I am categorically not close to the emigrant suffering of Jewish Georgians, Georgian Jews, and other relocant-concerned public. The man in this story got into a difficult life situation, and it does not matter what by his own sloppiness, so he is sincerely sorry. I would not wish that on anyone.
In terms of humor, the film can only be called a sad comedy. Some curious situations every time you involuntarily try on yourself, and it looks not at all fun.
In the film, many star Soviet actors play skillfully. All sorts of swindlers are brilliantly shown, and the atmosphere of a rather cruel capitalist society is convincingly created, with many insidious traps and a monetary price tag on everything. Also, the red line is the idea of the need for connections and acquaintances, which often mean much more than any money.
The best character in this film is the elderly father of two brothers. I really liked it.
Special. Perhaps the film was made to contain the leakage of Jewish brains ... organisms abroad, which was particularly violent at the time. On the other hand, the demonstration of the comfortable life of Jewish inhabitants abroad may have been aimed at stimulating the desire to leave for the “promised land”. State policy was then extremely independent, so they were created without clear ideological guidelines, and, unfortunately, more often with a focus to spoil their native country. Fortunately, at least I didn’t catch this trend here, the film is definitely not anti-Russian. Somewhere even patriotic, showing the constant emotional pain of feeling a strong mental connection with a recently lost homeland.
Conclusion. A sad adventure comedy about a Russian emigrant involuntarily. Today, the film does not look relevant, therefore, not shot “for all time”. I wouldn't have lost anything if I hadn't looked. He paid tribute to Danelia. It is definitely a strong, high-quality film made by a great master. But it'd be better if it was just a comedy than that. . .
This movie has been in my bookmarks for about five years and it is not for nothing that I just watched it.
I look at it all and get sad.
'Here man to man wolf', said Yankovsky's hero. This is probably the most memorable character I remember. As Jews walked the world without their land, Russians went abroad in search of a better life, and who they were not. I would call it ' a man without a tribe' wants to be like everyone else, but always a stranger.
It's probably a film about a transition period where we're not there yet, but we're not here anymore. Appreciate the wordplay.
It's sad. It's nostalgia for the unattainable. Is that where we wanted to go? Beautiful wrapper and completely empty inside.
A wonderful movie, bizarrely combining comedy and human drama
I really liked the film, although I can not say that this is a funny film that gives a charge of cheerfulness and positive, as they wrote here earlier.
It really starts out as a good comedy - there's a lot to laugh at. Probably, no one better than Danelia is not able to reflect the Georgian flavor, national traditions, jokes, etc.
But the further, the more this film turns into a drama of a man who, it would seem, did nothing so bad.
That’s how the desire to buy champagne to escort his brother leads the main character to the fact that he becomes an illegal abroad, who is then accused of espionage and finally put in prison. More than once. ..
Gerard Darmont looks amazing in the role of the main character - I do not believe that he is French, so well he plays the role of a Georgian.
Burnt prohindey Borya, played by Yankovsky, is absolutely incomparable.
The small role of Leonov is a pity, although he performed it, as always convincingly.
Semyon Kline - Dzhigarkhanyan - will probably argue with the main character for the best role in this film. It was so beautifully and beautifully played.
Some praise for the shooting, everything is very realistic.
Of course, the film has some features that will be difficult for the younger generation to understand, but it is still a film about eternal values and problems. And I think it will make it relevant now and in the future.
Highly recommended for viewing.
His father had two sons, one from a Georgian woman, Merab, and the other from a Jewish woman, Jacob. They look like two drops. Jacob’s decision to go to Israel eventually turned into an odyssey by Merab. I just wanted to buy a bottle of champagne. . .
For some unknown reason, the Passport was appreciated by both viewers and critics significantly below most of his works. But now it seems that the advantages and disadvantages of the film itself have an indirect relationship. Just Georgy Alexandrovich managed not to get into the trend - either late, or did not want to have time, but against the background of the mass exodus abroad of the Soviet intelligentsia, his film looks patriotic opposition. First, because Israel, which the same intellectuals idealized (as part of the West, among other things), Danelia is not showing the best side. Secondly, he rather declares Georgia and Siberia as the promised land (through and touching plot of Semyon Kline in the person of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan).
