Underplayed Gems

Courier (1986)

Courier poster
Original title
Курьер
Directed by
Karen Shakhnazarov
Genre
comedy drama, teen film, romance film
Country
Soviet Union
Runtime
1h 28m
Rated
16+
Rating
7.4 of 10 from 141 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A teenage boy takes a job as a courier and navigates awkward relationships with his boss's daughter and his own family. The story shows the daily life and troubles of young people in the Soviet 1980s.

wrylightheartedbittersweetwhimsicalgroundedobservationalcoming-of-agemelancholic

What happens

Courier (Russian: Курьер, romanized: Kuryer), also known as Messenger Boy, is a 1986 Soviet romantic comedy-drama film directed by Karen Shakhnazarov based on a screenplay by Alexander Borodyansky and Shakhnazarov's short story of the same name, published in the April 1982 issue of the magazine Yunost. The plot revolves around the problems of perestroika-era youth and was filmed by the Creative Association of Comedy and Musical Films of the Mosfilm Studio from May to August 1986. It is one of the first Soviet films to feature breakdancing. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.