Don't Think About White Monkeys
Encyclopedia
Don‘t Think About White Monkeys ("Не думай про белых обезьян") is a Russian
social satirical
tragicomedy
film directed by Yuri Mamin
. The screenplay was written by Yuri Mamin and Vladimir Vardunas, translated into verse by Vyacheslav Leikin.
The film has a second name: "Chaldean
Face", presented in the opening titles; in contemporary Russian slang, the word "Chaldean" ("халдей") denotes a greed
y lackey.
The form of the film is unusual: all dialogues are in verse accompanied by a strict musical rhythm. The creators of the film define its genre as a tragic
farce
.
After taking over an empty attic for his office, Vova discovers there three Bohemian
artists who have escaped from a mental hospital: the suicidal model Dasha (Katerina Ksenyeva
), the alcoholic artist Gena (Aleksei Devotchenko) and the mute Buddhist
known by the nickname Khu-Pun' (Anvar Libabov). This meeting becomes a turning point in Vova's previously confident life. Having realized that the homeless artists could paint appetizing food on the walls of his basement restaurant in exchange for room and board, he allows them to live in his attic. While exploiting their work, Vova does not notice that he begins to fall under the influence of his uninvited guests, discovering for himself a heretofore unknown world of spiritual values.
Gradually, he begins to understand that beauty is not measured by fashion, that love is not limited to sex, that material riches do not replace spiritual enrichment. The artist Gena, who is supposed to draw still life
s, gets caught up in creativity and covers the walls of the basement with frescoes of the Last Judgment
- an assembly of hellish monsters and sinners. Vova is shocked; what will his boss Gavrilych and his fellow waiters say?
However, the increasing flow of curious tourists convinces Vova that the artist was right. As a result, instead of "Paradise Corner", Vova opens the café "Inferno". Gavrilych's reaction comes as no surprise; the boss shows up with a pack of "Chaldeans" and destroys all of the artist's work, tearing down the unique murals from the basement walls. Vova, who tries to prevent the vandalism, is cruelly beaten.
The second half of the film is devoted to Vova's time in the attic, which he spends with his new friends, who help him to recover and introduce him to a vegetarian diet and to regular meditations on the roof. Vova begins to see strange dreams, where the past and future are intermingled. He begins to understand that his path has been predetermined, and that his future actions, including the betrayal of his friends, have been predicted by someone. And so it happens: unable to withstand the trials of an ascetic lifestyle, Vova ends the relationship with his friends and leaves them defenseless in the face of the cruel Gavrilych.
Vova returns to his usual environment among the "Chaldeans" and continues his successful career in the restaurant business.
However, Vova begins to be pursued more and more often by the image of white monkeys, which reminds him of his unsuccessful attempt to become a person of depth, and of the treason he had committed against his friends.
Also featuring:
Victor Smirnov, Oleg Basilashvili
, Sergei Yursky
, Iveta Rogova, Irina Rakshina, Filip Azarov, Vladimir Leletko, Mikhail Bashakov, Aleksandr Kavalerov
According to the film's creators, "Don't Think About White Monkeys" has been deprived of television publicity due to its sharp satirical spirit. People who measure everything by money are called in the film "Chaldeans", i.e. lackeys, and a financially successful Russian businessman is the subject of ridicule due to his ignorance and primitiveness. The satire of the film, which offends, to some degree, even the television investors and advertisers, is not palatable for the masters of show business in today's Russia.
The company "Paradise" produced the DVDs of the film, which appeared in commercial centers; pirated copies of the DVDs, which appeared on the market simultaneously with the licensed discs, were so successful in sales that the store chain "Titanic" named the film a "sales hit" in its informational pages for April 2009. All of the director's attempts to defend his copyright and to fight with the pirates were by far unsuccessful.
Successful premiere showings of the film took place in Russia, England, the USA, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Lithuania at a number of film festivals.
