#Он Дракон

[sombredancer]

Recent visually beautiful and generally watchable Russian fantasy movies

(because I start forgetting they exist at all) Ironically, all of them are adaptations of books/comics.

I Am Dragon / Он — дракон (2015) This movie is a very free adaptation of the novel "The Rite" / "Ритуал" by Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko (Марина и Сергей Дяченко). It's a reinterpreting of an ancient tale about a maiden, a hero and a dragon. I don`t like the novel because it's very postmodern, wracks the typical fairytale plot and hurts my escapist feelings by ugly reality, but the movie is pretty fairytale-ish and nice. Firstly, it is visually beautiful and represent Slavic pseudo-medieval lore the way it should have always been in Slavic fantasy.

Secondly, as a love story between a monster and a maiden, it has got A PLENTY of tropes I'm usually looking for in Chinese dramas, so I understand very well why it was pretty popular in Asia.

Thirdly, when I said it's visually beautiful I wasn't joking. The main hero is played not by an actor, but by a male model, who is shirtless all the time (and sometimes pantless) and has a very fit and good-looking body. It's something unbelievable that someone in Russia made a movie to please women's eyes! Really, it's insane!

The folk-rock band Мельница wrote an insanely beautiful song "Обряд" (The Rite) for this movie (more matched to the book plot, though), but it was never used as OST, which is a shame. The song is about a black sheep girl, who is denied by society and asks a dragon to come for her and to take her away, because the dragon is denied by this world just like her. You can listen to it here. The band also has a song "Змей" (The Wyrm) (based on Lev Gumilev's poem), which is more accurate to the plot of the movie: the wyrm kidnaps maidens to make them its wives, but they are all dying during the flight; at the end of the song a hero-knight is ready to shoot it in order to stop it. Listen to it here.

It ends with HE, which is better than the book's obscure ending, so it is pleasure for me to rewatch it till these days.

Major Grom: Plague Doctor / Майор Гром: Чумной Доктор (2021)

It is an adaptation of Russian comic series "Major Grom" by Bubble comics. I am traditionally not very happy with the source material, but it is very good reworked to be the screen play of this movie.

It's very beautifully made in terms of director's, cameraman's and screenwriter's work, which is a rare thing for Russian movies. Also, the actors are young and handsome, especially the villain, which is a rare thing not only for Russian movies, but for the current Western movies, too. It has got a lot of allusions to Russian reality and a lot of beautiful views of Saint Petersburg, the second capital of Russia and one of the most beautiful Russian cities. And it has got some unusual visual solutions that turn it into a comic it should be.

The plot revolves around a mysterious serial killer (kinda bad Batman), a black sheep police officer and Russian Mark Zuckerberg (kind of). Mark Zuckerberg is the best guy of this movie and I like him a lot! Серёёёёжа! 🧡🧡🧡

This movie wasn't popular in Russia because of political situation in the country by the moment of its release (the both sides found out in there something insulting for them and banned it), but even if it has something like that, I honestly didn't pay attention to it. It's just a nice blockbuster with a tragic and handsome villain. The villain also has got his own BL-drama (in the comics they are really lovers, it`s as obvious as it could be shown in a Russian comic).

By the way, the villain is hot, insane, ruthless, sensitive and suffering. How does he contain all of this character treats in one personality? you may ask. He doesn`t. He has dissociative identity disorder, I would answer.

I don`t know if it works by now, but some time ago you could watch this lovely movie on Netflix.

The Master and Margarita / Мастер и Маргарита (2024) This is a loose adaptation of Russian classical novel "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov. I genuinely hate this book, but the adaptation reinterprets it, divides it into very interesting layers and makes it understandable and beautiful.

It`s layered, so it will probably be hard to understand what layer are we currently on if you are not familiar with the original story. The first layer is an ugly Soviet reality, the second layer is a plot of the novel that the main hero is writing, a story within a story. The third layer is the insane intertwining of the first two layers. On the reality layer the Master loses his job and freedom because of friend's denunciation and becomes star-crossed lovers with a married woman. On the novel level he meets devil, who visits Moscow by chance, and the devil gives him and his woman opportunity to live their lives being free from everything that usually tortures people IRL. Somewhere among those layers is a little plot about Jesus and Pontius Pilate.

The movie is visually beautiful. Although it feels pretty anti-Soviet, Soviet visuals of the movie are gorgeous. There were used the Stalin-times concepts of Moscow of the Future, the CGI buildings in frame came from the real architecture projects of those times. The Stalin Empire architecture style and views are typical for Moscow (but as I know, ironically, this all was shot in Saint Petersburg). It seems to me that this movie is heavily stuffed with visual allusions to the Western works: devil's escort looks like bunch of Pennywises, Margarita is Enchantress from Suicide Squad I, the scene of blood dripping is from Blade I etc. Usually, when I see it in Russian movies, it feels like plagiarism because I can recognize the reference but there is nothing except for these references . But here we have got the plot, so the allusions work as allusions and don`t irritate me.

