The Fool (2014)

Dima Nikitin is an ordinary honest plumber who suddenly decides to face the corrupt system of local politics in order to save the lives of 800 inhabitants of an old dormitory, which is about to collapse.

Director:

Yuriy Bykov

Writer:

Yuriy Bykov

Stars:

Artyom Bystrov, Natalya Surkova, Yuriy Tsurilo

16 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Artyom Bystrov	...	Dima Nikitin
Natalya Surkova	...	Nina Galaganova, mer
Yuriy Tsurilo	...	Bogachyov
Boris Nevzorov	...	Fedotov
Kirill Polukhin	...	Matyugin
Aleksandr Korshunov	...	Otets Dimy
Olga Samoshina	...	Mat Dimy
Darya Moroz	...	Zhena Dimy
Sergey Artsibashev	...	Tulskiy (as Sergey Artsybashev)
Elena Panova	...	Kristina
Dmitriy Kulichkov	...	Drunk
Ilya Isaev	...	Safronov
Maksim Pinsker	...	Sayapin
Lyubov Rudenko	...	Razumihina
Irina Nizina	...	Chernenko

Storyline

The Fool is a movie about a simple plumber. An honest man, he is up against an entire system of corrupted bureaucrats. At stake are the lives of 800 inhabitants of an old dorm that is at risk of collapsing within the span of the night. Dima Nikitin is a simple and honest guy, a foreman of a repair team at a provincial housing service. Nothing really makes him stand out among the rest. It's only the unusual combination of honesty and integrity that makes others perceive him as somewhat weird.In the little town there is a notorious dorm, inhabited mainly by drunkards and outcasts. One night the pipes burst at the dorm. After arriving at the scene, Nikitin discovers that things are way more serious - the building will not stand through the night. People need to be evacuated immediately. Fighting the red tape, Nikitin sets off on a night Odyssey around the town authorities.

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Plot Keywords:

male hits a female | man hits a woman | plumber | building | individual versus society | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [United States]

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

16 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fool

Filming Locations:

Tula, Tula Oblast, Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rock Film Studio, Russian Ministry of Culture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-produced by the Russian Ministry of Culture

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Quotes

Dima Nikitin: We live like animals and die like animals because we are nobodies to each other.

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Connections

Referenced in Vdud (2017)

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Soundtracks

Spokoynaya noch
Written by Viktor Tsoy
Performed by Kino
Courtesy of Moroz Records

User Reviews

Will there ever be any hope for Russia?

Yuri Bykov's "Durak" ("The Fool" in English) looks as the current state of affairs in Russia. This story of a plumber facing an intractable bureaucracy when he tries to draw people's attention to a precarious apartment building is merely one look into an oligarchic society that's seen little infrastructural and political advancement since the Soviet collapse. Indeed, the city government seems as hopeless as the private citizens. The truth is, none of this should come as a surprise. Boris Yeltsin turned Russia into a kleptocracy. Vladimir Putin stabilized the economy but restored the Soviet-era authoritarianism. Corruption has dominated the country ever since the USSR collapsed (and was certainly widespread in Soviet times).

"The Fool" is mostly an indictment of Putin's Russia, but can be seen as an indictment of any society in which corruption is so ingrained that the citizens practically accept it. Worth seeing.