ABSTRACT
In this chapter Lipovetsky discusses a number of perestroika-era films with the trickster as a protagonist. At the centre of the analysis stand such films as Vadim Abdrashitov’s Plumbum, or A Dangerous Game (Pliumbum, ili Opasnaia igra, 1986), Sergei Ashkenazi’s Criminal Talent (Kriminal'nyi talant, 1988), Pavel Lungin’s Taxi Blues (Taksi-Bliuz, 1990) and Vasilii Pichul’s Idiot’s Dreams (Mechty idiota, 1993). These films represent the trickster as the most vibrant legacy of the Soviet era and test whether this cultural type has preserved its relevance and vitality after the collapse of communism. While analysing the result of these ‘tests’, the chapter discusses the representation of such aspects of the Soviet trickster trope as the doubling/mockery of power; the underdog’s subversion of social mores; and the representation of counter-culture.
