Hats off to to filmmaker Dimitrii Kalashnikov, who recently released a “film” called “The Road Movie” that’s nothing but a compilation of well-worn Russian dash cam videos:
Sure, anybody could have made this “movie,” and had the chutzpah to release it as a “documentary.” But somehow Mr. Kalashnikov’s 67-minute fail video has gained traction and even wide theatrical release. The Road Movie has an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and managed to draw excoriation from the New Yorker:
Perhaps Kalashnikov wants to suggest that a society in which mortal car accidents and random shootings serve as home entertainment is also one in which a tyrant can reign with acclaim and his opponents can be killed with impunity. Perhaps Kalashnikov hopes to reflect the desensitization to violence by the prevalence of casual depictions of violence. Yet the film itself is part of, and an amplification of, the very desensitization that it might decry.
Kalashnikov was not trying to reflect the desensitization of violence. He wasn’t trying to decry jack squat. He realized he could make a “movie” out of a bunch of free footage, and he pulled it off.
We haven’t seen The Road Movie but here’s our review:
This movie itself sucks. You could save $12 and spend 67 minutes falling down a Russian dash cam YouTube rabbit hole instead of watching it. But the real genius and accomplishment of the film lies in its ability to draw serious criticism from the likes of the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Time Out. It is a brilliant piece of meta-cultural performance art.
You could get this dash cam with the hope of becoming a Cannes-feted filmmaker of your own after you plow into a goose, but don’t hold your breath. Lightning never strikes twice. Or does it … ?
