Kin-dza-dza!
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| Kin-dza-dza! | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover |
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| Directed by | Georgi Daneliya |
| Written by | Georgi Daneliya Revaz Gabriadze |
| Starring | Stanislav Lyubshin Yevgeni Leonov Yury Yakovlev |
| Music by | Gia Kancheli |
| Cinematography | Pavel Lebeshev |
| Editing by | Natalya Dobrunova |
| Distributed by | Sovexportfilm |
| Release date(s) | 1986, 1 December  Soviet Union |
| Running time | 135 min. |
| Language | Georgian/Russian |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Kin-dza-dza! (Кин-дза-дза! in Russian, pronounced "Kin-dzah-dzah") was a 1986 Soviet dystopian comedy/science fiction film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgi Danelia, with a story by Georgi Danelia and Revaz Gabriadze. The movie was filmed in color, consists of two parts and runs for 135 minutes in total. It is a cult film, especially among Russians, and its humorous dialogue is frequently quoted in that country.
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[edit] Plot
The story takes place on the desert planet "Pluk" in the "Kin-dza-dza" galaxy, where two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other ("Uncle Vova", a gruff construction foreman from Moscow, and "The Fiddler", a student from Georgia) 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, they are able to quickly adapt to understand and speak Russian. The society of Pluk 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).
The only group empowered to use weapons (“tranklukators”) and enforce their will is the ecilops. The nominal leader of the Plukanian society is named PJ; everybody makes their best to display fervent worship to him, but, when encountered in person, he appears harmless and dumb. The fuel of Pluk is called lootz and is made from water. All naturally present water has apparently been processed into lootz, so drinking water is a valuable commodity (in fact, it can only be made from lootz).
A good deal of the plot is based the fact that ordinary wooden matchsticks (ketse) (or, rather, the chemicals of the match head) are considered to be extremely precious on Pluk.
The dystopian setting is often considered to be an allegorical depiction of Soviet society. Usually, Danelia's prominence and reputation is cited as the sole reason this bizarre and ambiguous motion picture made it past strict Soviet censorship.
[edit] A Concise Dictionary of The Plukanian Language
- Ketse (pronounced "keh-tseh") — matches
- Chatle — a form of money
- Tsak — 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. (Compare with the Light Universe and the Dark Zone in Lexx).
- Pepelatz — an interplanetary spacecraft (from the Georgian word "pepela" for butterfly)
- Gravitsappa — a component for the pepelats which allows intergalactic travel
- Lootz — the fuel used by the pepelats, it is (or is made of) water
- Kappa — a button
- Ecilop — a policeman ("police" spoken backwards)
- Etsikh — a box for prisoners ("Etsikh" is from the Georgian word "tsikhe" for prison)
- Kew — 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. This is largely due to the fact that there was no official release of the movie with English subtitles for a long time. This has led many people to download copies of the movie from popular peer-to-peer services: most English-speaking people who have seen the movie have seen a fansub.
There are currently no plans to release the DVD in Europe or North America.
In the year 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
- Stanislav Lyubshin as Vladimir Nikolayevich Mashkov (Uncle Vova)
- Levan Gabriadze as Gedevan Alexandrovich Alexidze (Fiddler)
- Yevgeny Leonov as Uef
- Yury Yakovlev as Bi
- Olga Mashnaya as Dekont (from the planet Alpha)
- Irina Shmelyova as cart driver (Tachanka woman)
- Lev Perfilov as Kyrr dissident chatlanian with a tranklukator
- Anatoli Sirenko as the Barefoot Wanderer
- Georgi Daneliya as Abradox (from the planet Alpha)
- Aleksandra Dorokhina as colossal chatlanian woman
- Galina Daneliya-Yurkova as Mashkov's wife
- Alexander Martynov as smuggler with scarface, has red trousers
- Igor Bogolyubov as patzak of Mr. PG
- Valentin Bukin as mustached ecilop in the egg-shaped pepelats
- Valentin Golubenko as Mr. PG bodyguard
- Alexander Litovkin as the gang leader
- Valentin Marenkov
- Tatyana Novitskaya as planetarium servant
- Vladimir Fyodorov as Yellow pants
- Rene Khobua (was not in the cast, but present in subtitles)
- Harry Schweiz as Mr. PG bodyguard
- Gennady Yalovich as Secret Agent
- Nina Ruslanova as Galina Borisovna
- Y. Voronkov as Bearded Sectarian
- N. Garo as Mr. PG
- G. Ivanov as brother patzak
- O. Ivanova as White Sectarian
- I. Kan as Ecilop
- G. Matveyev as The Judge
- V. Makhmutov
- T. Perfilyeva
- L. Solodenko as Black Sectarian
- V. Frolov
[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 December 2008. This version will be targeted more at children and the international audience. Work began on February 12, 2005, and it has a budget of three million rubles. The finished film is expected to be 100 minutes long.
