Yuri Bykov's The Fool paints a grim portrait of a country that has completely descended into the dog-eat-dog mentality, where desperation has led to morality being thrown out the window, where if you don't lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead you are at a major disadvantage. The story of The Fool is centered around a Dima Nikitin, a simple plumber and honest man, who ends up going up against an entire system of corruption, where bureaucrats use public money to pad their wallets instead of serving their community. On a routine repair job at one of his districts more notorious housing projects, one that is mostly inhabited by drunkards, drug abusers, and outcasts, Nikitin discovers that the structure is in serious peril. The housing project has severe structural damage and is teetering on the edge of collapse, but as Niklitin sets out to warn the authorities of the damage and urge them to evacuate the building, he begins to realize their interests don't align. The Fool is a film that would be sure to make Frank Capra proud, a one man against the system story that beautiful captures how systematic corruption is toxic force on social morality. Throughout this film it becomes clear that Niklitin's morality sets him apart from everyone else, being a man of integrity and honesty that doesn't exist in a world of such systematic corruption. Even his own loved ones, including his wife and parents, see Niklitin's integrity as a dangerous problem, viewing it as an unrealistic option in such an environment. While the Fool doesn't quite have the beautiful aesthetic of some of Russia's more praised filmmakers, the bleak, kaftka-esque nature of the story is incredibly riveting and painfully bleak, as we follow Niklitin's seemingly futile attempt to stand up for the people in a system that simply places very little value on human life. Engrossing, compelling, and ultimately quite bleak, Yuri Bykov's The Fool is a powerful tale of corruption and greed, being a sobering reminder of how quickly integrity and morality can be stripped away from society when its leaders and bureaucrats show little interest in having it themselves.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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