Lyudi i manekeny

Jokes as a weapon of resistance: how satire sustains a beleaguered culture.

The statue of a town's patron saint is broken just before the annual Saint's Day festival, so the priest hires a mime from a troupe of traveling players to impersonate the statue during the church's hours of operation.

The half-educated law student Pyotr Chukhontsev, who is trying his hand at private investigation, is approached by engineer Kuklin, an inventor who fears for his life. Soon, Kuklin dies exactly as he foresaw.

A post WWII German satire of the stupidity of a military culture so often associated with that country: An intellectual, civilian type totally unsuited for the army mentality somehow lands up playing the role, to the hilt, of a hero.

Marc is a 39-year-old Catholic priest, a model for his entire parish. He is one of the few enthusiastic advocates of priestly celibacy. But trouble comes knocking at his door one day.

Vasya has been left to himself since childhood and is used to independence. In one day, Vasya manages to get a man out of the water, ride a strange car, expose a priest and catch the thief.