I want to be in prison
Production director: Alla Surikova
Written by: Vladimir Eryomin
Director of Photography:
Production Designer:
Music by:
Sound Producer:
Costume Designer:
Film Editor:
Makeup Artist:
Script Editor:
Executive producers: ,
Producers: Igor Tolstunov,
The shooting in the Netherlands were provided by “Quintus Films BV”
The translation is read by: Anna Kamenkova, Vladimir Eryomin
Music used in the film: "Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert, Tango “Oh, these black eyes” by Oskars Stroks
Produced by: NTV-PROFIT
Cast: Vladimir Ilin, Natalya Gundareva, Alla Klyuka, Sergey Batalov, Boris Shcherbakov, Kira Surikova, Oleg Bocharov, Natalya Korenchenko, , , Igor Migunov, Mikhail Petrovsky, Chip Bray
Five cars of ¨Zaporozhets¨ mark as a yellow Simeon Lyamkin´s ¨Zaporozhets¨, equipped and reconstructed by the stunt coordinator .
Synopsis
«On the wide road in tundra the train Vorkuta-Amsterdam dashes on», - sings desperately a short plumpish person in a knitted "beanie" hat.
His strong voice spreads through sterile walls of incredibly comfortable Holland prison, where two alarmed prison guards walk him holding his hands hard but politely and listening attentively to the sounds of an unfamiliar song. Why would the exemplary Russian prisoner named Lyamkin start to “kick up a rumpus” all of a sudden? Just when he was supposed to be released early for impact working?
Everything is simple. Lyamkin doesn’t desire freedom. He wants to stay in prison. He’d better be away from militia of his hometown St. Petersburg and "sit out" all the troubles he got into due to his honesty and blind confidence.
Simeon Lyamkin is a jack-of-all-trades. He can do everything. Both to repair the most complex Japanese robot by removing some superfluous “twistum” and to make a technological wonder out of his yellow "Zaporozhets". This vehicle moves quicker than "Mercedes", smashes "jeeps", floats and almost flies. At least an inscription blinking on its rear window «Moscow-Voronezh - not gonna get me!» looks very convincing.
Like a true Russian handyman in epic songs Lyamkin is kind, nice and honest, but not without flaws though. Lyamkin can get so drunk that he would hit on his own wife at the entrance of their house. However she forgives him as she knows that Lyamkin loves only her. He will cheat on her accidentally in far Amsterdam with an elegant Holland lady called Mary only “for the sake of honor of his country!” Mary will watch him leave with tender and sad eyes, without having managed to explain to her respectable husband why she fell for this amusing "Winnie-the-Pooh".
Inhabitants of the Holland prison see Lyamkin off with sorrow too. «Simone! You are such a short man, - his prison mate Chris says to Lyamkin. - But you are such a big person!». Well, he is just one the good ones.
He will stand up for himself and will always thumb nose at this life. His cool inscription blinking, while he gets away to his unattainable "Voronezh". It´s safe and peaceful by his side, and his naive righteousness song “Everything's hunky-dory” promises that it is going to be okay.
Awards:
1998: The Nika Award of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences – “Best actor” (Vladimir Ilin)
1999: The Open Russian Film Festival “Kinotavr” – “Best actor” (Vladimir Ilin)
1999: TheInternational Women Film Festival (Minsk) – the special prize “Our Earth” – for the unblinking devotion to the genre of comedy and for the on-going humanistic tradition to love a “low ranker”.
Participation in festivals
1999: The Open Russian Film Festival “Kinotavr”, Sochi
1999: TheInternational Women Film Festival in Minsk, Belarus
1999: Vilnius International Film Festival, Lithuania
