Virgo V
Khrustalyov, My Car! is a 1998 Russian comedy-drama film directed by Aleksei German and written by German and Svetlana Karmalita. It was produced by Canal+, CNC, Goskino, Lenfilm and VGTRK.
The film premiered at the 51st Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1998 as part of the main competition for the Palme d'Or award. During the Cannes premiere of Khrustalyov, My Car!, numerous critics walked out of the screening in disapproval due to its obtuse narrative and lengthy "unfunny" scenes of visual satire.
However, film director Martin Scorsese, the jury president for Cannes in 1998, considered it to be the best film in the festival that year.
Tara Brady of The Irish Times gave it four out of five stars, stating that "People come and go without introduction or elucidation. All of them are in keeping with the Soviet auteur’s grim view of humanity."
"Khrustalyov, My Car!" is praised for its powerful and unsettling portrayal of the paranoia and chaos that engulfed Moscow during Stalin's final days, achieved through its unique visual style, immersive atmosphere and a visceral exploration of the Soviet regime's dark underbelly, making it a disturbing yet captivating cinematic experience; particularly noteworthy is its masterful cinematography, strong performances and the bold choice to depict the historical period through a subjective, dreamlike lens. The film effectively captures the pervasive fear and suspicion of the era, immersing the viewer in the suffocating atmosphere of life under Stalin's rule.
Visually stunning cinematography
The film's aesthetic is highly stylized, with long takes, chaotic camera movements and striking imagery that contribute to the unsettling atmosphere.
Historical accuracy with artistic license
While not strictly a historical documentary, the film accurately reflects the events and anxieties surrounding Stalin's death, including the "Doctor's Plot" conspiracy.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/25
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Eithan D
It's a mush of godknowswhat with no coherent story. If you're high it'll be fun for a while as it's not dumb, just very surrealist
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/03/23
Full Review
Nawt W
Both a solemnly realistic recollection and a "what if" scenario that is stuffed with a thoroughly misguided victim complex of Aleksey German. As usual, there isn't any semblance of a plot; it's an outline, and even with the annotation in the beginning, for the first hour, you will not understand what is actually occurring. The second part of the movie picks up, probably because the scenes transition away from his usual structure of eavesdropping on abrupt conversations, where dialogue overlaps and the camera defiantly doesn't want to show who was talking without a significant lag. The pace of the dialogue is, naturally, completely deranged and only fully comprehensible when two people are talking.
If you feel that the sound is botched and appears to have been recorded in the other dimension, never fear, because German also knew that. He tried to make it way too complicated and basically create the entire ambience in post-production. But it didn't work. Obviously, it's not his fault. It's the plebs in the studio. Wonder why other movies from Russia in the 1990s barely had this problem?
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
nefasto r
As Bob Belcher once said: "It was long and boring and made me want to stop supporting the arts and start actively working against them."
Loved the quirkiness in some scenes, and the photography though. But that was not enough.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
walter m
In "Khrustalyov, My Car!" General Klensky(Yuriy Tsurilo) is the head of a mental hospital in the former Soviet Union. The insanity that he witnesses there carries over to his family life which is depicted in the same madcap and whirligig way.
What can be inferred is that this is set during the Stalinist reign of terror, replete with random people being disappeared right, left and center while it would take more information to identify everybody in Klensky's home to any satisfaction. There is also a key turning point in history that the movie treats in as matter of fact way as humanly possible. Which is the way history usually happens in real time. Except I'm sure the participants would have some feeling as to what was about to change, no matter what the movie may think. At least, it chooses the perfect moment to end on.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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