Nevertheless, it was in the Passport that the director best reflected the tornness of the homeland - just before the collapse of the USSR. Both Georgians, Jews, and Russians scattered around the world and were alienated from their land. In this sense, the Russian Georgian Danelia now seems to be a prophet of resistance to globalization, the face of which became the cynical urka Borya in a very convincing performance of Oleg Yankovsky (is there a prophecy here?), who has references to all occasions and places he finds the right, but not his native. . .
Of course, you can make claims to the script, which is slightly sinned by simplifications (probably because of the French producers, who wanted to please the undemanding audience) and almost operetically twists of the plot, the seemingly faint play of Gerard Darmont (although it is good for me), but for some reason it is the Passport that hurts the heart. It may be sentimental, but ordinary films do not touch a tear.
P.s. We mean that it is difficult for the modern generation to understand the collisions of the film - we need cultural baggage, at least at the level of general ideas about Islam and Judaism, Arabs and Jews, spymania and some Soviet realities.
On the eve of perestroika (by that time already rapidly escalated into a shootout and approaching its historical finale in the form of the collapse of the USSR), Soviet cinema was experiencing the same deep and systemic illness as the whole of society.
Cinema, still “the most important of the arts for us,” could not remain aloof from the changes in society. Neither could the three main Soviet comediographers - Gaidai, Ryazanov, Danelia - who had already passed the zenith of their fame, but were still in good creative form.
Gaidai by that time definitely experienced a creative crisis, which began in the mid-70s (after Ivan Vasilyevich's killer hits, the main comediographer of Soviet cinema did not give - "Sport Lotto-82" or "Can't be" could not be compared with the triumphs of "Caucasian Prisoner" or "Diamond Hand"). Perestroika buffoonades “Operation Cooperation” and “Good Weather on Deribasovskaya”, although they did not fall to the level of the “co-operative cinema” that loathed then (Gaidai’s talent nevertheless prevented such a fall), and failures in general cannot be considered – especially against the background of what was then filmed in the genre of comedy as a whole – but they did not become masterpieces either.
Ryazanov – the most politicized and “rebuilt” of the trio of creators of Soviet comedies – went a somewhat different way, deciding to pamper the viewer with the philosophical and symbolic (again in the entourage of perestroika – where you can get away from it) comedy “The Promised Heaven”. And again, the film did not become a failure, but it could not go on a par with Garage or Beware of the Car.
Danelia - the saddest and somewhat tragic of all Soviet comedy directors - was perhaps in the most advantageous position among the Big Three. Laughter through tears – so characteristic of his comedies, shot in peacetime – from “Thirty-three” to “Autumn marathon” and prophetic “Kin Dza Dza” – became for many years the most popular type of humor in a crumbling country. And it is no coincidence that the most talented perestroika comedy of those presented to the single Soviet people, which is going into historical oblivion, its main filmmakers became Passport.
Of all Danelia’s comedies, Passport is the hardest to attribute to this genre. In terms of which half of the word "tragicomic" dominates in the film, with "Passport" can compete on equal terms, except that "Autumn Marathon". At the same time, the viewer is particularly struck by the fact that Danelia once again manages to show how dizzyingly short sometimes the path is not a special agent (for whom the main character will then safely take the whole film) or a special forces officer, but an ordinary man in the street from the usual routine to the situation of thriller intensity (the scene of Merab throwing at the airport is one of the most hopeless if not in world, then in Soviet cinema for sure). The technique used by Danelia in "Kin-Dza-Dza" (the memorable Lyubshyn "Wow - went for pasta"). But now this is not a fantastic situation with moving to another planet because of the inherent compatriots “maybe” with technology, but a drama that is quite realizable in the conditions of timeless domestic bureaucracy, to which even an innocent prank with crossing the border “for a minute for champagne” can lead.
