One of the most joyous, magical and thrillingly romantic comedies in creation, Hannover-born Veit Helmer’s Absurdistan comes from Germany but is in Russian. It is set in a small, isolated mountain village—the film was shot in Azerbaijan—whose fictitious history is summarized in a flashback that takes us to the present and to two young teenagers, Aya and Temelko, who consult Aya’s grandmother, an astrologer-fortune teller, as to the best time for their “first night” of love together. After mixing their blood and checking the stars, Grandma concludes, “July 11,” adding, after Temelko flashes a predatory grin, “Four years from now!” By the time the “right time” rolls around, however, the now advanced teens are facing a crisis along with the rest of the villagers: in a show of solidarity, the women are withholding sex to get the lazy men to repair the subterranean water delivery system that is providing barely a trickle. The fluid celestial alignment means that Temelko has no time to lose; he risks drowning under the earth to get the job done that will unite him and Aya in unwedded bliss and rescue the other, more mature relationships in the village. When success strikes, gushing water lifts both Temelko and Aya high into the air amidst cascades of grateful applause down below. A montage of pleasure follows: baths and showers galore.
Two character voiceovers alternately guide us, but dialogue is sparse as Helmer’s brilliant—and, despite the premise, wildly innocent—entertainment unfolds as a pastiche of bits of visual slapstick. The result is rollicking, cleansing comedy that pays tribute to Aristophanes, silent film comedy, Preston Sturges, and the courage of youth who ache for their “first night.” It is a long time since I’ve wept with such laughter at the movies.
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ABSURDISTAN (Veit Helmer, 2008)
One of the most joyous, magical and thrillingly romantic comedies in creation, Hannover-born Veit Helmer’s Absurdistan comes from Germany but is in Russian. It is set in a small, isolated mountain village—the film was shot in Azerbaijan—whose fictitious history is summarized in a flashback that takes us to the present and to two young teenagers, Aya and Temelko, who consult Aya’s grandmother, an astrologer-fortune teller, as to the best time for their “first night” of love together. After mixing their blood and checking the stars, Grandma concludes, “July 11,” adding, after Temelko flashes a predatory grin, “Four years from now!” By the time the “right time” rolls around, however, the now advanced teens are facing a crisis along with the rest of the villagers: in a show of solidarity, the women are withholding sex to get the lazy men to repair the subterranean water delivery system that is providing barely a trickle. The fluid celestial alignment means that Temelko has no time to lose; he risks drowning under the earth to get the job done that will unite him and Aya in unwedded bliss and rescue the other, more mature relationships in the village. When success strikes, gushing water lifts both Temelko and Aya high into the air amidst cascades of grateful applause down below. A montage of pleasure follows: baths and showers galore.
Two character voiceovers alternately guide us, but dialogue is sparse as Helmer’s brilliant—and, despite the premise, wildly innocent—entertainment unfolds as a pastiche of bits of visual slapstick. The result is rollicking, cleansing comedy that pays tribute to Aristophanes, silent film comedy, Preston Sturges, and the courage of youth who ache for their “first night.” It is a long time since I’ve wept with such laughter at the movies.
Like this:
This entry was posted on August 18, 2009 at 4:41 pm and is filed under Formal Capsule Film Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.