
"Shinel"(TheOvercoat)wasafilmdirectedbythegreatbutcommunistduetofHerrGrigoriKozintsevundHerrLeonardTrauberg.ItwasbasedintheeponymousbookwrittenbytheRussianHerrNikolaiGogol.ItmustsaidthatHerrKozintsevundHerrTraubergwereinspiredbyanotherGogoloeuvre,"NevskyProspect"fortheprologueofthefilm.ItshowstheanodyneyouthfulofthepoorclerkAkakyAkakiyevichBashmachkin,themaincharacterofthefilm.ThefilmextendsthisandgoesdeeplyintothereasonwhyHerrAkakiyevichneedsandspendhissavingsonanelegantovercoat.<br/> "Shinel"itisafilmaboutappearancesandtheimportancetowearauniformorrichclothes(well,concerningthisthearistocracyaregreatexpertsthankstocenturiesofimpeccabletailoring…).IthasmanyExpressionistreferences,notonlyinthewaytheseRussiandirectorsfilmedandresolvedthestory.Especiallyremarkablearethedifferentcameraanglesandtheeditingofthisfilm;it'snotGermanstyleatall,butitissuperbcamerawork.Thereareinstancesthataredeeplysarcasticandironic;thesetsandtheactorsperformancesarenotable.<br/> Thefilmitisformanymoments,asatire,withexaggeratedanddeliberateperformances.It'sevenexperimentalinmanyaspects.ThemoviemixesupdifferentEuropeanfilmstyles.Itshowsdifferentsocialconditionssuchasmiddle-classdullnessandtheextravagantandfalsebourgeoisie.Here'sanordinaryvanityfairthatgoesbizarrewithremarkablescenery."Shinel"wasphotographedmasterlybyanothercommunistpair,HerrYevgeniMikhajlovundHerrAndreiMoskvin,whomanagesinparticulartoemphasizetheoppressiveatmospherethatsurroundedthatpoorclerk.