Daneliya made history because it was the first Soviet film about Israel and Soviet emigration there. At the same time, the unenthusiastic, to put it mildly, attitude to foreign countries (and Israel in the eyes of the Soviet people, and the whole world - a part of the West) sharply distinguishes it from the shaft of the then film and other cultural products, which created an icon from the West for the Soviet people who were no longer hungry culturally, but literally. Especially risky in the eyes of the then democratic public was such a cool portrayal of Israel. Although “the airport gave me a hundred shekels”, but the aura of alienation surrounding the hero, when “it turns out” that Yashin’s brother is not something that is not a Jew, but also a “KGB agent”, forms in the viewer still not painfully enthusiastic image of the “promised land”. For such a “front” Danelia required a kind of nonconformism. To the then rulers of the Duma, many of whom had previously avoided filling out the fifth column correctly in the questionnaire (for those born “after the USSR” – it indicated nationality), and since the late 80s they did not get out of Israeli tours and in every possible way sought at least a blood, though ideological kinship with the “promised land”, such an interpretation of the image of Israel and Israelis, as in “Passport”, could well seem almost anti-Semitism.
In addition to the original and truly exciting plot, the picture stands out among contemporaries and a brilliant acting. I don’t want to go into comparison again, but you probably won’t get away from them. Neither Gaidai in “Deribasovskaya”, nor Ryazanov in “Heaven”, I, no matter how I try, can not find such a convincing game in the real actor constellation, traditionally collected both in their paintings. Somewhere grotesqueness is felt in them even among great artists. I can't say anything like that about "Passport."
Starting with the main role of the Frenchman Gerard Darmont, who so perfectly fit into the Georgian type that today many can not believe the word that plays not Georgian. I remember that in the late 90s I helped a friend to win French perfumes from one such non-believer Thomas, who rashly bet with her that this “one hundred percent Georgian” could not be French (a fact that struck me at one time). Despite the fact that Darmont was imposed by the French co-producers of the film (thank you!), who certainly demanded a leading role for the French actor and did not let the then-beginning Nicolas Cage (!).
Very good A. Dzhigarkhanyan in the role of Senya. One of his best roles, albeit secondary, plays, in my opinion, O. Yankovsky. His adventurer Borya, appears in the image of a semi-criminal late Soviet scoundrel, with a lot of dollars going to play for the cordon; then an “orthodox Jew” with a menorah under his arm; then in an Arab burnus on a convertible collapsing with a “Persian mat” – every appearance in the picture is remembered.
N. Gundareva in the role of bitch (she did not play the others in Danelia) Inga - the wife of Yakov is extremely convincing - generally noticed that such female types of Danelia are successful.
Even actors little known to the Soviet audience like Y. Ben-Sir (Uncle Izya) and K. Sullivan (journalist Jane) are bright and memorable in their non-main roles.
"Merab, find Uncle Izu! He'll do anything! He's already done everything.
And of course, the magnificent music of G. Kancheli – the card of Danelia’s paintings here is as good as anywhere else.
The transformation of Yakov Papashvili, who saw the world in a couple of years, from a radiant young and optimistic guy at the beginning of the picture to a gray old man at the end of it, in its own way is a warning for the entire former Soviet society, which dreamed so much of Western life at that time and rethinked so much over the next decades.
One of the best films of Danelia and, perhaps, the best Soviet tragicomedy of the time of perestroika.
10 out of 10
A collection of classic jokes with a note of longing for the homeland
It is difficult to imagine a person whom the work of Danelia would leave indifferent. A beautiful film, touching and funny, the perfect combination. In addition, the film crew clearly tried to find the most beautiful angles and frames, for which the creator is a special thank you. The film gives the viewer not only pleasure from great jokes and situations in the spirit of good old jokes, but also aesthetic. Lovers of the search for meanings also have something to profit from - but I personally oppose this approach to frank comedies.
What I want to say about the anecdote: the anecdotes in the film range from classic Jewish and Georgian to Stirlitz anecdotes (for example, the scene in the cockpit of a truck, when the police stop cheering heroes). I would like to say that Stirlitz was never so close to failure.