At the end of April, 2011, the directors of the Russian Gazette ("Rossiyskaya Gazeta") organized the first online film festival "Double 2", as an alternative to the commercial mass media festivals.
During this film festival, eight films were placed on the Internet for viewers' judgment and were watched in 56 countries around the world. Russia led in the number of viewers, followed by Germany, the USA, Ukraine, Israel, Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, France, China, and Sweden. Rounding out this list were Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Cameroon, Thailand and Mongolia. The film "Don't Think About White Monkeys" received the grand prize.
International distribution of the film begins in 2011.
, Luchino Visconti
, Michael Cimino
, John
and Nick Cassavetes, Federico Fellini
, Robert Zemeckis
, Ingmar Bergman
and Oliver Stone
.
"Don't Think About White Monkeys" is not only social satire, but also a film about love, about the search for the meaning of life and the ways of men, about treachery, and about "white monkeys," which symbolize human conscience. The main theme of the film is the eternal dichotomic struggle between business and spirituality; a person whose life is dedicated only to the material, and not to spiritual enrichment, cannot truly be happy, because his world is narrow and his soul is deprived of beauty.
The official website recommends the film to "all young people, punks, rockers, non-conformists, Buddhists, students and those who have not lost the ability to think and feel" and doesn't recommend it to the "fans of the official mass cinema films, of pop culture films, of fast-food films; and also the Chaldeans".
Actress Katerina Ksenyeva
, who played the leading female role, received a blessing for the film from the Dalai Lama
in India, along with her friend, Tibetan monk Tenchoe. Film director Yuri Mamin is a member of the International Tibet Support Network
and also received a blessing from envoys of His Holiness in Saint Petersburg
, Russia. The Dalai Lama's envoys said that the film is very relevant in our difficult times for the whole world and contains the energy of enlightenment, which affirms the power of kindness and mercy over the desires of the "masters of life" for money grubbing and barbarity.
Award for innovation in the genre of comedy at the film festival "Smile, Russia!", 2008
Grand prize for best foreign film and grand prize for best foreign actor at the The End of the Pier International Film Festival, England, 2009
Art prize "Petropol" for breakthrough contribution in the art of comedy film (Russia, 2009)
Grand prize for best original film at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
King Hassan II Special Prize at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
Special International Jury Diploma to Katerina Ksenyeva for "brilliant impersonation of the heroine" at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
Grand prize at the Russian Gazette's First International Internet Film Festival "Double 2", 2011
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
social satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
tragicomedy
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
film directed by Yuri Mamin
Yuri Mamin
Yuri Mamin is a celebrated Soviet and Russian film director, stage director, screenwriter, composer, author and television host, Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation. His highly popular film "Window to Paris" may be truly called a people's film...
. The screenplay was written by Yuri Mamin and Vladimir Vardunas, translated into verse by Vyacheslav Leikin.
The film has a second name: "Chaldean
Chaldean
Chaldean may refer to:* Historical Babylon, in particular in a Hellenistic context* Chaldea, "the Chaldees", Hellenistic designation for a part of Babylon...
Face", presented in the opening titles; in contemporary Russian slang, the word "Chaldean" ("халдей") denotes a greed
Greed
Greed is an excessive desire to possess wealth, goods, or abstract things of value with the intention to keep it for one's self. Greed is inappropriate expectation...
y lackey.
The form of the film is unusual: all dialogues are in verse accompanied by a strict musical rhythm. The creators of the film define its genre as a tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
.
Plot
A hero of our time, the young bartender Vova Smorodin (Mikhail Tarabukin), receives the task of opening a small, but prestigious restaurant called "Paradise Corner" from his boss Gavrilych, the father of Vova's fiancée, Larisa. Perceiving this task as the first step in his financial career, Vova Smorodin develops the magic-touch of enterprise. If he needs to drain and repair the selected basement, he may recall an entire fire brigade from a fire emergency, or a company of soldiers from a mission.After taking over an empty attic for his office, Vova discovers there three Bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
artists who have escaped from a mental hospital: the suicidal model Dasha (Katerina Ksenyeva
Katerina Ksenyeva
Katerina Ksenyeva is a Russian actress, singer, composer, author and journalist. She is best known as the leading actress in the film Don't Think About White Monkeys and in the TV series Grim Tales From Russia. Her music album "Lullaby for a Man" is noted for its original style and high vocal...
