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Twist again à Moscou
1986 Comedy
Review
After Papy
fait de la résistance (1983), an ebullient WWII satire on the French
Resistance, director Jean-Marie Poiré decided to make a comedy about life on the
other side of the iron curtain. As the resulting film shows, he hit on another rich
vein of comedy, with plenty of easy subjects for parodying – brutish KGB officers, self-important
civil servants, self-serving bourgeoisie masquerading as loyal party members, etc.
Although the plot is a bit of a mess, it stands as one of Poiré’s most enjoyable
films, thanks to its well-balanced cast – which includes such giants as Philippe Noiret
and Bernard Blier at their comic best – and a constant stream of hilarious visual jokes.
The cinematography is of exceptional calibre for a film of this kind; the palate is largely limited to tones of white and grey, conveying both the raw beauty of the Russian landscape and also a real sense of the bleak life endured by many under Soviet rule. Just as a good meal tastes far better when served on fine dinnerware, a comedy is all the more enjoyable when it is filmed in a way that pleases the eye and engages the soul. Twist again à Moscou is one such film, a wholesome treat for any connoisseur of French comedy. © James Travers 2006 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Jean-Marie Poiré
Starring: Philippe Noiret, Christian Clavier, Martin Lamotte, Bernard Blier, Agnès Soral Synopsis
In 1984, some years before the fall of Communism, pop singer Tatiana tours Soviet Russia,
accompanied by her boyfriend Iouri. One of her concerts is stormed by the KGB, who
are pursuing her father, a university professor charged with supporting a Jewish student.
Iouri turns to his brother-in-law, Igor Tataiev, the manager of a luxury hotel in Moscow,
but his request for help falls on deaf ears. Igor has his own problems, since his
hotel is to be scrutinised by a single-minded apparatchik, Boris Pikov, who intends to
report any sign of dissidence to his superiors. At this point, who should appear
but Iouri, Tatiana and the singer’s parents, with the KGB close on their heels.
For Igor Tataiev, the next few days will be the worst he has ever seen. They might
even be his last…
Credits
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