Strana Oz

Certainly, a major deviation from the kvas-patriotic drivel aiming at the unwashed masses. In fact, a quite plausible depiction of the said masses. Would be funny, if it weren't cutting too close to comfort. Bewildering snapshot of 'Russia today'. However, redemption is perhaps sometimes found even amidst this bleak landscape - one just has to stumble upon a yellow brick road, which is ultimately not yellow, not brick, and more of a maze than a road to anywhere. A fitting epitome of daily living in Russia, especially outside of Moscow or St. Pete. As grotesque as some characters may be - and some of the vignettes are oddly focused on corpophilia - they are still not too far from reality, which, on one hand adds to the credibility of the plot lines, but on the other throws in an additional dollop of gray and black to the already dark backdrop.