Trying Not To Think In Russian

Existentialist prose about a Russian art film using a Jon Voight American action adventure prison break runaway train movie as metaphor. Vintage footage courtesy The Prelinger Archives. Soundtrack courtesy Incompetech.

Trying To Think In Russian About My Own Runaway Train
by Jolie Blond
02/09/02

Watching Andrew Tarchovski's art film,
a dark film,
in Russian, with English subtitles,
a film that looks like there was no money in the budget
for a light man,
a film about gray people standing around in the dark
talking about the virtues of grief
and the hopelessness of hope . . .
good grief, this movie is not film noir;
it's life noir.

Good grief.
This dark, hopeless Russian movie
makes my worst day of American homelessness
(the day in the stolen port-o-john,
the day of the attack of the property owners)
look in comparison
like a day at Disnetland high on X.

Can't figure out what the Russian fascination
with maudelin grief is all about,
of course, because I am an American,
a man of action, any action . . .
any action is better than standing around
yakking about grief,
an American:
I've got the optimism
of Jon Voight's 'Manny'
in "Runaway Train", who said,
"You do what you have to do,
I'll do what I have to do.
Whatever happens, happens."

You tell 'em, Manny,
tell those grieving, philosophizing Russians
how we do it in America,
with or without subtitles.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• russian
• art
• film
• marquisdejolie
• jonvoight
• american
• action
• adventure
• prose
• poem
• metaphor
• experimental
• prelinger
• vintage

[OneSummerSky]

It's Andrei Tarkovsky.

Not Andrew Tarchovski as you write in your intro.

Andrei Tarkovsky was one of the greatest filmmakers ever. You should check out Zerkalo (The Mirror). Pure visual poetry. Unparalleled.

[OneSummerSky]

@OneSummerSky And the film Runaway Train (1985) was directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy....

I'm not sure who you are referring to?

[marquisdejolie]

@OneSummerSky

Me neither

[marquisdejolie]

@OneSummerSky

I will!!

[OneSummerSky]

@marquisdejolie Some impressive poems on Youtube by Boris Ryzhy are:

1) "poem by the Russian contemporary poet Boris Ryzhy"

2) "poem by Boris Ryzhy There in that flat lived ex-convicts"

3) "Showmegypsywoman"

[OneSummerSky]

@marquisdejolie Zerkalo/The Mirror really is an amazing movie!

Additionally, more on the fringe of the Soviet society, are the poems by Boris Ryzhy. There is a documentary about him on Youtube, where he reads his poems. It is dark, but very impressive, also with the video images.

[OneSummerSky]

@marquisdejolie haha! :)

[marquisdejolie]

@nez2008

Thanks :)

[nez2008]

If you're prepared mentally and physically it's not going to be as bad.