Carnival Night is a good time, not just for the audience but the characters as well. For the characters, it is time to party like it is 1999. For us, it is an explosion of camp, over-the-top technicolor, outbursts of singing, and ridiculous dialogue. How could you not love that? On the surface, Carnival Night merely celebrates having fun. However, behind that fun there is something much deeper, perhaps an underlying and subversive social commentary. The film was made in 1956, several years after the death of Stalin. Although the film makes no direct reference and reaction to Stalin, a questioning and violation of authority consumes the film.
The young characters of the film spend the entire film doing what they want in complete disregard of authority. They turn the idea of authority into a joke, making fun of its traditionalist and regressive ideals. Sounds like a reaction to the oppressive totalitarian system of Stalin to me. The end of Stalin's power wasn't a tragedy, but rather a reason to celebrate, joyously and loudly. Carnival Night celebrates New Years Eve properly, but also the end of Stalin, in your face, on the big screen, with bright colors, jokes, and songs. The youth have its own plans, which do not involve any form of a hierarchical power structure. The kids just want to rock 'n' roll. Heaven forbid people want to have fun in communist Russia. Can a communist have fun? Aren't the communist supposed to sacrifice fun in the name of the State? Not here. Youth have taken over, running things on its own terms, without sacrificing anything, especially their fun, to the State. What has the State and Stalin ever done for them?
Questioning authority is great, but the film takes it another level with a handful of homoerotic scenes. A man and man kissing, which for us nowadays is nothing, but back then it was another story. Hinting to homosexuality in 1950s Soviet film? Could you even do that? Sounds like trouble to me. But, who knows and who cares? Carnival Night has done it all. Good fun reaches the level of subversive and perhaps even treason. It is refreshing to see these characters slap everything sacred in the face.
Peter Bayuk
The young characters of the film spend the entire film doing what they want in complete disregard of authority. They turn the idea of authority into a joke, making fun of its traditionalist and regressive ideals. Sounds like a reaction to the oppressive totalitarian system of Stalin to me. The end of Stalin's power wasn't a tragedy, but rather a reason to celebrate, joyously and loudly. Carnival Night celebrates New Years Eve properly, but also the end of Stalin, in your face, on the big screen, with bright colors, jokes, and songs. The youth have its own plans, which do not involve any form of a hierarchical power structure. The kids just want to rock 'n' roll. Heaven forbid people want to have fun in communist Russia. Can a communist have fun? Aren't the communist supposed to sacrifice fun in the name of the State? Not here. Youth have taken over, running things on its own terms, without sacrificing anything, especially their fun, to the State. What has the State and Stalin ever done for them?
Questioning authority is great, but the film takes it another level with a handful of homoerotic scenes. A man and man kissing, which for us nowadays is nothing, but back then it was another story. Hinting to homosexuality in 1950s Soviet film? Could you even do that? Sounds like trouble to me. But, who knows and who cares? Carnival Night has done it all. Good fun reaches the level of subversive and perhaps even treason. It is refreshing to see these characters slap everything sacred in the face.
Peter Bayuk
1 comment:
Post a Comment