John Cleese – How about Russian?
Language
In a famous scene from
A Fish Called Wanda (1988),
John Cleese (as Archie Leach) speaks some Italian words. “But it’s such an ugly language.” Co-star
Jamie Lee Curtis (as Wanda Gershwitz) has a different opinion. Archie doesn’t see it and suggests something better. “How about… Russian?”
Russia has strict laws when it comes to drug possession and trafficking. Severe penalties too. So the dealer doesn’t deliver to your house, but a кладмен (kladman) hides the order, which the customer then has to find.
Finding or meeting love (с любовью встретиться) is a difficult problem (проблема трудная). The planet spins round and round (планета вертится круглая, круглая) and flies into the distance (летит вдаль) through the clamor of days (сквозь суматоху дней).
Short documentary film (11 m) from 2013 about love love love, or Любовь x 3. Love. Love. Love. is about love in all stages of life, from a female perspective. ‘A Sundance-winning short on the many shapes of Russian affection’ (more on
IMDb), made with love.
Learn Russian with Films (1)
Language
With Russian films, you can learn the language and practice listening while lounging on the couch with chips and soda (just to paint a scenario). Learning becomes enjoyable, and watching films becomes productive—almost the perfect combination.
State Funeral
Country
In 2017, you could see The Death of Stalin in theaters. More about it on
IMDB,
Filmkrant,
VPRO Cinema and
Wikipedia; trailer on
YouTube. See also
In Russia, nobody’s laughing at Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin (The Guardian, 2017).
