Courage and Affection in Moscow

For years we have heard game publishers lamenting about Russian sales lagging behind the rest of the world.

Indeed Russia’s meager $200 million is a mere drop in the $50-billion ocean of gross videogame revenues worldwide.

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In the US alone 2008 videogame sales hit $22 billion. And the only figure in this industry that might be reduced by the crisis is annual growth, though even that probably won’t happen as people look for cheaper entertainment.

However, if you are looking for this cheaper entertainment in Russia, you are bound to face certain troubles.

Russian edition of Play Station Store works slower

Hardly any game producers bother to make a game with a built-in Russian localization, though this is more of a chicane, as most of the players (including myself) prefer the English versions anyway.

Still, even without translation, it takes weeks for new releases to reach the shop shelves in Moscow (months if we are talking about elsewhere in Russia), while rare games and limited releases might not appear here at all.

One might have thought that the introduction of online distribution should’ve solved the problem, but it didn’t. For some morbid reason the Russian part of PlayStation Store, for example, gets the new releases with a remarkable delay.

Registering a fake American account helps with the free content, but not with the more important paid one.

And you're cold inside... Like a hostage in Moscow

How does one hope to get major sales of a product in Russia if it takes months to write a promo-text in Russian and localize a banner?

We realize full well that this is business, where the demand always comes first. And Russian demand is not only small, but unusual, too. According to a December 2008 study (available here, in Russian) by Discovery Research Group, 54% of videogames bought in Russia are not videogames per se, but rather PC games.

But this share was close to 80% just two years ago and will continue to decrease, as some good signs from game distributors have manifested themselves recently. The localizations are taking less and less time in making, and I was able to buy myself a Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 on the first day of its worldwide release in a central Moscow store.

The copy I acquired for $85, though, was one of the four (!) they hoped to sell until December in a department store that had a section for proper caviar starting at $200 per 100 grams and an assortment of fur coats reaching $20,000!

It is an important and popular fact that disturbing for some is fun for others

This situation may change soon, as it looks like major game developers, such as Activision, want Russians spending less on fur and caviar and more on their products. Otherwise they wouldn’t butcher a whole Moscow airport full of civilian hostages in their record-selling Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

There is a warning that “the following mission may be disturbing or offensive to some players” prior to its beginning, so there can be no speculation about the authors not realizing what exactly they offered in their product.

As for their motives, they are simple: both subsequent discussion in Britain's House of Commons and Russia’s banning of the game from sale create the perfect publicity for the game prior to its Russian release.

We all know the attitude of an average videogame-player toward government bannings. And that is why in terms of PR-moves, the airport massacre -- a.k.a. ‘No Russian’ level -- hits the bull’s-eye.

I would only observe that Hideo Kojima would never need this kind of promotion.

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As far as the themes for fiction movies go, reflections on the historical past and its key figures remained an ever-popular (and award-bringing) plot in this years’ festival (festival-opening “The Tsar” and triumphant “Pete on the Way to Heaven” being two good examples).

Still, many filmmakers chose to stay current and made some important statements on relationships and family values.

The story starts in a typical thriller-like setting

The always relevant topic was assessed from different angles, but one of the most refreshing (while still sympathetic to old-school family values) was “The Circumstances” by Pavel Ruminov. A strikingly uninteresting title is best forgotten, especially knowing that the movie’s working one sounded way more interesting: "My Wife is a Zombie."

And here the zombie theme makes complete sense, as previously Ruminov became famous with his moderately unsuccessful attempt to create the first-ever Russian horror film, “The Dead Daughters”.

Suspense got a secondary role in Ruminov’s new project, boosting the entertainment value of a movie that is essentially centered around relationships. Ruminov chose to conceal his message on the opening stages, starting his story in a typical thriller-like setting, with a detective arriving to question participants in a strange-looking double date.

The zombie-theme kicks in next, through a carefully (and laughingly) crafted talk-show parody, which one of the heroes watches on the TV.

As the detective leaves the dinner continues

This part of the screenplay (among others) was written by the very promising stand-up artist Nikolay Kulikov, who also plays the part of the show host, while Ruminov himself appears as the weirdo zombie expert.

