'Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977)' was adapted from Anton Chekhov's untitled play from 1878 (generally known as "Platonov" in English translations, after its main character). Of course, I didn't know that until I started writing this review. I must confess that my watching this film was motivated entirely by its unusual title, and that my experience with either Chekhov or director Nikita Mikhalkov was, until now, nonexistent. Having said that, I found the film quite enjoyable, and hope to enjoy more of Mikhalkov's work in the future. The story unfolds over the course of a single day and night, and plays a little like Renoir's 'The Rules of the Game (1939)' or Altman's 'Gosford Park (2001)' – that is, it depicts the upper-class, brought together by aristocracy, pretending to enjoy the company of those whom they secretly despise. The characters' conversations are stilted by formality, each person harbouring undisclosed hatreds and desires, leading fruitless lives of meaningless existence.
Mikhalkov's film is very dialogue-heavy, and one might remark that nothing happens in it. Indeed, I believe that this is the point. Throughout the film, characters talk frequently about taking action, and yet achieve nothing. The prejudiced Darwinist and the proletariat sympathiser are both equally impotent. Sergey (Yuri Bogatyryov), in a moment of passion, pledges to leave the estate, but falls asleep in a stationary carriage. Even Platonov (Aleksandr Kalyagin) fails miserably in his suicide attempt, leaping into shallow water. Out of context, the film's ending might be misconstrued as optimistic, yet it smacks of superficiality; the assurance that "everything will be the way it was" indicates a return to the grotesque charade of formality that these people will spend the rest of their lives enacting. One gets the sense that only during Platonov's emotional break-down is a character in the film being truthful with himself or others. Alas, within insanity is the only sanity we're ever likely to find.
Mikhalkov's film is very dialogue-heavy, and one might remark that nothing happens in it. Indeed, I believe that this is the point. Throughout the film, characters talk frequently about taking action, and yet achieve nothing. The prejudiced Darwinist and the proletariat sympathiser are both equally impotent. Sergey (Yuri Bogatyryov), in a moment of passion, pledges to leave the estate, but falls asleep in a stationary carriage. Even Platonov (Aleksandr Kalyagin) fails miserably in his suicide attempt, leaping into shallow water. Out of context, the film's ending might be misconstrued as optimistic, yet it smacks of superficiality; the assurance that "everything will be the way it was" indicates a return to the grotesque charade of formality that these people will spend the rest of their lives enacting. One gets the sense that only during Platonov's emotional break-down is a character in the film being truthful with himself or others. Alas, within insanity is the only sanity we're ever likely to find.