To Kill a Dragon (1988)

This movie is a fairy tale. And like all classic fairy tales - it is grim, it is scary, and it teaches us about ourselves. It's a dark mirror, reflecting human nature, our relationship with power - and our desire for things to remain familiar, stable - the same, no matter what the cost. This movie is a grotesque view of a society - each human society. It is about a slave - and a dragon - in each and every one of us. In recent years fairy tales became mass produced sugar syrup for mass consumption, devoid of their original intent of being the lessons in life itself. We forget that Cinderella is not about pretty dresses, and Mermaid - is not about singing crabs. That the original folk tales are dark and scary - precisely because life is like that. "To kill a dragon" takes a fairy tale to it's roots - dark as human nature can be, exposing the scary side of humanity, so we can become better as a result.

A brilliant movie, like most of Russian's movies. Based on the play "Kill the Dragon", by Evgeni Schwartz, it is mostly like theater, with strong accent on the characters, the plot, the acting.Director has not waisted his time and talent on special effects and such a marginal things. "Ubit drakona" is a beautiful story about freedom, and human disability to live freely; about beauty, nobility, and loneliness of beautiful and noble creatures in the world. It is done in the best manner of Russian literature, with strong influence of novels of Dostoevski, with plenty of dialogs freedom, love, violence, but, also, with brilliantly done scenes of duels, balls, and dialogs in the classical manner of Shakespeare.

This film is not to be taken as just a gruesome fairy tale. It`s a sharp and biting glance of an effect of power on people. It follows how power corrupts people and especially highlights and shames those who quietly succumbs to tyrany just for the dear piece even if it means betraying your loved ones and everyone around. The blazing line that goes through film -"kill the dragon and you become the next dragon". Is it possible not to fall prey for a comfort of being a tyrant, not to become another dragon ? Wondering knight Lancelot has to find that out for himself.//--POSSIBLE SPOILERS--------// One shot from the film that I would like to mention especially - when the death of Dragon is pronounced to people and the voice shout from the city wall - "people, now you have your freedom !", for the minute crowd stands numb, than the voices raise in jubilation, but the camera turns and shows a bunch of scrawny mails, one of them suddenly yells "freedom!", turns over the nearby apple stand, grabs the passing by woman and tries to drag her in an ally.No rosy happy end here. Where freedom turns into anarchy ? What to do about it ? Instate another tyrany and become another Dragon ? Recommended to anyone who thinks that things are easy - just take the sword and slash something. This will make you think again.

And It's a shame nobody actually knows this miracle exists. "Killing the Dragon" is the only film Zakharov, a genious theatre director, made for the big screen after quite a few TV masterpieces. He talks about freedom and human nature using fairy tale motives. His voice is pure, rough, powerfull and totally amazing. I cry every time this film comes to its amazing ending. SO GREAT!!!