Gelsomino's miraculous voice

The Gelsomino's miraculous voice
Directed by	Tamara Lisitsian
Written by	Tamara Lisitsian
Story by	Gianni Rodari
Based on	Gelsomino in the Country of Liars
Starring	Sergey Krupenikov Klara Rumyanova Vladimir Basov Valery Pogoreltsev Yevgeniya Khanayeva Lev Perfilov
Music by	Igor Efremov
Production company	Odesa Film Studio
Release dates	1977 (1977)
Running time	127 minutes (2 parts)
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

The Gelsomino's miraculous voice (Template:Lang-ru) is a 1977 Soviet-Ukrainian two-part children's musical television film with elements of puppet animation based on the story of the Italian communist writer Gianni Rodari "Gelsomino in the Land of Liars" (ita: "Gelsomino nel paese dei bugiardi"). The film is a fairy tale for children with elements of dystopia.

Production

Gianni Rodari's story "Gelsomino in the Land of Liars" was published in 1959, and just one year later it was translated into Russian by O. Ivanitsky and A. Makhov as "Джельсомино в стране лжецов" (Dzhel'somino v strane lzhecov). The book became very popular in the USSR, as well as other books by Gianni Rodari. In the mid-1970s, the film director Tamara Lisitsian began shooting a version for TV based on this story. She was personally acquainted with Rodari and had already made a film based on his story about Cipollino. There is an opinion that she was inspired to create the film by the events in Chile in 1973, which had a public resonance in the Soviet Union.
The lead role of Gelsomino was played by the young actor Sergei Krupennikov, by then well known in the USSR for his starring roles in such films as "Где это видано, где это слыхано" (Have you ever seen, have you ever heard?), "Дорогой мальчик" (Dear/expensive (pun) boy) and "Веселое сновидение, или смех сквозь слезы" (A fun dream, or laughing through your tears). Krupennikov says that he was not approved immediately, and the director managed to shoot some scenes with another actor, and eventually had to reshoot them. In order to meet the deadline, Sergey was forced to shoot all day, from early morning until late at night, although the Soviet labor code allowed young actors to be involved in filming only for 4 hours a day.
Filming took place in historical districts of Odessa and Lviv. Not only exteriors, but also interiors of some historical buildings were used. For example, the facade and interior of the Bananito house were filmed in the house of the Polish artist Jan Styka, and the interior of the Benvenuto's house was filmed in an old pharmacy.
Some scenes were made with the puppet animation to demonstrate animals. All cats or dogs were puppet. The cameraman said that the director was very strict and always told him how to shoot some scenes.
The film premiere was June 7, 1977. Gianni Rodari was unfortunately dissatisfied with the film. According to him, the film was too focused on politics, and did not fully reveal the philosophy of his tale.