From that point on, by the way, the perception of the film changes a little. The adventures of the hero cease to be perceived as funny, because truly sad events begin to occur. However, they are not realized as such, as they hide behind jokes and the belief that everything will end according to the laws of the genre: positive.
This feeling is more and more visible as you approach the final, and in the last frames it is exposed. There's no room for humor. I want to say that Danelia built the film in such a way that the strongest emotions came from the last shots. This sharpens the impression, contrasting the hour and a half exaltation of Russian longing. You cannot even say that you sympathize with the hero who could not return to his homeland - you experience your own individual emotion, your own longing.
To sum it up, Passport is the best film of its time. Such films create the face of world cinema.
He took on the filmography of George Danelia. I really like Kapali’s Tears, the Autumn Marathon. I decided to go through less popular tapes. I'm not disappointed. Everything is subtle, with a twist, in every note of sadness and a lot of comedy. That taste of tragicomedy that suits me. I want to say it again and again. I don’t like it systematically, in chronological order. In the mood, open the list, follow the momentary wish. Today the choice fell on the passport.
The balance of sadness and joy is a little disturbed, in my understanding, of course. I felt something like that. When no one hears your truth, when no one believes in your sincerity. When everyone's just about themselves. In a foreign city, in a foreign country, among people. Always alone. I really liked that Danelia didn’t have one. That there are other people who are able to feel, to see through the murky prism of the universal lies that we put on each other every day. When it seems like there's no way out. When your options are exhausted.
But they are exhausted in themselves, but not in the real person who is just waiting to help you make the right choice. Whether it is a journalist, not in pursuit of sensation, but following the impulse, finds this thread in the lost tangle of fate. Was he lost? Or an old scout languishing with the heat, unable to cope with the death of his wife. When you leave thoughts of self-interest behind and allow compassion to do a noble thing with your own hands, then the idea of a real person lives on in the eyes of others. Isn’t that the thing to keep going regardless of the problems in your life? Thank you to Georgy Danelia for the wonderful story that keeps the hope of sincerity in me. It's a movie, but why would I tell myself that life is always worse?
A masterpiece, amazingly piercing, touching and sad film. Danelia’s best movie after Mimino, I always want to review and discover everything new and new. Cinema is incredibly catchy and grabs the soul. The hero got into an absurd situation, but this is not funny at all, but rather the opposite. Merab went through many trials, finding himself in an unenviable position. Every time I watch this great movie, I feel the same emotions as the first time, which suggests that the film is a masterpiece for centuries. From different bright, intelligent and imbued with love moments woven this film.
I love the moment when Senya dies. And before that, he hands the ring to the main character and then says again: "In the next world, see you, there are no boundaries ". This is the main idea of the film, this is where everything is. Danelia showed what ordinary boundaries can do to a person. You need to look carefully and catch everything that the creator of the picture wanted to say. And most importantly, he looked into the water, because a little later the USSR collapsed.
The finale is especially great when Merab says, "Don't shoot me, brothers!" and the credits come.
How could you make such films! You are amazed at the skill of the people who worked here. The cast is just on the lookout, you do not even know who to celebrate, because everyone played perfectly, but still I will take the courage and highlight the game of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, the hero is a deeply tragic figure, it was sincerely sorry for him.
In short, you can argue and talk about this film a lot, but you understand that this will never be removed again and it remains only to review.
10 out of 10
Recipe for cheerfulness and optimism from George Danelia!
Do you want to prolong your life? Watch the movie Passport. I’ve heard a lot about this picture, but somehow I couldn’t watch it or managed to capture some pieces and episodes on TV. But here it is. I looked from cover to cover. Wow, what a great movie. A film that has absolutely no drawbacks, just no and that’s all. Moreover, it is made in such a way that dialogue, music, Russian wonderful actors, and there are many of them, have created such a canvas, from which you can not take your eyes off. Well, the main director of this refined exquisite dish for gourmets George Danelia!
From the first seconds, Danelia takes the bull by the horns.
- Taxis free?
