Kin-dza-dza!


Kin-dza-dza! is a 1986 Soviet sci-fi dystopian tragicomedy cult film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgiy Daneliya, with a story by Georgiy Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze.

Plot

Kin-dza-dza! begins in 1980s Moscow. Uncle Vova, a generic but gruff construction foreman is relaxing at home after a stressful day at work. His wife asks him to buy some groceries so Vova goes out to the nearest store. Standing right in the city centre on Kalinin Prospekt, a barefoot man dressed in a tattered coat appeals to anyone with a strange request: "Tell me the number of your planet in the tenture? Or least the number of your galaxy in the spiral?". Uncle Vova and a young Georgian student with a violin, stop and talk to the strange man. During a short conversation the stranger shows them a teleportation device – "traveler". Uncle Vova decides to test the veracity of the stranger's story and, despite the stranger's warnings, presses a random button on the device. Suddenly Uncle Vova and the Violinist find themselves transported to the planet "Pluke" in the "Kin-dza-dza" galaxy.
The natives of the planet appear human, with deceptively primitive-looking technology and a barbaric culture, which satirically resembles that of humans. They are telepathic; the only spoken words normally used in their culture are “ku” and “kyu”, the former stands for everything good, the latter being a swear word or stands for every bad thing. However, the Plukanians are able to quickly adapt to understand and speak Russian and Georgian. The society of Pluke is divided into two categories: Chatlanians and Patsaks. The difference is ascertained only by means of a small handheld device, similar to flash drive in appearance; when pointed at a member of the Chatlanian group, an orange light on the device comes on; when pointed at a member of the Patsak group, a green light comes on. It is also noted that the social differences between Patsaks and Chatlanians are not constant: Pluke being a Chatlanian planet, so Chatlanians are privileged, and a system of rituals must be followed by the Patsaks to show flattery; but there are Patsak planets where Patsaks hold the upper hand and Chatlanians are subservient. The visator shows that Uncle Vova and the Violinist are Patsaks.
The only group allowed to use weapons and enforce their will are the ecilops. Outside being a Patsak or Chatlanin, respect towards others is determined by the color of their pants; different shades require those of lower social standing to "ku" at them a predetermined number of times, displaying their submission. The nominal leader of the Plukanian society is Mr. P-Zh; everybody makes their best to display fervent worship to him and disrespect is severely punished; but, when encountered in person, P-Zh appears harmless and dumb. The fuel of Pluke is called luts and is made from water. All naturally present water has apparently been processed into luts, so drinking water is a valuable commodity.
A good deal of the plot is based on the fact that ordinary wooden matchsticks are considered to be extremely valuable on Pluke. Uncle Vova and the Violinist meet two locals, Uef and Be, who at various points either help or abandon the duo from Earth in their quest to return to Earth, which at various times involves repairing Uef and Be's ship or raiding P-Zh's private compound.
Uncle Vova and the Violinist finally encounter the man from the film's beginning, but he disappears, making it uncertain if he took them with him. The film then jumps back to the very beginning, as Uncle Vova heads outside however there is no man at the city center, where he runs into the Violinist, however they do not recognize each other. Suddenly, a passing tractor with an orange flashing light reminds them of the ecilops and they both reflexively squat and say, "ku!" as was required on Pluke. They immediately recognize each other. Uncle Vova, looking at the sky, hears the sound of a song performed by the Uef and Be.

Cast (in order of appearance)

The movie has been released on DVD in Russia but has gained virtually no notice elsewhere, with the exception of Japan. This is largely due to the fact that there was no official release of the movie with English subtitles for a long time. While the movie was in the making, a censorship threat emerged due to the use of the word Ku which sounded like the initials "K. U." of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR at the time, K. U. Chernenko. Chernenko who assumed the leadership in 1984, died in 1985, and this removed the danger.
In 2005 RUSCICO released a version with Russian original sound and with English and French dubbing, It has also subtitles in English and other languages.
Since 2013, a digitally-restored Blu-ray Disc version is available.
The film is available with English subtitles on YouTube via Mosfilm

Critical response

Thirty years after its original release, Little White Lies magazine described Kin-dza-dza! as "Mad Max meets Monty Python by way of Tarkovsky" and said it had remained relevant to audiences. Russia Beyond agreed that the film was still well-loved by Russians in 2016.
On December 1, 2016, Google celebrated the 30th anniversary of Kin-Dza-Dza! with a Google Doodle.

Animated remake

In 2013, Daneliya released an animated remake of his film, named Ku! Kin-dza-dza!. The animated version was based on the same plot, but targeted more towards children and the international audience. It had a budget of 140 million rubles. Ku! Kin-dza-dza! won Best Animated Feature Film in the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The animated remake is mainly a traditionally-animated feature film with some computer animation in it