The Wild East

The Wild East (Russian: Дикий восток, Dikiy vostok, Dikij vostok) is a Russian-language film created in Kazakhstan shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union released in 1993. It was written and directed by Rashid Nugmanov and was inspired by The Magnificent Seven, an American remake of Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai.

Plot

In this version of the famous plot a group of midget circus runaways decide to form their own community to flee the chaos but come under attack from Mongolian motorcycling ruffians. In response, of course, midgets hire seven tough guys to defend them. The film was shown in many international film festivals as both a fun movie and an oddity. It was billed as "The Last Soviet Film."

Quotes

A notable quote is when the midget patriarch says "remember there is no sex in our country." The phrase is a quotation of a famous episode from the perestroika-era TV show US-Soviet Space Bridge hosted by Vladimir Pozner when an American asked a question about sex in the Soviet Union, and a Soviet lady (Russian: Людмила Иванова, Liudmila Ivanova) proudly answered "There is no sex in the USSR!" In fact, she said "There is no sex in the USSR... there is love", but the last words were cut off of the broadcast, as the show was not being aired live. This created a still-popular catchphrase. In the Soviet mindset the word "sex" was considered dirty by many—nearly synonymous with pornography.

External links

• The Wild East at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wild East, on New York Times