the works of Nicholas Roerich.
As for the main elements of the scenery - trees, flowers, roads, mountains and other things, they were clearly created according to the formulas "better easier and better", "long live bad taste", as well as "give squalor to the masses." However, like the images of the main characters of the picture, they clearly also sewed and concealed themselves according to these dubious postulates. In the film you will hardly see, for example, the crowns of trees (well, with rare and very symbolic exceptions). Just because they don’t exist at all! Why spend money on the creation of a fake tree crown, it is easier to make an imitation of a trunk height of one and a half to two meters, and film it - still the camera will not go on a trajectory up. Which in principle was done. Unbelievable paths in the forest (as well as the forest itself), “thin and naked” flowers and indistinct shrubs – all this frightens with dead static. The environment in the film is safely put into a state of stasis by the diligent efforts of the creators of “Flying Ship”. The hand-making (and clumsiness) of the surrounding environment loudly declares itself and insults my sense of beauty.
The main little character of the picture is called Kotigoroshko, and the directors, apparently, likened him to nothing less than Hercules himself! Let me explain: in one of the episodes of the film, the young hero Kotigoroshko climbs the path among the stones and suddenly finds himself on a kind of platform. The monolith of the mountain opens to his eyes, and an adult uncle is chained to the mountain. This is also a hero, and beside him on a stone sits a vulture, clearly intending to do something with the immobilized martyr. For example, to bite an organ. In general, analogies with ancient Greek mythology are obvious to me.
Perhaps we should touch a little and the main characters – who are they, what they are doing there and how did they get caught? But I’m even afraid to start giving some characteristics and try to do a physiognomic analysis (and there’s a lot to see!). It is better to watch the film and marvel at the variety, agility and fertility of the fantasic twists of the filmmakers. There are plenty of actors here, and I can assure you that you have never seen so many ghouls accumulated in one place. What is worth, for example, the brother of the Snake is a strange freak, with all his appearance seemingly saying that he is a rocker ... but no, he does not even pretend to this place. He, by the way, is very weak physically and in a fight with Kotigoroshko out of breath after two or three strokes of the sword, then became none at all, and in the end absurdly killed himself, clumsyly falling on his own sword set up by his own hands. Yes, as they say, without comment.
Particularly prepare for viewing should be people for whom landscape studies (however, like topography) is a profession, or a great hobby. You will see a lot new and unusual, especially from those angles, when Kotigoroshko soars on his flying ship. An extravaganza of absurdity, defectiveness and tastelessness. The clumsy adventures of a strange little hero in no less strange surroundings. Refined fabulous thrash!
7.5 out of 10