I was pitched this film by the director himself in his autobiography, and boy was I glad I saw it.
Vorobyaninov is an ex-aristocrat, stripped of his title and valuables by the Russian Revolution and formation of the Soviet Union. His dying mother has just told him she hid their precious jewels in one of their twelve dining chairs, and he is determined to track them down now. Joining him is con man Bender, a suave, quick-thinking opportunist with no standards, and opposing them is Father Fyodor, the priest who visited the dying mother and heard her confession.
The film is very funny, featuring memorable lines and some wacky scenes, but also carries forth the sense of melancholy and upheaval the original story worked to comment upon. The displacement of an older social system is framed as a bad thing for Vorobyaninov, but never really for the audience, with nostalgia being respected but the old ways receiving good criticism. The quest to find the jewels asks good questions about hope versus denial—is the hero seeking to reclaim something wrongfully taken or is he really just chasing something he refuses to accept is gone? The story also serves as commentary on the corruptive and destructive power of greed as the fine chairs are now seen as disposable vessels and the leads stoop to deep lows. The story is very funny, but also captures an overt feeling of defeat felt by Russians who were moved about without their say.
The cast is great. Ron Moody's Vorobyaninov gets more consumed with furious greed as time goes on, and remarkably, his goals become less sympathetic without him really coming across that way. Bender is perfectly played by Frank Langella as someone always in control but breaks and shows emotion at the right times. Dom DeLuise is hysterical as Father Fyodor, a desperate, loony obsessive with some of the best-timed short lines, and Mel Brooks feels woefully underused. His role as Tikon, the nostalgic ex-servant, is possibly his most well-rounded, charming, and flat-out funniest acting role...and he's in the film for less than twenty minutes at the beginning. I understand Tikon wouldn't have been in the source Russian novel much, but that's a shame because Brooks shone in the character.
This film is a fun dramatic and comedic satire that comments on the social upheaval of Russia but also social change in general as well as grief, denial, friendship, and greed. It's well worth a watch.
Literature A very funny Mel Brooks film with historical and emotional weight.
I was pitched this film by the director himself in his autobiography, and boy was I glad I saw it.
Vorobyaninov is an ex-aristocrat, stripped of his title and valuables by the Russian Revolution and formation of the Soviet Union. His dying mother has just told him she hid their precious jewels in one of their twelve dining chairs, and he is determined to track them down now. Joining him is con man Bender, a suave, quick-thinking opportunist with no standards, and opposing them is Father Fyodor, the priest who visited the dying mother and heard her confession.
The film is very funny, featuring memorable lines and some wacky scenes, but also carries forth the sense of melancholy and upheaval the original story worked to comment upon. The displacement of an older social system is framed as a bad thing for Vorobyaninov, but never really for the audience, with nostalgia being respected but the old ways receiving good criticism. The quest to find the jewels asks good questions about hope versus denial—is the hero seeking to reclaim something wrongfully taken or is he really just chasing something he refuses to accept is gone? The story also serves as commentary on the corruptive and destructive power of greed as the fine chairs are now seen as disposable vessels and the leads stoop to deep lows. The story is very funny, but also captures an overt feeling of defeat felt by Russians who were moved about without their say.
The cast is great. Ron Moody's Vorobyaninov gets more consumed with furious greed as time goes on, and remarkably, his goals become less sympathetic without him really coming across that way. Bender is perfectly played by Frank Langella as someone always in control but breaks and shows emotion at the right times. Dom DeLuise is hysterical as Father Fyodor, a desperate, loony obsessive with some of the best-timed short lines, and Mel Brooks feels woefully underused. His role as Tikon, the nostalgic ex-servant, is possibly his most well-rounded, charming, and flat-out funniest acting role...and he's in the film for less than twenty minutes at the beginning. I understand Tikon wouldn't have been in the source Russian novel much, but that's a shame because Brooks shone in the character.
This film is a fun dramatic and comedic satire that comments on the social upheaval of Russia but also social change in general as well as grief, denial, friendship, and greed. It's well worth a watch.