Analysing Ilya Khrzhanovsky's "4" through the Lens of Mikhail Bakhtin's Carnivalesque

Yılmaz H.

10th INTERNATIONAL KTUDELL CONFERENCE: Language, Literature & Translation, Trabzon, Turkey, 29 - 30 May 2025, pp.57, (Summary Text)

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Trabzon
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.57
  • Karadeniz Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

From a Deleuzian perspective, it could be argued that today cinema rivals numerous art forms. Throughout its historical development, cinema has traveled a complex path, with its relationship to other arts and sciences often put to the test. But cinema has established its place primarily through theories and their owners. Figures such as Hugo Münsterberg, Rudolf Arnheim, Béla Balázs, and Sergei Eisenstein are among the first that come to mind. This study focuses on analyzing the film "4" directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky through the lens of carnivalesque developed by Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin, who was also a literary theorist. The film in question is the debut work of Ilya Khrzhanovsky, one of Russia's young directors, and was first presented to audiences in 2004. The screenplay was written by Vladimir Sorokin, a prominent figure in contemporary Russian literature. A carnivalesque approach is immediately evident in the narrative as the characters create new fictive identities for themselves. This approach is strengthened by the director's visual preferences that are filled with grotesque elements. Therefore, it is proposed that examining this work through carnivalesque may offer new perspectives on the film. The narrative that is based on the creation of new fictive identities aside, when film scenes are evaluated from a carnivalesque perspective, carnival elements are found both in the incorporation of naturalistic elements into the narrative and in the use of dissonant sounds and pale colors that disrupt harmony. The study concludes that the director's choices enhance the effect in portraying dichotomies explored in the narrative, such as village-city and real-fiction, thus making the carnival work in this manner.

 Keywords: Ilya Khrzhanovsky, Mikhail Bakhtin, Carnivalesque, Four, Vladimir Sorokin