Plot

Gelsomino lived in a small Italian village. He had a devastatingly loud voice and destroyed everything around when he spoke loudly. He was always breaking windows during roll calls in the classroom, and superstitious neighbors believed that he was a miracle worker or an evil sorcerer. Finally, he got tired of this situation and left the village to find a singing teacher in a city and become a singer.
He comes to the city and goes to the nearest grocery store to buy some bread. But the grocery store does not sell groceries, and at Gelsomino's request, the seller gives him a bottle of red ink, saying that it is "green bread". Gelsomino asks where he can buy "ink", and the seller points him to a nearby stationery store. The stationery store sells groceries, and Gelsomino tries to buy bread and cheese for a silver coin that he found, but the saleswoman refuses to accept it, because only counterfeit money is allowed in the city.
Gelsomino runs away from the store and screams in despair, smashing a lantern, a pot of flowers and splitting off a piece of red plaster on which a kitty with three paws was drawn. Suddenly the kitty gets up and starts talking to Gelsomino. She says her name is Zoppino, and she can not only speak, but also read and write, and that she was drawn by a girl named Romoletta.
Zoppino takes Gelsomino to the Benvenuto's antique shop, where he can see how the country has become so strange. On the frames of the old film, Gelsomino sees how the pirates captured the city, shot all their political opponents, and issued laws on mandatory lies. Gelsomino swears that he will fight against the dictatorship of King Giacomone, the pirate leader.
In the street, Gelsomino and Zoppino see Pannocchia (Zoppino says that she feeds stray cats every day and that she is a singing teacher). Hungry Zoppino rushes to her and grabs one fish, then runs away. Gelsomino catches up to Zoppino and tells her that it was not good to take fish without permission.
Sitting on the balcony, they hear screams in the house. Once inside, they meet Bananito, the artist who paints a horse with thirteen legs. When Gelsomino says that a horse has only four legs, Bananito replies that it is not a horse, but a cow, and it has thirteen legs according to the royal decree. Bananito is going to destroy his painting because he doesn't like it at all, but Gelsomino and Zoppino persuade him to remove the extra legs from the horse. When Bananito finishes his work, the horse jumps off the canvas and runs away, singing a song about the true art. Bananito becomes convinced that it is a horse (it was sung in the song), and feel disappointed by the "ideology of lie".
Zoppino runs out of the house and writes slogans against lies with her drawn paw. Pannocchia finds her and hides in the bag, saving her from the police. Bringing Zoppino back home, Pannocchia sews her to a chair for disguise, and tells that she always tells the truth, despite all the laws and prohibitions, and even tries to teach her domestic cats to meow again. At this time, Romoletta, Pannocchia's niece, returns home, and Zoppino reminds her that she drew her. After Pannocchia went to the store, Romoletta freed Zoppino and introduced her to Pannocchia's cats. Zoppino convinced the cats that they are not dogs, and should meow, not bark.
Kalimer, Pannocchia's neighbor and an informer, overheard the conversation, and when Zoppino and Romoletta went out to write slogans, he followed them, and reported to the police that Pannocchia and Romoletta are enemies of the kingdom. The police arrest them and bring them in for questioning. During the interrogation, Pannocchia denies that she "taught dogs to meow", because they were not dogs, but cats, and Romoletta says that she wrote "only the truth, and about the king, too". Police chief says they are "crazy on the truth", and orders them to be taken to a psychiatric hospital, which everyone is obliged to call a "Sanatorium". Kalimer was also arrested and sent to a "Sanatorium" because the police chief wanted to appropriate the monetary reward that the king had promised for the arrest of the instigator.
Bananito appears in the streets of the city, and uses his talent in paint picture which becomes a reality to make gifts for the poor. In one of the streets, he sees a sign "Toys" over the bakery, and, unwilling to put up with a lie anymore, replaces the sign with the right one. The police arrest him and take him to the royal palace. Giacomone plans to launch a military invasion of the neighboring state, and orders the artist to "paint" weapons and military equipment for him, but he refuses. The king orders Benanito to be put in a "Sanatorium" without painting supplies so that he couldn't escape.
Gelsomino meets Zoppino and they go together to Pannocchia and Romoletta's house, but they find out on the spot that they have been arrested. Together with Benvenuto, they plan to free them and Bananito. Gelsomino learns from the newspaper "The Exemplary Liar" that Bananito was sent to a "Sanatorium" (The newspaper said "Rumors that Bananito is in a Sanatorium are fake from the enemies of our kingdom"). Zoppino gets into Bananito's cell, and he, using Zoppino's tail as a chalk, escapes from the "Sanatorium". Gelsomino meets him and Zoppino on the square in front of the "Sanatorium" building. Bananito says that Pannocchia and other good people are still trapped inside, and Gelsomino uses his voice to free them. From his voice, the building begins to collapse, and all the orderlies run away. The doors of the cells fall out of the doorways, and the prisoners are freed, including Kalimer, who has really gone crazy and thinks he is a cat. A large crowd gathers in front of the hospital building, attracted by Gelsomino's voice, and when the prisoners run out onto the square, people see their friends and relatives and hug them.
Gelsomino sings an inspiring song about the truth and freedom in front of the assembled people, and Pannocchia says that "she has dreamed of such a student all her life," and "only he can fight the king". The police come running and disperse the people with batons. Gelsomino and Bananito help Romoletta and Pannocchia escape, and distract the police themselves. Having drawn a grate on the asphalt at the gate, Bananito blocks the way for the police further, and together with Gelsomino and Zoppino they penetrate into the palace park. Sitting in a tree, they see the king trying on wigs on his bald head. Everyone in the city believed that the king had magical powers because of his golden hair.
In the morning, several people call the police and report that some dogs (means, cats) are meowing and singing seditious songs about the truth near their house. The police go to catch Pannocchia's cats, but the song is picked up by other cats in the city. Two policemen see Zoppino, but she hides from them, pretending to be a drawing. A crowd gathers at the royal palace, and sees inscriptions on the gates that the king is bald and wears a wig. Giacomone, thinking that people have come to listen to his speech, gets dressed and goes out on the balcony, talking to the crowd about the advantages of golden hair, and that "until he became king, people pulled out all their hair and hairdressers were out of work." Laughter and shouts of "Down with the wigs" can be heard from the square, and one of the servants informs the king about the inscriptions on the gates. Giacomone orders to disperse the crowd and execute every tenth, to pull out the tongue of the servant (although he promised him that he would not do this), and to find the instigator.
Bananito paints a net-firing weapon for the rebels, and with it they neutralize the police. A huge crowd led by Gelsomino goes with posters to the royal palace. Gelsomino uses his voice to destroy the palace. Giacomone takes off his wig, and escapes by helicopter, abandoning his henchmen, who are tied up by the rebels. The people in the square begin to dance, celebrating the victory. Bananito helps Zoppino jump off the pole to which she got glued to hide from the police, and paints her a fourth paw.

