HELP GONE MAD

Portrait

The madcap adventures of an odd couple: Zhenya, an extremely naive Belarusian stranded in Moscow, and the stubborn old engineer who befriends her. Together they fight the good fight, though unfortunately guided by the old man’s thoroughly bizarre impulses. Like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza before them, the two head out to save damsels and ancient statues or to retrieve secret messages from birdhouses. Parallel to the main quest, a side plot featuring a paranoid police detective runs its course, which intersects with that of our two heroes naturally. This melancholy and absurd portrait of Putin-era Russia won the Award for Best Director at goEast in 2009.
SUMASHEDSHAYA POMOSH / VERRÜCKTE RETTUNG
RUS 2009 / 119 min
Language: Russian
Director: Boris Khlebnikov
  • Screenplay: Alexandr Rodionov
  • Cinematographer: Shandor Berkeshi
  • Editor: Ivan Lebedev
  • Cast: Igor Chernevich, Sergey Dreyden, Evgeny Sytiy, Anna Michalkova, Aleksandr Yatsenko
  • Producer: Roman Borisevich
  • Production Company: Koktebel Film Company
The madcap adventures of an odd couple: Zhenya, an extremely naive Belarusian stranded in Moscow, and the stubborn old engineer who befriends her. Together they fight the good fight, though unfortunately guided by the old man’s thoroughly bizarre impulses. Like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza before them, the two head out to save damsels and ancient statues or to retrieve secret messages from birdhouses. Parallel to the main quest, a side plot featuring a paranoid police detective runs its course, which intersects with that of our two heroes naturally. This melancholy and absurd portrait of Putin-era Russia won the Award for Best Director at goEast in 2009.
  • Screenplay: Alexandr Rodionov
  • Cinematographer: Shandor Berkeshi
  • Editor: Ivan Lebedev
  • Cast: Igor Chernevich, Sergey Dreyden, Evgeny Sytiy, Anna Michalkova, Aleksandr Yatsenko
  • Producer: Roman Borisevich
  • Production Company: Koktebel Film Company