The movie is dark, disturbing, uncomfortable. It really makes you feel as if you watch devil and his escort marching around you; they ravage, kill and destroy everything and you can only breathlessly, helplessly and in fear watch them. The German actor playing devil is insanely good. He stole the movie and I understand why it should have been named Woland (the devil's name) instead of the current movie's name. You may want to watch it, because it's very unusual in terms of plot and visuals experience, especially when you are not familiar with the book.

[dont-let-me-eat-pears]

“Silly me, I even chose a name for you.”

[issela-santina]

truly the kind of man a girl wants is one who would build a house with her out of scraps, blow flower petals into her face, recompose himself in a crevice and let each other have some alone time when he gets mad, and tell their love story to kids via shadow puppets

[issela-santina]

I'm at a low spoon moment in my life currently but I think of these

too many stories about turning yourself into a monster as a metaphor for pretending to be something you aren't and losing yourself in the process. not enough stories about turning yourself into a monster as a metaphor for choosing to openly embrace yourself even if it's strange to other people

[leviathanhomecooking]

Movie Costumes | Princess Miroslava’s second wedding dress. Он – дракон (2015)

[dyingroses]

Marriage isn’t a game, Miraslava, it’s your life!

[jemima-1205]

Recently I've seen a movie called Damsel (2024) and wow, it's a pretty good movie. And I really like it.😁

I decided to watch it after my cousin told me that in her opinion it has the same energy as the movie On - Drakon/Он – дракон (2015), in English I Am Dragon/He's a Dragon/He is Dragon.

And indeed, both these movies are similar in some way.

After watching Damsel, I felt like watching On - Drakon again! 😆

Because I love this movie!

I also love this fan video, it's beautifully done. ❤️‍🔥

[dandelionsandderivatives]

Watching On Drakon/ I Am Dragon/ He's a Dragon while sewing in hopes that the gorgeous, lush, detailed costumes somehow rub off on my work.

[fairytaleslive]

He’s a Dragon/Он - Дракон (2015)

I’ll teach you to live like a human 

domestic fluff

………

[lina-vas-dom]

Далеко летал дракон, Побывал за морем он. Видел он волшебный лес, Заколдованных принцесс. Видел он богатырей, Чародеев, королей… Много сказок знает он - Мой лет��ющий дракон, И рассказывает мне Эти сказки в тишине… /Владимир Степанов

Доброй ночи, снов прекрасных, друзья мои!

Far away flew the dragon, He's traveled beyond the sea He saw a magic forest, He saw enchanted princesses. He's seen heroes, He's seen warlocks and kings He knows many tales My flying dragon And he tells me He tells me tales in silence. /Vladimir Stepanov

Good night, sleep well, my friends!

[leviathanhomecooking]

Movie Costumes | Princess Miroslava’s purple chiton. Он – дракон (2015)

[vestaignis]

Большой ржавеющий дракон в заброшенном аквапарке Вьетнама.

A large rusting dragon in an abandoned water park in Vietnam.

Аквапарк The Ho Thuy Tien открылся в 2004 году на окраине города Хюэ, что в центральном Вьетнаме. На момент открытия он был ещё не достроен. Но из-за своей нерентабельности аквапарк был вскоре закрыт.

За какие-то 10 лет парк развлечений пришел в упадок. Полопавшаяся краска, гостевые домики остались без крыш, горки, затянутые лианами - и над всем этим возвышается мрачная трехэтажная фигура дракона, который обвил куполообразное сооружение посреди озера. Раньше там были аквариумы, а сейчас - ржавчина, граффити и отвалившаяся краска. Бывший аквапарк нынче зарос травой и деревьями, и на его территории одно время водились крокодилы. Одно время проходила информация о том, что аквапарк хотели отреставрировать к 2013-2014 году, однако из этого так ничего и не вышло и обещания остались лишь обещаниями.

The Ho Thuy Tien water park opened in 2004 on the outskirts of the city of Hue, in central Vietnam. At the time of opening it was not yet completed. But due to its unprofitability, the water park was soon closed.

In just 10 years, the amusement park fell into disrepair. Peeled paint, guest houses left without roofs, slides covered with vines - and above all this rises the gloomy three-story figure of a dragon, which has entwined a domed structure in the middle of the lake. There used to be aquariums there, but now there is rust, graffiti and peeling paint. The former water park is now overgrown with grass and trees, and at one time there were crocodiles on its territory. At one time there was information that they wanted to restore the water park by 2013-2014, but nothing came of it and the promises remained just promises.