), the alcoholic artist Gena (Aleksei Devotchenko) and the mute Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
known by the nickname Khu-Pun' (Anvar Libabov). This meeting becomes a turning point in Vova's previously confident life. Having realized that the homeless artists could paint appetizing food on the walls of his basement restaurant in exchange for room and board, he allows them to live in his attic. While exploiting their work, Vova does not notice that he begins to fall under the influence of his uninvited guests, discovering for himself a heretofore unknown world of spiritual values.
Gradually, he begins to understand that beauty is not measured by fashion, that love is not limited to sex, that material riches do not replace spiritual enrichment. The artist Gena, who is supposed to draw still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s, gets caught up in creativity and covers the walls of the basement with frescoes of the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
- an assembly of hellish monsters and sinners. Vova is shocked; what will his boss Gavrilych and his fellow waiters say?
However, the increasing flow of curious tourists convinces Vova that the artist was right. As a result, instead of "Paradise Corner", Vova opens the café "Inferno". Gavrilych's reaction comes as no surprise; the boss shows up with a pack of "Chaldeans" and destroys all of the artist's work, tearing down the unique murals from the basement walls. Vova, who tries to prevent the vandalism, is cruelly beaten.
The second half of the film is devoted to Vova's time in the attic, which he spends with his new friends, who help him to recover and introduce him to a vegetarian diet and to regular meditations on the roof. Vova begins to see strange dreams, where the past and future are intermingled. He begins to understand that his path has been predetermined, and that his future actions, including the betrayal of his friends, have been predicted by someone. And so it happens: unable to withstand the trials of an ascetic lifestyle, Vova ends the relationship with his friends and leaves them defenseless in the face of the cruel Gavrilych.
Vova returns to his usual environment among the "Chaldeans" and continues his successful career in the restaurant business.
However, Vova begins to be pursued more and more often by the image of white monkeys, which reminds him of his unsuccessful attempt to become a person of depth, and of the treason he had committed against his friends.
Cast
- Mikhail Tarabukin (Vova)
- Katerina KsenyevaKaterina KsenyevaKaterina Ksenyeva is a Russian actress, singer, composer, author and journalist. She is best known as the leading actress in the film Don't Think About White Monkeys and in the TV series Grim Tales From Russia. Her music album "Lullaby for a Man" is noted for its original style and high vocal...
(Dasha) - Aleksei Devotchenko (Gena)
- Anvar Libabov (Khu-Pun')
Also featuring:
Victor Smirnov, Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili is a well-known Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor of Georgian and Polish origin, as well as political figure in the former Soviet Union and in the new Russia.-Childhood:...
, Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yurievich Yursky is a Soviet/Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and screenwriter. His most notable role in the cinema is Ostap Bender in The Little Golden Calf.-Biography:...
, Iveta Rogova, Irina Rakshina, Filip Azarov, Vladimir Leletko, Mikhail Bashakov, Aleksandr Kavalerov
History
"Don't Think About White Monkeys" became Yuri Mamin's first feature film after a ten-year break. The film company "Paradise" was responsible for the distribution of the film. Twenty copies of the film were prepared, only twelve of which ended up in theaters.According to the film's creators, "Don't Think About White Monkeys" has been deprived of television publicity due to its sharp satirical spirit. People who measure everything by money are called in the film "Chaldeans", i.e. lackeys, and a financially successful Russian businessman is the subject of ridicule due to his ignorance and primitiveness. The satire of the film, which offends, to some degree, even the television investors and advertisers, is not palatable for the masters of show business in today's Russia.
