Operacija «Y» i drugie priključenija Šurika

The character of Shurik, modelled on the great comedians of silent film, is a lank and clumsy hero, but brave and shrewd at the decisive moment. In two of the three adventures shown, he must stand up against much stronger opponents, as expected: a work-shy drinker with whom he gets involved during a fast-paced, resourceful chase on a building site; and a burglar gang which he hunts down in a department store with the sureness of a sleep-walker. The middle episode relies on few spoken words and shows Shurik as an ambitious student becoming intimately involved with a fellow student, long before they would both notice. In 1965, OPERATION “Y” was viewed by a Soviet cinema audience of almost 70 million. His comedies, which are still popular in Russia today, made Leonid Gajdaj one of the country’s most successful directors of the 60’s and 70’s. His sense of humour would touch upon the limits of the permitted. OPERATION “Y” even managed to mock the Holy Grail of public welfare, the residential building sector. (Werner Michael Schwarz)