Kulikov has already landed a major Russian film award earlier this year at the Kinotavr movie festival for his sarcastic fake news report (available on YouTube in Russian).

Plans to eliminate the zombie wife become the next important development in the story, but they are eventually rendered useless as the protagonist proves to be unable to kill his wife under any circumstances (though the initial intrigue of the movie involves what the audience deems to be his jealousy-driven brutal murder of his wife).

A lively climax, involving one of the heroes beating another with a whole variety of cooked vegetables, comes just in time to relieve the audience of all confusion.

The luscious beating scene in turn paves way for a rather straightforward catharsis-finale. One might consider the emotional reconciliation scene banal, but what’s more important is that it underlines a very up-to-date issue - namely, people working hard to support their loved ones and forgetting about those loved ones in the process.

So in terms of genres, the closest one here would be the classic vaudeville, which by no means looks outdated, thanks to the entertaining dialogue provided by Ruminov and Kulikov.

To be continued…

Read also: Chapter I and Prologue of the Moscow Film Festival chronicles

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I always think ‘idiots’ when I hear of people who take their vacations and leave Moscow in summer. The summer of Russia’s capital – ludicrously short as it is – stands as the only time of the year when living in Moscow is not just tolerable, but even fun.

Of course, one of the massive attractions of Moscow’s summer is the Film Festival, which, apart from hundreds of film screenings, includes a dozen ‘parties of a lifetime’ and numerous related events.

A documentary on Hunter S. Thompson's life was featured at the festival

The movie-geeky types confine themselves to the screenings, while the aces of socializing eagerly watch their city transformed into a resort for a fortnight. For one reason or another, adept Muscovites do their best not to miss a second of the festival.

Anyway, enough with the tourist gibberish. As I am in the process of working on two major movie projects, I chose to ignore the social part and join the geeks in the dimly-lit cinema halls (though even with this kind of attitude it was hard to ignore the number of pretty girls surrounding me).

Some of the known programs of the festival fell short of previous years’ standards, including Moscow Euphoria. Others were more impressive than ever, like Free Thought and Films Around the World.

Free Thought, a documentary cinema program, was full of pleasant surprises as usual.

Visually stunning (so DON’T watch it on YouTube, though it’s available) and informative, Encounters at the End of the World by famous German Werner Herzog portrayed people living literally at the end of the Earth – on an Antarctic island.

If the prize is this kind of footage, a journey to Antarctic is not too far

Like a magician, Herzog played with human emotions, carefully choosing the soundbites of his heroes and bringing up a deep philosophical idea between the lines. Overall, the movie provided the perfect insight into the world of ‘professional dreamers’ – those whose restless and adventurous personality enables them to endure the trials and tribulations of living at the South Pole.

Less visually impressive, but still with a nice and neatly-working chemistry of facts and personality was the French Ne Me Libèrez Pas, Je M'en Charge.

At times it might seem that director Fabienne Godet was too carried away by the amazing charisma of Michel Vaujour – the notorious French prison escapee, but overall the movie was good. The only question that remained unanswered was what Vaujour could have accomplished had he devoted his creative flair and indomitable vitality to something other than fleeing from custody.

Another hero of a documentary – Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel – personally appeared at the screening of Big River Man in Moscow, as if to let everyone feel his power of will, which helped him to swim the deadly Amazon River.

For years Martin Strel, 53, drank beer and wine on daily basis, but he's still one hell of swimmer

The never-boring subject of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter Thompson along with Ralph Steadman’s drawings and an appearance from Johnny Depp ensured the success of Alex Gibney’s documentary. However, one might think that it wasn’t ‘Gonzo’ enough, and that Thompson, had he been alive, would consider the movie rather dull.

A bit too anti-Soviet in its message, Prokofiev: the Unfinished Diary, had a very promising subject, but failed to dig out anything new on the fate of the composer. Not missing the opportunity to tackle the Soviet regime, director Yosif Feyginberg still suffered from one of the most controversial regulations of capitalism: copyright laws. Having no clearance for the use of Prokofiev’s music, the movie looked terribly crippled without this powerful backdrop, of which only small parts were used in the soundtrack.

To be continued…

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