Cast

• Sergey Krupenikov (voice and vocals as Sergey Belikov) as Gelsomino
• Klara Rumyanova (only voice) as Zoppino
• Vladimir Basov (vocals as Oleg Anofriev) as Giacomone
• Valery Pogoreltsev (vocals as Igor Efremov) as Bananito
• Yevgeniya Khanayeva (vocals as Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya) as Pannocchia
• Lev Perfilov as Kalimer
• Lyudmila Zhukova as Romoletta

Differences from the book

• In the book, Benvenuto had a feature - he aged very quickly when he didn't move (and his name was Benvenuto Can-not-sit-down-anywhen). When he hided the main characters in his house, he did not move for a while and died of old age. In the film, he is deprived of this feature, and remains alive until the end.
• In the book, The kitty was a boy, and his name was Zoppino (from the Italian "zoppo," which means "lame"). In the first Russian translation of the book (and in the film, too), the kitty was made a girl named "Кошка-Хромоножка" (Koshka-Hromonojka), or just "Хромоножка" (Hromonojka).
• The book does not mention that the king attributed magic power to his "golden hair", and the main character's hair was dark, not red.

Songs

Gelsomino's song - Even the kids know that all of us must bravely fight against lies! (rus. Даже дети знают, что с неправдой смело всем бороться надо!)
Bananito's song - A camel with four humps... (rus. Верблюд о четырех горбах...)
Horse's song - Eleven legs and four tails... (rus. Одиннадцать ног и четыре хвоста...)
Pannocchia's song - There are new orders every hour in our kingdom! (rus. В королевстве нашем что ни час - новые приказы!)
Cat's song - These sounds are smooth, sweet and light, isn't it clear? (rus. Звуки гладки, сладки и легки, разве не понятно?)
Informer's song - I will denounce my parents for two soldo or two sous (rus. Я за два сольди, за два су на папу с мамой донесу)
Military minister's song - It's beautiful to live in the midst of fire and smoke and hear the chirping of machine gun (rus. Прекрасно жить среди огня и дыма, и слышать, как стрекочет пулемет)
Inspiring Gelsomino's song - Our masters have taught us how to lie (rus. Нас господа к обману приучили)
Giacomone's song - Not only a sword, not only a whip, the crown need a lie too (rus. Не только меч, не только кнут, и ложь нужна короне)
People's song - The victory light is getting brighter (rus. Свет все ярче победный)

Pseudo Latin

The fictional language of the country of Liars is Russian, written in Cyrillic and Latin letters mixed together:

• Obrazцovыy Lжец (rus. Образцовый Лжец) — The Exemplary Liar (The title of the newspaper)
  
• Peyte, vkusno, polesno (rus. Пейте, вкусно, полезно) — Drink it, it's delicious and healthy (The sign of the poison store)
  
• Produkты (rus. Продукты) — Grocery (The sign of the office supplies store)
  
• Kanzelяrskie tovarы (rus. Канцелярские товары) — Office supplies (The sign of the grocery store)
  
• Lastik (rus. Ластик) — Eraser (The advertisement of cheese)
  
• Kupi (rus. Купи) — Buy it (The advertisement of old shoe)
  
• Goворite praвду (rus. Говорите правду) — Tell the truth
  
• Beрegis, король лжеzow! (rus. Берегись, король лжецов!) — Beware, king of liars!
  
• Bolшaya beda korolya ozcidajt, kogda kotи perestanut lajat! (rus. Большая беда короля ожидает, когда коты перестанут лаять!) — A big trouble awaits the king when cats will stop barking!
  
• Doloy korolя (rus. Долой короля) — Down with king!
  
• Doloy wranье (rus. Долой вранье) — Down with lie!
  
• Igruшki (rus. Игрушки) — Toys (The sign of the bakery)
  
• Buloчnaя (rus. Булочная) — Bakery
  
• Pansjon (rus. Пансион) — Boarding House (The tablet of the prison)
  
• Sanatoriy (rus. Санаторий) — Sanatorium (The tablet of the punitive psychiatric hospital)
  
• Igray! (rus. Играй!) — Let’s play! (The advertisement of casino)
  
• Net (rus. Нет) — No
  
• Koрoль ноsит parик! (rus. Король носит парик!) — The king wears a wig!
  
• Korolь lыsыy! (rus. Король лысый!) — The king is bald!

Legacy

The film quickly became very popular in the 80s. It is well known in the post-Soviet space, in the 2000s it was often included in collections of children's films on CDs.
Also in the last decade, the film has gained additional popularity in Russia amid the political crisis. A lot of viewers draw parallels between King Giacomone and the modern Russian Government, in particular, because of the prevalence of nepotism, the non-jurisdiction of the political elite and the bad reputation of the official media. They call the film "prophetic".
After 2014 (and especially after February 24, 2022), the scene with military ministers began to be frequently quoted. In 2014, a video appeared on Russian YouTube, in which the song of military ministers from the film sounds, against the background of demonstrations by Russian officials and senior military, and also pro-Russian opposition protests in Ukraine and combat action. When the words "The someone who tells us about humanism is the spy! That the spy!" (rus. А тот, кто говорит о гуманизме - шпион! Шпион!) are heard, photos of famous Russian dissidents, and actors and actresses who condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine are shown.