IVAN VASILIEVICH: BACK TO THE FUTURE is a broad time travel comedy from Russia. Those with an experience of Russian cinema from this decade will immediately recognise the constant mugging and slapstick laughs inherent in the story and those looking for something a little wittier and more mature will be disappointed. Still, I liked this one regardless, purely because of the effort that's gone into the production.
This is a sequel of sorts to OPERATION 'Y' AND OTHER SHURIK'S ADVENTURES, featuring as it does the likable Aleksandr Demyanenko returning to the role of Shurik. The subject matter is time travel, with two story lines playing out in tandem: the first has a couple of small-timers sent back to 16th century Russia to engage in plenty of chases, while the second, and more interesting plot, has Ivan the Terrible arriving in the present day and finding himself confused by modern technology. It's broad stuff indeed, but a film that works well and is genuinely amusing.
This is a sequel of sorts to OPERATION 'Y' AND OTHER SHURIK'S ADVENTURES, featuring as it does the likable Aleksandr Demyanenko returning to the role of Shurik. The subject matter is time travel, with two story lines playing out in tandem: the first has a couple of small-timers sent back to 16th century Russia to engage in plenty of chases, while the second, and more interesting plot, has Ivan the Terrible arriving in the present day and finding himself confused by modern technology. It's broad stuff indeed, but a film that works well and is genuinely amusing.