A successful and popular young Moscow film director is mistakenly sent to Russia’s most famous prison – the Black Dolphin.

SYNOPSIS:

http://www.magicalrealism.us/2013/12/26/black-dolphin-prison/ Screenplay be Lee A. Miller Yuri Pechenikov, a popular young Moscow director fresh from a string of very profitable, but shallow comedies , tells his producer boss that he is dissatisfied and wants his next project to be a serious exploration of the plight of the downtrodden. Not surprisingly, his producer wants him to direct another, more lucrative comedy instead, but the idealistic Pechenikov refuses to give in. He wants to “know trouble” first-hand as a tramp so he can return and make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. His family and friends openly question the wisdom of his plan. Undeterred, Pechenikov dresses as a penniless hobo and takes to the road. However, no matter how hard he tries, somehow he always ends up back in Moscow. His boss insists that his staff follow him in a bus. Neither party is happy with the arrangement; Pechenikov eventually persuades his guardians to leave him alone and arranges to rendezvous with them later. When he hitchhikes, he finds himself back where he started. Then he meets a young failed actress (written in the screenplay as “The Girl”) who is contemplating quitting the movie business. In return for her kindness to him, Pechenikov gives her a lift in his car, without telling his servants; they report the “theft” and the pair are apprehended by the police. Upon their release, the Girl pushes him into his enormous swimming pool for deceiving her about his true identity. However, after considering her options, she becomes his traveling companion. This time, Pechenikov succeeds in living like a poor person. After eating in soup kitchens and sleeping in homeless shelters with the Girl, Pechenikov finally decides he has had enough. His experiment is publicized by the studio as a huge success. The Girl wants to stay with him and they seems to be a new romance. Pechenikov decides to thank the homeless by handing out $100 bills, but one man decides he wants more than his share and ambushes Pechenikov when he is alone. Pechenikov is knocked unconscious and wakes up in the middle of a police murder investigation, but the real killer is run over and killed by a bus. The murderer had earlier stolen Pechenikov’s shoes, which had a special identification card hidden under one of the soles. When the card is found, everyone assumes the unrecognizable body is Pechenikov’s. Meanwhile, Pechenikov wakes up in the jail, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. In his confused state, he is sentenced to the notorious Black Dolphin prison. He eventually regains his memory, but not before learning the importance of laughter in the otherwise dreary lives of his fellow prisoners when they are allowed to attend the monthly showing of a film. Pechenikov comes to realize that comedy can do more good for the nation than a serious film. But Pechenikov still has a problem – he cannot convince anybody that he is Pechenikov and that he had nothing to do with the murder. Finally, he comes up with an ingenious solution: he confesses to being his own killer. When his picture makes the front page of the newspapers, the Girl recognizes him and gets him released. Now he can be reunited with the Girl. A montage of happily laughing faces ends the film.

BLACK DOLPHIN PRISON

http://www.magicalrealism.us/2013/12/26/black-dolphin-prison/