Heart of a dog is a biting satire by Mikhail Bulgakov of a new soviet man of the NEP period. The publication was initially prohibited, but circulated until it was officially released in 1987.
Story features a dog named Sharik who takes human form with the help of genious professor Filip Filippovich Preobrazhensky.
It’s an allegory of the Communist revolution and “the revolution’s misguided attempt to radically transform mankind.”
Sharikov is a prototype of simple and narrow-minded people, who were provided something higher than their level of mental development could accept. Sharikov is a random proletarian, who was given the authority and who absolutely does not know what to do with it. And no matter in what luxury apartments Sharikov would live after, what high position he would held, the cur’s habits took up. That’s the tragedy of the individual – the new people, who can not change who they really are.
It is extremely rare that one could bring the deep idea of such a fantastic book on the screen as Vladimir Bortko did (one of the best Russian film maker by GI opinion).
This movie is not just a story of dog’s reincarnation to the human being, but a reflection of a harsh reality of the whole Sharik’s era, the tragedy of the whole social system and culture of post-revolutionary society.
Against the background of the process of cur who is becoming a regular person whose needs are increasing day by day (all starts from the satisfaction of primal instincts and ends with the needs for comfort, status and position in society), we also see in detail a heavy and probably the most controversial time in the history of Russia.
A picture is worth watching even for the sake of simply expanding the horizons in the cinema. Not to mention the fact that the picture was taken in the Soviet Union. The film passes the ironic nature of the book with incredible precision. So take a couple of hours and enjoy this masterpiece, I think that you will not waste your time.
Photos source: www.kinopoisk.ru