Источник: //novate.ru/blogs/150516/36375/,/dzen.ru/a/X95e_Irkhn2tJooO, /vietnews.ru/travel/zabroshennyj-akvapark-vo-vetname, http://www.top-vietnam.ru/khyue-khue/108-zabroshennyj-akvapark-vo-vetname-khue.html,ru.dimatourmuine.vn/заброшенный-аквапарк-в-хюэ/, /passenger.rocks/2019/places/zabroshenniy-akvapark-ho-thuy-tien/.

[fairytaleslive]

He’s a Dragon/Он - Дракон (2015)

“ I didn’t mean to get burnt Yet the ground gave way beneath my feet “

[keinkei]

Кроссовер "Он - дракон"

[edyavtostopom]

Чем они заняты в тени

Знакомьтесь, Калеб "Сок" Ваторе.

А, не, извините, Калеб сокорожденный из дома Ваторе, правитель бара и стаканов, матерь драконов. Или он сам дракон.

Не знаю,такая улыбочка не очень похожа на "любит просыпаться" XDD

Свезли Кексика в ветклинику.

Тетка конечно смелая, такой собаке в пасть лесть, но, эй, у нас ваще-то лапы болят.

[tales-of-tai-shan]

ПАВЛИН КРАСИВ, ДА НОГАМИ НЕСЧАСТЛИВ.

Рассматривая новообретенную фигурку, я заметила неожиданную для себя деталь, которая, по факту, была всегда на поверхности, но я умудрялась ее не видеть. На спине ханьфу Шеня присутствует изображение феникса, которое, как мы знаем, не может быть просто так или для красоты.

Заваривайте чай, время очередного погружение в китайские символизмы и поисков скрытого смысла.

Что есть феникс для китайской культуры? В первую очередь феникс - здесь и далее фэнхуан – это одно из священных четырех животных (феникс, цильнь, дракон и черепаха), которые помогали первочеловеку Паньгу создавать этот мир. Конкретно фэнхуан отвечал за помощь в создании земной тверди, в то время как дракон – небес. Я не зря сделала акцент на этой детали. Фэнхуан и дракон, земля и небо, юг (Гунмэнь, если что, на юге) и север, женское и мужское, мрак и свет – все это олицетворение вечной гармонии инь и ян. В этом, кстати, можно усмотреть параллель, потому что По – Воин Дракона.

Чтобы дополнительно подчеркнуть священность и значимость фэнхуана, китайцы придумали ему прозвище – король ста птиц (кит. 百鸟之王 [bǎiniǎo zhī wáng]). А птиц, на самом деле, в китайской мифологии немало. Например, трехногий ворон Саньцзуву, которогоя я упоминала, когда разбирала значение солнца в контексте лорда Шеня. К слову о короле. Павлина в эпоху династии Тан тоже называли королем птиц. Об этом свидетельствуют многочисленные изображения павлинов в окружении пионов – короля цветов. Так что Шеня можно считать королем, который мечтал вознестись над всем Китаем, а павлина – земным воплощением фэнхуана. В пользу этого довода можно обратиться к конфуцианскому описанию фэнхуана. Согласно легенде, фэнхуан был раскрашен в пять главных цветов: черный, белый, красный – как у Шеня, зеленый (иногда это синий) и желтый – как у обычных павлинов.

И чтобы окончательно вас убедить – минутка этимологии. На китайском фэнхуан записывается как 凤凰 [fènghuáng]. Согласно найденным на раскопках костям, иероглифом фэн 凤 [fèng], что примерно переводится как «чудесная птица», обозначали – барабанная дробь! – павлинов.

От королей плавно переходим к… королевам! Тут снова наш любимый двухцветный символ, где ян, дракон и мужское начало это император, а инь, фэнхуан и женское начало это императрица. Так фэнхуан был символом «Дочери Небес» - императрицы У Цзэтянь. Здесь у нас очередная параллель. Фэнхуан стоит ниже дракона, а Шень, будучи лордом, - ниже императора. А мы помним, как он мечтал править всем миром:

«Это небольшая жертва. Но наградой за нее будет весь Китай».

То есть в очередной раз мы видим, что Шень пытается достичь неба и победить Дракона (коим является не только император, но и По), но волей судьбы он фэнхуан и привязан к земле.

Продолжая тему императоров. Еще одно доказательство того, что Шень имел зуб на императора – символ фэнхуана как предвестника смерти. Согласно легенде, фэнхуан явился людям перед смертью легендарного Желтого Императора – самого первого императора и предка всех людей. Тут уже совсем жирный намек на амбиции Шеня как предвестника катастрофы всему Китаю.

Спасибо за прочтение ^_^

Бонусом держите милашку Фэнхуан из «Удивительных легенд».