Room and a Half or a Sentimental Journey to Motherland, A Russia
2008, 130min.
Prod.: Andrei Khrzhanovsky, Artem Vassiliev, Script: Yuriy Arabov, Andrei Khrzhanovsky, Dir.: Andrei Khrzhanovsky, Dir. of Phot.: Vladimir Brylyakov, Prod. Design: Marina Azizyan, Sound: Pyotr Malafeev, Yekaterina Popova-Evans,Edit.: Vladimir Grigorenko, Igor Malakhov
Cast: Alisa Freyndlih, Sergei Yursky, Grigoriy Dityatkovskiy, Artem Smola, Evgeniy Ogandzhanyan.
When asked in an interview whether he ever intended to return to his Motherland, Joseph Brodsky replied: “Such a journey could only take place anonymously...” The creators of this film imagined that the journey in question was undertaken after all, selecting the genre of an ironic fairytale. The poet sails to the country of his childhood, and with him we traverse not only geographical expanses, but travel through time as well. Stringing together a number of facts from the Nobel Prize Laureate's biography, we return to the USSR of the 50s and early 60s, soaking up in the atmosphere of the “European” city of Petersburg, Russia's cultural center. Along with live-action sequences, the film features animation, as well as documentary footage concerning Brodsky and his milieu.
Production Company
School-studio SHAR
| Khrzhanovsky, Andrei  Andrei Khrzhanovsky (born 1939, Moscow, Russia)
Graduated from VGIK (L. Kuleshov’s workshop) in 1962. In 1964 Khrzhanovsky came to the Soyuzmultfilm Studio, where he made his debut film, Once upon a time there lived Kozyavin. The director’s work is characterized by a constant interest for the history of Russian and world culture, as well as by delicacy and expressiveness of plastic forms. A special place in Khrzhanovsky’s work is devoted to the Pushkin theme. The five films of the Pushkiniana cycle opened absolutely new possibilities for animation in mastering classical literature. They became not only a unique artistic, but also a scientific research film document. An honored art worker, a two-time winner of the Russian State Prize, Khrzhanovsky is also the winner of many international festivals. He teaches at VGIK and the school-studio SHAR in Moscow.
Filmography
Once upon a Time There Lived Kozyavin (1966), A Glass Concertina (1968), Cupboard (1971), Butterfly (1972), In the World of Fables (1972), A Wonderful Day (1975), No Less Than a Miracle (1976), The House Build by Jack (1976), I Fly to You as a Remembrance (1977), And I Am with You Again (1980), Autumn (1982), The King’s Sandwich (1985), My Favorite Time (1987), School of Fine Arts (1987-1990), Lion with a Grey Beard (1994), Oleg Kagan. Life after life (1996), A Long Journey (1997), Cycle “Meetings with Pushkin”, A Lullaby for Cricket (1999), Dreams about the Artistic and the Public (2000), Let’s Fly Away (2002), I Love You (2002), One and a Half Cat (2002), Room and a Half (2009).
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