Window to Paris (Okno v Pariz)

Director: Yuri Mamin
Screenwriters: Yuri Mamin, Arkadi Tigai

Institute History

  • 1995 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Like the rest of Russia, Tchiyov is trying to cope with the confusion after the fall of communism. He shares a crowded St. Petersburg apartment with a lively bunch of borderline con artists. After a night of drinking, Tchiyov and his neighbor, Gorokhov, follow a stray cat into an old wardrobe, through a window, and onto a fire escape . . . in the city of Paris.

This third feature by Yuri Mamin is both a charming comedy and a wry political look at the effects of the fall of communism. For Tchiyov, the window is an opportunity to explore the vibrant culture and famous joie de vivre of Paris, whereas Gorokhov only wants to see if he can hoist a Citroen through the window before it closes, which it inevitably must. The joy they experience is matched by the horror felt by Nicole, a French artist, when she inadvertently stumbles through the window and is trapped in St. Petersburg.

Window to Paris is comic therapy for the stark reality of a Russia in slow decay. The Paris in this film is warm, bright, and fuzzy, and no one wants to leave. St. Petersburg is crumbling, and residents throw their garbage into the streets. The social commentary may seem heavy handed, but the characters are so honest and the situations so humorous that the result is enlightening and entertaining.

— Christian Gaines

Screening Details

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