The taxi is busy, but my heart is free.
There are many brothers and sisters in the world, but Merab and Yasha are a separate life symphony. They're twins. And all would have been well, do not dare Yasha at the instigation of his wife (Natalia Gundareva) to go to the Promised Land for permanent residence. The father of the brothers is against it, but if a woman gets caught in her head, so be it. That's what Grandpa's upset about.
- Grandpa, what should I send you?
- Atomic bomb.
And then Georgia Danelia gives us a feeling of all the charms of Soviet life. People at the airport want to drink champagne. But people live according to the principle: when you can’t, but you really want, you can. Here is Merab, turning on Russian-Georgian savvy and went for champagne. Yes, so went that he managed to visit different countries during his campaign and returned home a little alive. Incredible adventures in which when watching you risk tearing your stomach from laughter, honestly! Isn't the scene on the train emotionally beautiful?
- Have you seen the blue bag?
- Yeah, I threw it away.
How did you get out of your mind?
There was nothing there, there were stones.
- Pebbles? I took this Georgian land as a memory.
Do you want to go to prison?
My dear, my brother is leaving for Israel forever, they forgot to take his native land.
You, the son of a donkey, are rubble from Astrakhan.
From such luxurious and chic dialogue woven this film. What kind of musical accompaniment? Here you have Georgian music, absolutely charming and beautiful, here you have Jewish motives. Whatever your heart desires. And on the snack role of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.
Yeah, that's right. Danelia created a special genre with his films. Although, now I think: are Parajanov, Muratova, Tarkovsky not separate genres? Or Woody Allen? Perhaps a real artist is almost always his genre.
Yesterday I looked and thought: how understandable and close we are with Georgians. Of course, with all the national characteristics, and yet. Does anyone in the world understand the films of Danelia and other great Georgians, Ioseliani, as well as in Russia? The other day I watched the Tree of Desire and caught myself thinking that everything would be clear without translation.
These centuries and decades of coexistence of cultures, common heroes, common sorrows and tragedies.
Or the Soviet years: a Jew working in a freezer in Israel to resemble Omsk; a Georgian with a Russian dipping a doorman into a pool, etc. Say, they say, the scoop - it is, of course, common, the same. But geniuses often see a little further. And "Kin-dza-dza" visionarily showed in the 86th year our future and partly already the present: Etselopov, tsaki, yellow pants, Bae Je- and so it is better than the scoop. In addition, the average so-called "sovok" read Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, made planes that fly, albeit poorly, but until now, discovered all these Samotlors, which later enriched the country and then its individual citizens. The current discrepancy, apart from the opening of the phrases "wow!" and "casual", by and large did nothing. And that's sad. So let's not cook the scoop.
I made the film and once again think that the Russians still do not have their own Sakartvelo, as well as Israel - for the Jews, strangers are still on their own, or no longer their own, land, skillfully divided on estates by new chatlans shuval, yard, deripaska, etc.
However, there is an area where racketeering pens cannot get in: Russian, Russian, Georgian culture, part of which is Danelia and this wonderful film.
A comedy that is actually a drama. So is our life. Living it, we go mad, despair, fear, cry, worry, give up... Looking back, it seems so normal. It was as if all this was not with us.
Great movie. Someone, but I haven't forgotten him. I watched a few times as a child. But then it was an adventure movie for me, now I watch it with a different feeling.
P.S. What distinguishes a good movie from a good one? The fact that when you have already watched it and know everything, but the second and subsequent time you look with such tension, as if for the first time.
I once again watched the film “Passport” by George Danelia. Danelia is a genius!
How much spirituality, sincerity, humor...
And what amazing Georgians... Open, kind, hot, decent, cheerful, respecting the family, traditions and parents.
Although it seems that this film is just a comedy, but it is only partly a comedy. A film about goodness, honesty, strength of spirit, openness, joy of life. Georgia is a country where these qualities are most manifested in people. (I remember a phrase from the movie Married Bachelor:) You're a knight, Genatsvale! In Georgia, everyone is a knight. . . )