RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Overcoat (1959, Shinel,  ШИНЕЛЬ,  Russian) A Soviet film adaptation of N. Gogol's 'Overcoat.' Watching Mira Nair directed film 'Namesake' eventually brought me to this Russian movie. One of the iconic lines mentioned in 'Namesake' is 'we are all from Gogol's Overcoat'. The quote is attributed to Dostoevsky, who meant the whole Russian literary world owe their ideas and styles to Gogol, the pre-eminent satirist and literary realism.  Gogol's Overcoat had made it to the silver screen many times over. From the silent film production in 1916 to the 2018 animated version, some of it carries different storylines. This 1959 Soviet production stays true to the original short story. I also managed to catch up with a made-for-TV adaptation for 'Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents' starring Buster Keaton named 'Awakening'. Both of these movies are available on YouTube. Akaki Akakievich, the protagonist in Gogol's s...

Namesake (2006) We all wear coats to hide what we wear inside. Sometimes we are ashamed of what we have underneath and need to cover it all. At other times, it is chilly outside. Occasionally, what we have beneath it is inappropriate. Shame, political incorrectness or social awkwardness are all put aside; the real person under it all is the real us. The act of being someone else that we are not may come back to bite us. Additionally, wearing blinkers and staying adamant about what we have without being receptive to positive external input is self-defeating. Life is a learning experience. We are all eternal students picking up wisdom as we go. Our final destination is one that amalgamates all the wealth, baggage and tradition that we carry inside. In short, we are what we are but should not forget where we came from, but at the same time, learn to adapt and adopt our new environment. We have often heard of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, the famous Russian writer and his work s...