The Man of the Capuchin Boulevard (1987)

Instant Favorite.

Crappy film

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I like the super-task of the "Сinema man" (The man from Cappuchino boulevard), but I never can understand what made them in 1987 (Chrushev is dead) want to clash the cinema and the Church. This seems to make the movie very very lame. Just answer me, when you hit a God-forsaken American town, how often do you meet an evil, carnal Pastor ? Everyone, absolutely everyone in this town, including the bar owner, the Indian Chief, and the local hit-man Black Joe are good people, at least they have good soul strings. Only Church Pastor stands out as pitch black, as absolute evil. You know, I don't like such plain con gaming. Even the world of cinema men has good and bad representatives like Mr.First who features good manners, good and high feelings, gentleness, kindness, and everything good you know about the cinema, and Mr.Second who disseminates violence, low style, fights, perhaps toilet humor, horrors, nudity and sex, and everything bad you know about the cinema. But when it comes to Church you have only one pitch black Jewish evil carnal Pastor who's dream is to rape a lady singing in the bar. Well, even if you tell me that evil, carnal, raping Pastors are as frequent in the USA as Coca-Cola dispensers, this still can not be a reason to bang a traveling cinema man against the Church. Even local hit-man Black Joe turns better than Pastor. What is this ? What thoughts shall this provoke ? The only clue thrown in is Mr. First's song "without rage and mourning for the benefit of the planet Earth as we dreamed since long but still can not live up to our dream". Well, perhaps's that's it. A spoof of the American dream, a mock of the shining city on the hill ? And the evil lustful Pastor is an American Pastor namely and exclusively? Kh-m, you should have warned me, that this gonna be so, eh, particular. The movie was shot in 1987 when we in Russia were going full speed for universal human values, everything was going to be for us so universal, and an evil Pastor in the US could mean only an equally evil Priest on the other side of the pond. Well, were we really supposed to take seriously that cinema is going to save the world ? And all this garnished with carefully choreographed fist fights in the saloon, fighting Indians, and "Lemonade Joe" style story of how a rotten dangerous hole of American town turned into a descent place thanks to the traveling projector ? Strange movie though, with a message buried more deeper than the eventual plot, otherwise with no message at all. Well, as strange and mesmerizing as Irina Fateeva and Spartak Michulin as Indian Chief couple.

This was both a surrealist old-west comedy, and at the same time a crookedly-philosophical postmodern commentary on the power of art -- and it's a huge success as both. As a basis for the comedy, there is a plentiful supply of plain good gags, from the cowboys dutifully repairing the saloon after they have destroyed it in a bar fight, to the "That was my steak!" running gag, to the perfectly stereotypical Indian Chief soberly declaring that the cowboys must never have heard of Charles Darwin. The cowboys are, of course, perfectly self-conscious movieland cowboys - - hard-drinking and hard-fighting reductio ad absurdum. And they're utterly unfamiliar with the concept of art. So when Mr First arrives with the Absurdist premise and delivers cinema, it's films themselves that transform the cowboys from their unabashedly film-sourced stereotypical personalities. Is it a change for the better? Like all changes that art brings, that's open to interpretation. But it leads to the sight of an evil pastor declaring movies "the opium of the people."And, of course, in an artless world where art is introduced, it has a literal, magical effect. The undertaker is out work because people don't want to die any more (he's a former philosopher, but that skill wasn't so much needed on the frontier), and our heroine wants a baby immediately after kissing -- because that's how it is in the movie. And, of course -- in a wonderful moment that perhaps encapsulates how this film makes memorable philosophical points almost casually while it jokes -- when the building is burnt down the movies and apparatus are undamaged because (in a possible nod to Bulgakov), quite literally "art does not burn" ("iskusstvo ne gorit")!And while Mr First's influence may have been purifying, we see that Mr Second arrives at the end to put the money into film (where we know it remains), returning our cowboy heroes to their debouched ways. So art is powerful, but perhaps equivocal in it's power. And it ends with that cynical note, and a cheerful song (the music, by the way, its all extremely catchy). The performers are excellent too; this is the third film of Andrey Mironov's that I've seen, and he keeps impressing me as a comedy performer. I'd almost call this obligatory for those who (like me) have a taste for Absurdist comedy and reflexive postmodern wit. And for those who just looking fro something funny, my recommendation still stands.

This movie is hot. It seems to be the only real representative of a serious cowboy flick in Russian cinema. And this one makes us proud. It was directed by a woman! The plot goes here. The very beginning of the 20th century. Wild West. A cinema devotee - Mr First - comes to an American town where everybody drinks, fights, and swears. Mr First introduces the world of black-and-white cinema to the cowboys and the life changes. All the good movies he shows them have a direct effect on their living. The population of the town stops all the drinking, fighting, etc. The people start to respect each other and to behave in a good manner. Mr First leaves the town for some time. During his absence some freak comes to town - Mr Second - who is also a cinema devotee, but he is into some nasty types of movies. As a result of watching those "nasties" the people turn into violent morons again.It has got plenty of fist-fighting, swearing, numerous shootings, easy catchy songs, lots of nice women, tons of whiskey being consumed, hundreds of cigars being smoked over and over, macho-Indians and of course macho-cowboys. Those crazy fights and quarrels in the saloon alone deserve an Oscar. On top of it it has a clever story to deliver. All this makes the film one of the very best movies of our time.Please, throw away something from the IMDb top 250 and put this one onto the top list. That will be fair. Think it over: a girl directs a western, makes it in an insane manner with lots of fighting and shooting, and what is more, makes it thought-provoking. This deserves the ultimate worldwide recognition. No wonder we all went to cinema multiple times to watch it again and again. Even the tough American flicks of the 1980-s could not overwhelm our perception of this picture.A goof: in one scene the drunk one-eyed cowboy looses his band and becomes a normal goggler - that's ridiculous.10 out of 10, very enjoyable for all generations and all nationalities. Thanks for attention.

I saw this movie when I was in Russia. I must admit it is a low budget movie, but it has an excellent acting. It is very good comedy. I don't really know if its available in US, but if you have a chance I would recommend it!