Kin-dza-dza!
| Kin-dza-dza! | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover |
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| Directed by | Georgiy Daneliya |
| Written by | Georgiy Daneliya Revaz Gabriadze |
| Starring | Stanislav Lyubshin Yevgeni Leonov Yury Yakovlev Levan Gabriadze |
| Music by | Gia Kancheli |
| Cinematography | Pavel Lebeshev |
| Editing by | Natalya Dobrunova |
| Distributed by | Sovexportfilm |
| Release date(s) | December 1, 1986 |
| Running time | 135 min. |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Kin-dza-dza! (Russian: Кин-дза-дза!, translit. Kin-dzah-dzah!) is a 1986 Soviet comedy-science fiction film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgiy Daneliya, with a story by Georgiy Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze. The movie was filmed in color, consists of two parts and runs for 135 minutes in total.
The film is a dark and grotesque parody of human society and may be described as a dystopia. It depicts a desert planet, depleted of its resources, home to an impoverished dog-eat-dog society with extreme inequality and oppression. It was a cult film in the Soviet Union, and its humorous dialogues were frequently quoted.
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[edit] Plot
The story takes place on the desert planet "Pluke" in the "Kin-dza-dza" galaxy, where two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other ("Uncle Vova", a gruff construction foreman from Moscow Vladimir Moshkov, and "The Fiddler", a student from Georgia Gedevan Aleksidze) are stranded due to an accidental encounter with an alien teleportation device. The movie describes their long quest to find a way back home.
The natives of the planet appear human, with deceptively primitive-looking technology and a barbaric culture, which satirically resembles that of humans. They are telepathic; the only spoken words normally used in their culture are “ku” (koo) and “kyu” (kew), the latter being a swear word. However, the Plukanians are able to quickly adapt to understand and speak Russian (and Georgian too). The society of Pluke is divided into two categories: Chatlanians and Patsaks. Chatlanians are privileged, and a system of rituals must be followed by the Patsaks to show flattery. The basis of their difference is unexplainable (a source of a humorous episode), and for all practical matters they are distinguished with aid of a small handheld device (visator). It is also noted that the social differences between Patsaks and Chatlanians are not constant: Pluke being a Chatlanian planet, they are privileged there; but there are Patsak planets where Patsaks hold the upper hand and Chatlanians are subservient. Wef and Bi switch their social roles immediately and without any problems when visiting one such planet.
The only group empowered to use weapons (“tranklucators”) and enforce their will is the ecilops ("police" spelled backwards). The nominal leader of the Plukanian society is named PG; everybody makes their best to display fervent worship to him and disrespect is severely punished; but, when encountered in person, PG appears harmless and dumb. The fuel of Pluke is called lutz and is made from water. All naturally present water has apparently been processed into lutz, so drinking water is a valuable commodity (in fact, it can only be made from lutz).
A good deal of the plot is based on the fact that ordinary wooden matchsticks (ketse) (or, rather, the chemicals of the match head) are considered to be extremely valuable on Pluke.
[edit] Plukanian language
- Ketseh (pronounced "keh-tseh") — matches (or, rather, the chemicals ordinarily used on Earth for match heads)
- Chutle — a currency unit
- Tsuk — a small bell worn on the nose to indicate the low social status of the wearer
- Tentura and Antitentura — two opposite parts of the Universe. Some planets and galaxies exist in Tentura and some (including Earth) in Antitentura
- Pepelatz — an interplanetary spacecraft (from the Georgian word "pepela" for butterfly)
- Tsapa — a component for different machines. A big tsapa is a very important component for the pepelatz. A small tsapa is a component for the gravitsapa; without the small tsapa, a gravitsapa will not work. Tsapa is similar to a very rusty screwnut
- Gravitsapa — a component for the pepelatz which allows intergalactic travel (from 'gravity' + 'tsapa')
- Tranklucator — a weapon
- Visator — compact device, detects difference between Patsaks and Chatlanians
- Kappa — a button or lever
- Lutz — the fuel used by the pepelatz, it is made of water
- Ecilop — a policeman ("police" spoken backwards)
- Ecikh — a box for prisoners; also the imprisonment in such box (as a penalty); also the Ecikh is a jail with many such boxes ("Ecikh" is from the Georgian word "tsikhe" for prison, castle). Ecikh with nails is extremely hard punishment
- Kyu (pronounced kyew) — a socially acceptable curse
- Koo — All other words
[edit] Video
The movie has been released on DVD in Russia but has gained virtually no notice elsewhere, with the exception of Japan. This is largely due to the fact that there was no official release of the movie with English subtitles for a long time.
