Honestly, I haven't expected from the creators of rather experimental independent "Pyl" such a high artistic and at the same time entertaining film. "Shapito-shou" is so-called "art-house"film and "a film for wide audience" at the same time.
4 stories told successively but in fact developing at the same time, contain so deep and controversial meanings. Story named "Love" is not about love but about difficulty or impossibility of it. That can also be said concerning the following "Friendship", "Respect" and "Collaboration".
At first the film seems a typical "film for youth", romantic comedy developing during a summer vacation at Yalta. But as it turns out to be a nightmare or hallucination of people who are alienated and incapable of living with "love" and other human virtues listed by authors. The director Sergei Loban cites and makes parodies from many images and personalities of Cinema History and Soviet-Russia culture-from Victor Tsoi to Eisenshtein(an old video operator is named "Sergei Mikhailovich" ). Although one can find in its style rather apparent influence from Fellini and Lynch, Loban's self-control as an director is kept from the first to the last moments of the film.
Shortly, this film is "must see" for those who are interested in Russian cinema and for serious movie lovers.
