Irony of Fate is a Russian comedy that made its debut on television in 1975. This comedy concerns a doctor named Zhenya who, in a drunken stupor, is sent by his friends to Leningrad by mistake on New Year’s Eve. Zhenya meant to stay in Moscow for New Year’s Eve in order to propose to another character Galya. After Zhenya arrives in Leningrad, the plot of the film begins to focus on Nadya, a woman who lives at the same address in Leningrad as Zhenya does in Moscow. Though this film is meant to be a comedy, it gives the viewer an interesting view of Russian culture at this time.
The plot of Irony of Fate can be used to examine the similarities that exist from city to city in Russia at the time that this movie was produced. Cities are so similar to one another that Zhenya, thinking he is in Moscow, is unable to realize that he is in Leningrad. The viewer can see that the buildings in each city are all built in a similar fashion. The floor plan of the buildings are all the same, as Zhenya enters Nadya’s apartment believing that it is his own apartment back in Moscow. Though he is intoxicated at the time, the viewer can sympathize with his predicament as these similarities are plain to see and clearly confusing. The resemblance between the two cities goes far beyond the buildings themselves. Surprisingly, the roads in both Moscow and Leningrad have the same names.
One aspect of Irony of Fate that can be quite interesting to the viewer is the commonality that exists between American comedy and Russian comedy. One would not expect strong similarities to exist between Russian and American films, due to different cultures and time periods. The comedy in Irony of Fate seems to rely on throwing Zhenya into a confusing situation, and then letting the plot play out as Zhenya tries to figure out where he is and how he will return home to Moscow. An example of an American movie that follows a similar idea is The Hangover, in which three men must find their friend but are unable to remember the previous night. In both movies, the characters are under the pressure of time. In Irony of Fate, Zhenya needs to return to Moscow because he is planning to propose to Galya. In The Hangover, the three men must find their friend and take him home for his wedding.
One peculiarity that I found with Irony of Fate is that Ippolit, Nadya’s fiancé, gives her French perfume as a gift. Nadya loves the gift and is extremely happy that Ippolit gave it to her. What is peculiar about this situation is that I would not expect a Russian person in the 1970’s to desire anything from Western Europe or from the West in general as the Cold War was an ongoing crisis at this time. However, this helps demonstrate that relations between the East and the West were getting better as the purchase of the French perfume reveals that there is trade developing between the East and the West.
Actually, "Builders Street" is a very possible name...and both Moscow and Petersburg would have been filled with these types of street and boulevard names (I lived in a dorm in St. Petersburg on one named Shipbuilders Street once!) Your comment on the perfume is also interesting--and I can definitely see what you mean, though the Soviet/Communist interest in Western products were far stronger than one might have expected. Very possible the perfume might have been Soviet and just called "French." At any rate, it's a very interesting social/cultural detail.
ReplyDeleteI have the opposite feeling on the French perfume. It is because of the Cold War that French perfume is so valuable. It's kind of like Cuban cigars. They are illegal here in America, but it is because of their hard to obtain status that makes them all the more desirable.
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