Mumu (1987, Valentin Karavayev)
I subtitled this film (animator.ru profile) a long time ago, but only uploaded it online in May of this year. This is an adaptation of a story written by Ivan Turgenev in 1854 that is very well-known in Russia. The film was directed in 1987 by Valentin Karavayev (best known for the films starring Kesha the Parrot), using the cut-out animation technique.
An English translation by Contance Garnett of the original story can be read here.
Some of my own thoughts:
There is a lot to like about the film, and though it is sad, it is often also very beautiful. My favourite thing of all may be the outstanding animation of the little dog, which really made me think of it as a living creature.
I think that the ending in this film wasn't quite there, personally; it left out a few important details from the story that I think are crucial to it (especially if one hasn't read the story beforehand). First - in the story, the old lady at the end wants Gerasim back & acts horrified by what has happened (paralleling the scene of the killing of the fly, at the beginning of this film - a very smart addition to the film that wasn't in the original). But in the film, we do not see her reaction. Second, I think that mentioning what happened to Gerasim after his return would have been important. Third, his psychological state isn't made very clear at the end in the film. Someone who sees the film before reading the story may naturally ask "why doesn't Gerasim go with his dog to his village instead of killing her?" In the story, he kills Mumu because he promised to the head steward after everyone surrounded his house, and he does not break promises. He had to promise to do it because if he did not, they were going to do it themselves - he's strong, but not strong enough to fight everyone off. And he couldn't just leave - he was a serf, bound to the place by law. In the written story, he only gets away because the old lady soon dies and her heirs have no time to worry about him.
An English translation by Contance Garnett of the original story can be read here.
Click to viewSome of my own thoughts:
There is a lot to like about the film, and though it is sad, it is often also very beautiful. My favourite thing of all may be the outstanding animation of the little dog, which really made me think of it as a living creature.
I think that the ending in this film wasn't quite there, personally; it left out a few important details from the story that I think are crucial to it (especially if one hasn't read the story beforehand). First - in the story, the old lady at the end wants Gerasim back & acts horrified by what has happened (paralleling the scene of the killing of the fly, at the beginning of this film - a very smart addition to the film that wasn't in the original). But in the film, we do not see her reaction. Second, I think that mentioning what happened to Gerasim after his return would have been important. Third, his psychological state isn't made very clear at the end in the film. Someone who sees the film before reading the story may naturally ask "why doesn't Gerasim go with his dog to his village instead of killing her?" In the story, he kills Mumu because he promised to the head steward after everyone surrounded his house, and he does not break promises. He had to promise to do it because if he did not, they were going to do it themselves - he's strong, but not strong enough to fight everyone off. And he couldn't just leave - he was a serf, bound to the place by law. In the written story, he only gets away because the old lady soon dies and her heirs have no time to worry about him.