The company "Paradise" produced the DVDs of the film, which appeared in commercial centers; pirated copies of the DVDs, which appeared on the market simultaneously with the licensed discs, were so successful in sales that the store chain "Titanic" named the film a "sales hit" in its informational pages for April 2009. All of the director's attempts to defend his copyright and to fight with the pirates were by far unsuccessful.
Successful premiere showings of the film took place in Russia, England, the USA, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Lithuania at a number of film festivals.
At the end of April, 2011, the directors of the Russian Gazette ("Rossiyskaya Gazeta") organized the first online film festival "Double 2", as an alternative to the commercial mass media festivals.
During this film festival, eight films were placed on the Internet for viewers' judgment and were watched in 56 countries around the world. Russia led in the number of viewers, followed by Germany, the USA, Ukraine, Israel, Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, France, China, and Sweden. Rounding out this list were Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Cameroon, Thailand and Mongolia. The film "Don't Think About White Monkeys" received the grand prize.
International distribution of the film begins in 2011.
Philosophy
The creators of the film accuse the contemporary commercial mass media in "dumbing-down the world culture and losing the cultural traditions in cinematography". They believe that the most prominent "food for the soul" in the history of cinema is non-commercial in spirit, such as the films of Andrei TarkovskyAndrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
, Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
, Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
, John
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
and Nick Cassavetes, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
, Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
, Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
and Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
.
"Don't Think About White Monkeys" is not only social satire, but also a film about love, about the search for the meaning of life and the ways of men, about treachery, and about "white monkeys," which symbolize human conscience. The main theme of the film is the eternal dichotomic struggle between business and spirituality; a person whose life is dedicated only to the material, and not to spiritual enrichment, cannot truly be happy, because his world is narrow and his soul is deprived of beauty.
The official website recommends the film to "all young people, punks, rockers, non-conformists, Buddhists, students and those who have not lost the ability to think and feel" and doesn't recommend it to the "fans of the official mass cinema films, of pop culture films, of fast-food films; and also the Chaldeans".
Actress Katerina Ksenyeva
Katerina Ksenyeva
Katerina Ksenyeva is a Russian actress, singer, composer, author and journalist. She is best known as the leading actress in the film Don't Think About White Monkeys and in the TV series Grim Tales From Russia. Her music album "Lullaby for a Man" is noted for its original style and high vocal...
, who played the leading female role, received a blessing for the film from the Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
in India, along with her friend, Tibetan monk Tenchoe. Film director Yuri Mamin is a member of the International Tibet Support Network
International Tibet Support Network
The International Tibet Network, established in 2000, is a global coalition of Tibet-related non-governmental organisations. Its purpose is to maximise the effectiveness of the worldwide Tibet movement...
and also received a blessing from envoys of His Holiness in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia. The Dalai Lama's envoys said that the film is very relevant in our difficult times for the whole world and contains the energy of enlightenment, which affirms the power of kindness and mercy over the desires of the "masters of life" for money grubbing and barbarity.
English version
Ray Gillon, the renown British sound producer, liked the film very much and offered to dub it into English. In his words, there have been very few films in recent times that have touched his soul as much as this powerful parable in verse. Because of this, a poetic English translation was made for dubbing the film in London. For the first time in history, a Russian film in verse will be dubbed into English verse.Awards
Jury Award for best Russian film by the International Federation of Film Societies at the International Film Festival in Moscow, Russia, 2008Award for innovation in the genre of comedy at the film festival "Smile, Russia!", 2008
Grand prize for best foreign film and grand prize for best foreign actor at the The End of the Pier International Film Festival, England, 2009
Art prize "Petropol" for breakthrough contribution in the art of comedy film (Russia, 2009)
Grand prize for best original film at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
King Hassan II Special Prize at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
Special International Jury Diploma to Katerina Ksenyeva for "brilliant impersonation of the heroine" at the International Film Festival in Rabat, Morocco, 2009
Grand prize at the Russian Gazette's First International Internet Film Festival "Double 2", 2011