The Thaw

Russians have long delighted in American TV series, and now they are making their own. But a Russian Mad Men? Isn’t that as contradictory as it gets? How can consumer advertising in 60s New York be compared to the anti-capitalism of the USSR? Or is that a one-sided perspective?
Just as Mad Men's creator Matthew Weiner was inspired by his dad’s life as an advertising agent, The Thaw's director Valery Todorovksy situated his series in a milieu he knew well: the Moscow film world during the 'Khrushchev Thaw', a relatively relaxed time when censorship was loosened and new forms of entertainment arose on the emerging medium of national TV. The Thaw circles around a talented filmmaker who has difficulties getting a film off the ground. A fine example of the new wave of Russian TV, that despite bold references to repression, censorship and state-controlled media aired on the main Russian TV channels.
Film introduced by a video essay by Mad Men expert Matt Zoller Seitz.