The Dream of a Ridiculous Man main backdrop
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man main poster

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

Visit website

6.8/10 • 66

1992-10-070h 20m

AnimationDrama

An animated short film based on the 1877 short story written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It chronicles the experiences of a man who decides that there is nothing to live for in the world, and is therefore determined to commit suicide. A chance encounter with a young girl changes his mind.

Directors
Aleksandr Petrov
Editors
Lyudmila Putyatina

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy

    Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy

    Narrator (voice)

Reviews1

View Reviews
CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Apr 7, 2024

7/10

Yet again, Petrov's attention to expressive detail is superb in this adaptation of Dostoevsky's story. We meet a man travelling on a train - well his body is, his mind is elsewhere. The dull, monotonic, narration tells us he is dwelling on the futility of his life and on thoughts of a bullet putting him out of his misery. Walking home he meets a young urchin who begs for help. He walks on by, ignoring her pleas, and goes to bed. It's in his dreams that we spend much of the next ten minutes and I found these to fairly biblical at times. Idyllic in nature to start then becoming more corrupt and vile, and his psyche amidst the dream seems to be trying to find where, if at all, his responsibility for this alternative world might lie. When he awakens, he must make a choice. Might it be better to live well in a flawed world - or to succumb to it's flaws and face something far, far worse. For some reason, the depiction of the man's face reminded me of Lenin throughout, the winkles and the earnestness in his eyes. The girl - well she could have been a poster girl for the French (or any other) revolution. A young child devoid of hope, or expectation, or love - and expertly captured here in her rags. The imagery is cold and bleak and it does largely accentuate the horrors of a world all about self. Astonishingly potent to watch.

Media

    Recommendations

    • My Love main backdrop

      My Love

      7.2

    • Magnus main backdrop

      Magnus

      6.8

    • Courier main backdrop

      Courier

      7.3

    • Antarctic Journal main backdrop

      Antarctic Journal

      6.0

    • My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days main backdrop

      My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days

      6.1

    • Fate of a Man main backdrop

      Fate of a Man

      7.5

    • The Fabric main backdrop

      The Fabric

      5.0

    • Mermaid main backdrop

      Mermaid

      6.9

    • The Paper main backdrop

      The Paper

      6.6

    • All Monsters Attack main backdrop

      All Monsters Attack

      5.1

    • The Greatest Night in Pop main backdrop

      The Greatest Night in Pop

      7.9

    • The Saragossa Manuscript main backdrop

      The Saragossa Manuscript

      7.9

    • I Give My First Love to You main backdrop

      I Give My First Love to You

      7.4

    • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday main backdrop

      Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

      4.6

    • R main backdrop

      R

      6.9

    • Cold Prey main backdrop

      Cold Prey

      6.3

    • Emancipation main backdrop

      Emancipation

      7.8

    • The Unforgivable main backdrop

      The Unforgivable

      7.4

    • Karate Kid: Legends main backdrop

      Karate Kid: Legends

      7.1

    • No Man of God main backdrop

      No Man of God

      6.6

    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    Russian
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
    --
    Keywords
    dreamsmemorysuicidal thoughtshumanitypaint-on-glassshort film