1. More comedies and cartoons of the Stagnation era Everyday life and philosophical exploration of being

2. Eldar Ryazanov (b.1927)  Numerous hit comedies, including Irony of Fate, shown every New Year’s Eve since 1975 Irony of Fate, shown every New Year’s Eve since 1975  Comedy of characters  Irony  Poetry and songs in films  Social criticism  Humanistic values

3. Office Romance (1977) by E. Ryazanov A sad (despite the happy ending) and detailed comment on many aspects of life during the Stagnation (dull senseless work, hypocrisy, lies, overloaded women, ugly daily life, line- ups, monotony, hopelessness). A sad (despite the happy ending) and detailed comment on many aspects of life during the Stagnation (dull senseless work, hypocrisy, lies, overloaded women, ugly daily life, line- ups, monotony, hopelessness).

4. Georgy Danelia (b.1930) Among his most popular films: Among his most popular films:  I Walk Through Moscow (1963)  Afonia (1975)  Mimino (1977)  Autumn Marathon (1979)  Kin-dza-dza (1986)

5. Mimino (1977)  Georgian, Armenian and Russian characters: Soviet Union at its best  A man in search for himself  Mild irony, comedy of characters and situation; verbal comedy  Human values tested and asserted (friendship, love for one’s birthplace and family, one’s vocation, etc.)

6. Autumn Marathon (1979)  Sad comedy, tragicomedy  Pathetic, indecisive (though endearing) character caught between two women  Complex irony  Subtle social criticism: day by day, nothing changes  The central problem unresolved – a metaphor for the Stagnation

7. Cartoons  Escapism: making films for children was a “less serious” matter, thus less censorship. Risky themes, Aesopian language.  Artistic experiments: exploration of different techniques and styles – clay and plastic dolls, drawings, paper-cut figures, etc.

8. Just You Wait Just You Wait (1969-2006) by ViacheslavKotionochkin Just You Wait

9. Mystery of the Third Planet (1981) by Roman Kachanov

10. Plasticine CrowPlasticine Crow(1981) by AleksandrTatarski Plasticine Crow

11. Hedgehog in the Fog Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) by Yuri Norstein Hedgehog in the Fog

12. Yuri Norstein b.1941

13. Hedgehog in the Fog trivia:  The muzzle (profile) might be a portrait of a writer Liudmila Petrushevskaia  Fan sites, popular punch lines (“Freak!”)  A stamp (1988) and a monument (Kiev, 2009)

14. Norstein and Petrushevskaia (the “prototype” of the Hedgehog)

15. Hedgehog in the Fog

16.  In 2003, based on a survey of 140 cinema critics and animators worldwide, proclaimed the best film in history of animation. Norstein is given the highest Japanese order for his influence on world and Japanese animation.  Original “blurring” technique conveying the philosophical content.  Based on a story by Sergei Kozlov

17. Hedgehog in the Fog  Existentialist experience: as one faces the unknown, all senses sharpen.  The voice of a loved one leads through the danger.  Exploration of the unknown (its duality).  Getting out of touch with familiar reality  Relativity of reality: morphing, shifting, unstable forms of objects.  No objective point of view.  The notion of beauty (white horse)

18. Existential loneliness; the metaphor of life as a path

19. Threats and dangers

20. Familiar objects turn strange

21. Small hedgehog, big world

22. Exploring the unknown

23. A white horse: the elusive beauty

24. Hedgehog in the Fog  Going with the flow, accepting one’s predestination  Isolation of an individual  Internal dialogue  Self-exploration (“Who are you?”)  Unseen Someone – divine interference?  Life-changing experience: leaves H. shattered.

25. The bear cub is lookingat thehedgehog, the hedgehog is looking inside himself: