House of Fools
by Andrei Konchalovsky
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Actor: Bryan Adams, Stanislav Varkki, Sultan Islamov, Yevgeni Mironov, Yuliya VysotskayaDirector: Andrei Konchalovsky
Cinematographer: Sergei Kozlov
Producer: Andrei Konchalovsky
Writer: Andrei Konchalovsky
Editor: Olga Grinshpun
Producer: Felix Kleiman
Producer: Sergei Khramtsov
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 104 minutes
Release Date: 2003-10-28
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Paramount
Studio: Paramount
VHS Movie Reviews of House of Fools
Movie Review: Foreign Film Lovers Take Notice
Summary: 5 Stars
For you foreign film lovers that don't mind sub-titles, A+++!!! I enjoy an occasional foreign film and I truly can not believe I had not heard of this movie until now. Excellent writing/directing and the acting in this movie is top notch, escpecially by the main character played by Julia Vysotsky (Zhanna). The underlying theme of the movie (in my opinion) was the absurdity(ies) of war portrayed against the backdrop of an insane assylum during the Chechen War and the undying love of the main character, Zhanna (mental patient), and her imaginary engagement to pop singer Bryan Adams. Yes, Bryan Adams is in this movie and even sings to Zhanna in her daydreams/delusions. I could go on and on, but see it for yourself...Great Film, Highly Recommend it!Movie Review: A Russian "Cuckoo's Nest" -- but much better!
Summary: 5 Stars
This picture is a French-Russian collaboration but I saw little French influence here -- in any event, it's a simple story but a spectacular film.
I'm not all that keen on contemporary films but this one caught my attention due to the Russian angle, which I have come to enjoy in both literature and film, (see my lists and reviews). It's a cute love story with a Chechyn War battle as the backdrop.
The staff and inmates of a marginally budgeted mental institution on the Russia-Chechnyn border come under fire, finding themselves betwixt the Russian Army and the Muslim Rebel Guerillas. The staff is forced to vacate the premeses to try to get some busses to evacuate their patients but they are compelled, due to the hot battle, to stay away for a few days. In the meantime, the patients are free to roam.
The Muslim Rebels take over the asylum as a base, pretty much ignoring all the inmates, (who think it's all great fun as the walls explode from tank shelling!), except for one very pretty female accordion-playing nut. She's not quite as looney as her peers until she receives a kidding marriage proposal from one of the Muslim Rebels, Ahmed, the ugliest of the lot -- and then she's head over heels in love with the guy.
There's a bit of a sub-plot in that the girl is also obsessed with a fantasy of singer Bryan Adams (who "shows up" periodically, singing love songs to her in English!), with whom she believes that she's engaged to. Still, she's willing to marry the Chechyn since he's right there all the time, so to speak.
A second male inmate is also somewhat sane, (his foible is his backpack which he never takes off), and he realizes that there is no real engagement for his nutty friend so he tries to retreive her from the nearby Rebel camp, after the girl follows Ahmed into actual battle.
It's difficult to understand how the cuteness of the main theme can be combined with a killing war so successfully, but they've done it here. This is really a fine, well-made film.
If you can at all tolerate English subtitles of the Russian verbiage, (which are also well-done and very readable without much distraction), then don't pass this one by. It's a real sleeper that you won't hear much about in the West.
Movie Review: Understanding the Chechens
Summary: 5 Stars
For most of us in the US it is hard to comprehend the Chechyna insurrection. This movie is worth watching if only to watch the interaction between the Russian soldier and the Chechen commander who have a unique bond from the past. The dance scene with the Chechen soldiers and how they slip into a powerful song is one of the best scenes in any movie I've seen. This movie is much more than a King of Hearts plot. Movie Review: Absolutely Amazing.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first review on Amazon after years of using it, because I just watched this movie, and was blown away by the visuals. I'm no big foreign film fan, I'm really not much of a film fan period, I bought this DVD because I'm learning Russian, and wanted some movies to watch as aids. This movie blew me away. There is a scene, where a helicopter crashes behind Janna while she plays the accordian that I could never in a million years forget.Movie Review: Intensely Good and Beautiful Based on an Intense True Story
Summary: 5 Stars
The beautiful images, sophisticated expression of mental illness without making it too depressing, and the perfect timing of story development make this film one of the best I have seen. The intense content and equally intense beauty mix together, forming the uniqueness of this film. It is based on a true story, triggering me to think and imagine how it would actually have been.
Summary of House of Fools
It takes place during the Russian-Chechen war, but House of Fools has the aura of the 1960s about it, specifically the anti-war picture of the King of Hearts variety. Set in a mental hospital near the front lines, the movie poses the age-old question: what happens when the inmates take over the asylum? The doctors have fled from the fighting, so the patients create their own society. Julia Vysotsky, a livewire actress, plays the central role, a blissfully unbalanced woman convinced she is the girlfriend of the singer Bryan Adams (and, game for the challenge, Adams plays himself, endlessly crooning his hit "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman"). Director Andrei Konchalovsky (Runaway Train) finds suspense here, and also absurdity, but it's hard to see what the film adds to the roster of "war is hell" movies. The conflict in Chechnya deserves attention, but Konchalovsky overstates his case. --Robert HortonRussia Video
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