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Happy Days
Счастливые дни
1991 86 min Soviet Union 16+
★7.0
Drama
Director: Aleksey Balabanov
Trailers
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Description
An unnamed hero roaming the streets of St Petersburg is befriended by a beggar with a donkey and a slightly deranged prostitute.
Starring
Viktor Sukhorukov
Actor
Anzhelika Nevolina
Actor
Evgeniy Merkurev
Actor
Key opinion
Balabanov's debut is a polarizing, atmospheric work that translates Samuel Beckett's absurdist existentialism into the decaying, post-Soviet landscape of St. Petersburg. While praised by many for its visual poetry, unique directorial voice, and Viktor Sukhorukov's compelling performance, others find the film's nihilistic, dreamlike structure inaccessible or pretentious.
| Acting | Viktor Sukhorukov delivers a brilliant, nuanced performance that captures the vulnerability and disorientation of the nameless protagonist. | |
| Adaptation | Balabanov successfully translates Beckett-inspired absurdism into a distinct, grim Russian visual aesthetic, utilizing haunting Petersburg panoramas and symbolic black-and-white cinematography. | |
| Score | The musical score, featuring poignant refrains and symbolic dissonance, effectively enhances the film's dreamlike and melancholic atmosphere. | |
| Pacing | The film features a deliberate, slow-paced, and surreal narrative that draws viewers into a contemplative state but frustrates those expecting a traditional, plot-driven experience. | |
| Ending | The bleak, open-ended finale, which offers no resolution to the protagonist's suffering or search for home, is viewed by some as profound and by others as disjointed or pointless. |