Reviews

This film is, in all senses, a modern version of "Crime and punishment" by Dostoievski. The essential matter is following a guy trying to do something, but while Dostoievski's character wants to change History, Vladimir is just looking for a job after USSR disappears. And the other main elements of original Russian novel are adapted to 21st century situations by the way. So, if you don't believe in Super-man as understood by Nietzsche and Dostoievski, this is your chance to see the most closed example of what a super man can hope in present world.

This is a picture closely related with dreams. First, the dream of director Beto Gomez about making a picture, dream which lead him to working with friends and practically without money. And finally, the dreams of Caiman, Inaki and all the other people in the picture's world, which is so hostile with dreams as life usually is. So, "The dream of Caiman" is like "Requiem for a dream": usual characters with usual dreams which lead to unusual situations in a world where the most usual is not dreaming.

There is a tale written by Edgar Allan Poe in which Scherezade tells the history about a world where strange things happen. In the tale that world is ours, and that narration has as a consequence Scherezade's death.

"Un mundo raro" is something like Scherezade's last story: it talks about urban violence, corruption, t. v., and all that stuff which one would like to forget. But it is there. One likes it or not.

This is one of the unusual cases in which a movie and the novel on which it is based are both great. Maybe this is because Gorris' takes Nabokov's initial ideas and gives them a different interpretation. The final consequence is a point of view over Luzhin which dignifies him more than the Nabokov's one.

The only thing in the movie which I don't like is the influence of Valentinov's on Luzhin's destiny. I can't imagine Nabokov creating a person like Valentinov and giving him so great influence on novel's argument.