Lenin And Me

This video consists of Russian born immigrant Arthur Chidlovski driving around in his car with an amateur video camera, pointing it out the window filming random images of New England interstate and reminiscing out loud about his childhood in the Soviet Union. This uninspiring material is intercut with stock footage of Lenin and other Russian leaders in no particular order, and a few ostentatious interviews. But what's really irritating is the out of tune piano score which kicks in every 45 seconds and stops 7 minutes later, playing the exact same tinkly Russian jig, sounding not unlike a player piano thrown into a well (perhaps that was just my wishful thinking). At the 10 minute mark, my finger was itching to hit the fast forward button. At the 20 minute mark, I was playing the license plate game with passing cars on the interstate. By 30 minutes, I was happily engaged in the steady unconscious manufacture of saliva on my comfy capitalist couch. I awoke and dried off my shirt just in time to find out that Chidlovski is actually driving somewhere--to Willimantic, Conn. to view a statue of Lenin standing in a junk pile at a scrap metal dealership. For a moment I thought we might be getting somewhere, then the tinkling piano started again and I took out my Uzi and.... Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Ray)