Russia

02.02.08

Kin-Dza-Dza
Andrei Tarkovsky, Georgi Daneliya, Russia, Solaris (2)
Here's a movie that goes Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris one better. Solaris itself was somewhat of a reaction against Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. 2001 featured gleaming high-tech on a massive scale. In Solaris, the space vehicle is somewhat run down and the protagonist goes around in a soiled shirt. But that's nothing compared to Kin-dza-dza, which came out in Russia in 1986. Two of the interplanetary space travelers are pictured above. (It's a photo of the VHS cover. I cobbed it from Wikipedia.) And here is their spacecraft. (Photo cobbed from the ...
11.07.07

Ubiquitous national symbols
Andrei Tarkovsky, Katok i skripka, Russia (0)
Today's WSJ told about the new CCTV building now under construction in China. It will be the 2nd largest office building in the world, after the Pentagon. I wonder if it will become a ubiquitous symbol of China. If so, that will be some interesting symbolism -- a communications building as national symbol of a country that tries hard to restrict certain types of communication. Another country with a ubiquitous building as national symbol is Russia. The Foreign Ministry Building is everywhere. This photo of it is from Wikipedia. It's also in the standard intro ...

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