In 2005 RUSCICO (Russian Cinema Council) released a version with Russian original sound and with English and French dubbing, It has also subtitles in English and other languages.[1]
[edit] Cast (in order of appearance)
- Stanislav Lyubshin as Vladimir Nikolayevich Mashkov (Uncle Vova (or "Mister Vova"))
- Galina Daneliya-Yurkova as Lyudmila (Lucya), the Mashkov's wife
- Levan Gabriadze as Gedevan Alexandrovich Alexidze (The Fiddler)
- Anatoli Serenko as the Barefoot Wanderer from Uzm
- Yury Yakovlev as Bi the Patsak, a wandering singer
- Yevgeny Leonov as Wef the Chatlanian, a wandering singer
- ? as one-handed smuggler with a mini tranklucator
- ? (Tatyana Proshina?) as female smuggler with a mini tranklucator, girlfriend of the gang leader
- Alexander Litovkin as the gang leader
- Valentin Bukin as black-moustached ecilop in an egg-shaped pepelatz, demonstrating how a tranklucator works
- Irina Shmelyova as Tsan, the cart driver (tachanka-driving woman, a wandering singer and dancer)
- Lev Perfilov as Kyrr, the dissident Chatlanian with a tranklucator
- Nina Ruslanova as Galina Borisovna, the vice-dean
- Yuri Voronkov as bearded Chatlanian, leader of the "Children of the Sun" sect (later seen in the subway train, pretending to be a Patsak)
- Olesya Ivanova as cage-banging white sectarian woman
- Lyudmila Solodenko as sand-throwing black sectarian girl
- Vitali Leonov as Shorty (from the sect)
- Nikolai Garo as Lord PG
- Igor Bogolyubov as Lord PG's Personal Patsak
- Victor Marenkov as Patsak, wearing a coil pipe for a mask and working as watchman
- Aleksandr Gorbachyov as grey-moustached elderly ecilop in an egg-shaped pepelatz, who will want "40 chatles" and "immediately press the kappa" in a scene later
- Yelena Mashkova-Sulakadze as watchman's wife (redheaded Patsak woman in the trapdoor)
- Gennady B.Ivanov as black ecilop, guarding the underground communications
- Aleksandra Dorokhina as colossal Chatlanian woman, working as attendant in the subway station
- Victor Makhmutov as the red-headed Chatlanian
- Vladimir Fyodorov as Mr. Yellow Pants
- Yelena Antonova as Mr. Yellow Pants' girlfriend
- Tatyana Novitskaya as an employee in the planetarium
- Yuri Naumtsev as the judge
- Gennady Yalovich as secret agent
- Veronica Izotova as the gang leader's female Chatlanian slave, wearing a collar
- Vladimir Razumovsky as ecilop with muzzles
- Nina Ter-Osipian as Lord PG's noble mother
- Harri Schweitz as Lord PG's 1st bodyguard (bearded fatman)
- Valentin Golubenko as Lord PG's 2nd bodyguard (long-nosed powerman)
- Oleg Matveyev as Lord PG's 3rd bodyguard (young man wearing gloves)
- Olga Mashnaya as Dekont (from the planet Alpha)
- Georgiy Daneliya as Abradox (from the planet Alpha)
- Varvara Vladimirova as young Alphian mother
- Anya Andriyanova as little blonde Alphian girl
[edit] Animated version
An animated version of the same story, named Kin-dza-dza-dza!, is being made in Russia, and is planned for release in Summer 2011. This version will be targeted more at children and the international audience. Work began on February 12, 2005, and it has a budget of 140 million rubles.[2] The finished film is expected to be 100 minutes long.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Kin-dza-dza! at AllRovi
- Kin-dza-dza! at the Internet Movie Database
- Kin-dza-dza-dza! (animated film) at the Russian wikipedia
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