SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018:
- The exhibition of
Modernism without Manifestoes, Chapter 2: Leningradat the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. A reclaiming of the experimentation that was bubbling under during the Stalinist and post-Stalinist periods. - The doppelgänger thriller Selfie by Nikolay Khomerki from last February. A Russian film noir with a fine wintry ambience. Trailer (English subtitles) here. My review here.
- Lena Katina (ex tATu) live at Mummytroll in March (reviewed below in tATu retrospective) in which she showcased her single `Silent Hills` in which she takes a promising new `Adult Oriented pop` direction.
- The release of Rusalka: Lake of the Dead last July. This confirmed that Svyatoslav Podgaevsky – after Queen of Spades and The Bride is becoming the new standard-bearer of Russian Horror cinema – and is revitalising old Slavic folk myths to do so. (I intend to review this director’s films in unison soon). Trailer dubbed into English here.
- The announcement that Dmitry Gudkov is to join forces with Ksenia Sobchak to form a new political party – The Party of Changes. (Although it remains to be seen what their full platform is going to be).
- The introduction of the dark writings of Leonid Andreyev to the Anglophone world via the Publication of The Abyss and Other Stories (Translated by Hugh Alpin) by Alma Classics. The Silver Age of Russian Literature can now be appreciated anew.
Some things to come:
- It looks set to be a good year for Russian cinema. In science fiction we have Coma and the Gemini Project and Attraction 2 to look forward to. In horror there is The Stray, Dawn, a sequel to Queen of Spades and Svyatoslav Podgaevsky’s latest Yaga: Nightmare in the Forest. The cable car disaster movie Breakaway looks very promising too.
- A review of the Rayonnist Mikhail Larionov at the New Tretyakov.
- And the fabulous Swan Lake at the…NAH!