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Abstract
This introductory article to the first publication of Aleksei Balabanov’s unrealized screenplay Clay Pit (Glinianaia iama, 2008), based on a play by Ol'ga Pogodina, analyses the key themes that connect the script with Balabanov’s oeuvre. Brotherhood is seen as central, and here contrasts with the relationship between the sisters, Liudmila and Galina, for the first time offering a female perspective. The negative attitude of characters towards ethnic minorities is typically outspoken in the script. Balabanov here erases the barrier between good and evil in an attempt to destabilize the viewer’s values and contribute to the script’s profoundly disquieting effect.
Notes
1. Sergei Bodrov Jr. starred as Danila Bagrov in Brother (1997) and Brother 2 (2000), and Captain Medvedev in War (Voina, 2002).
2. In this, Balabanov also has a lot in common with Lars Von Trier, another enfant terrible of European film, who often manipulates his audience in similar ways.
3. The bathhouse (bania) became a crime scene in Cargo 200 and a place to brag about how many people the Bandit has murdered in Me Too.
4. Balabanov extensively implemented this technique in Brother.