Film Name: 鼻子，或异见者的阴谋 / os ili zagovor netakikh / The Nose or Conspiracy of Mavericks / НОС, ИЛИ ЗАГОВОР “НЕ ТАКИХ”
The film borrows from Gogol’s novel and Shostakovich’s opera The Nose, employing highly imaginative symbols and vibrant animation techniques to satirize the political and social landscape of early 20th-century Soviet Union. The narrative begins with live-action scenes aboard an airplane, transitioning from the in-flight screen to a theater screen. Through a series of nested screens, the story sketches out diverse scenes and temporal dimensions. Despite its strong political undertones—featuring depictions of Soviet and Russian leaders like Stalin and Putin—the film’s unparalleled artistic depth remains undeniable.
It satirizes Stalin’s dictatorship and his persecution of art. Notably, it borrows the true story of Stalin’s conflict with writer Bulgakov to reveal the tragedy of an era. Russian animation director Khronovsky, defying his age, threw himself wholeheartedly into experimental animation when he released this film at the age of 80. This culmination of his creative genius synthesizes the musical genius of Shostakovich, the prose of Gogol, the memoirs of Bulgakov, and the oil paintings of Filonov—incorporating the works and styles of multiple iconic Soviet and Russian artists who profoundly shaped the director’s artistic evolution.
The film’s diverse styles—oil paintings, stop-motion, traditional hand-drawn 2D animation—are interspersed with posters and avant-garde art bursting onto the screen. Its highly ironic characters and imagery convey profound meaning, shattering conventional thinking and transcending viewers’ prior knowledge. Opera serves as the film’s primary soundtrack throughout, embodying the profound allure of art intertwining with art.
The film intertwines the opera The Nose with Stalin’s regime, progressively unfolding through three dreams that simultaneously evoke both the historical authenticity and nightmarish quality of this era. On the plane, artists who share the director’s vision transcend the dreamscape defined by the screen, reuniting once more. This aircraft is a vessel to heaven, a vessel to eternal life. These individuals and this chapter of history will be remembered.
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