Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Zoology Blu-ray Movie Review

Attend the tail of something odd.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 30, 2017

There’s almost a clinical detachment that runs through much of Franz Kafka’s writing, something that puts style at rather peculiar odds with content at times, perhaps nowhere more so than in Kafka’s troubling story of an inexplicable transformation, The Metamorphosis. As those who have read this particular piece of Kafka’s may recall, a hapless traveling salesman named Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to find that he has mysteriously changed into — well, exactly what is a matter of debate due to uncertain translations from German, but the upshot is it’s something big and nasty like a mutant insect. In typical Kafka-esque fashion, Gregor’s traumatic predicament plays out against an almost mundane assortment of everyday trials and tribulations. If the Samsa family had any relatives in Russia, chances are one of them might have been a middle aged woman named Natasha (Natalya Pavlenkova), a dowdy sort who works at a zoo, finding some of her only sources of consolation in interactions with the animals there, since her human coworkers are louts and bullies, intent on teasing the downtrodden woman. Things only get worse for Natasha when, somewhat like Gregor in the opening phrase of Kafka’s iconic work, she unexpectedly transforms, though in this case perhaps slightly less dramatically than Gregor, maintaining her human form while growing the addition of a rather long tail. Russian writer-director Ivan I. Tverdovsky, who made a bit of a splash in 2014 with his debut piece Class Corrections, plies some perhaps suitably Kafka-esque territory in Zoology, documenting the sad aspect of Natasha’s lonely life before ever revealing her curious appendage.

A certain melancholy tends to run through a lot of Russian media, whether that be the immense novels of Tolstoy, or the symphonies of Tchaikovsky, or indeed even filmmakers like Eisenstein or Tarkovsky. Tverdovsky indulges in some of that same bittersweet quality, but he colors it with a kind of post-modern, millennial jaded humor that tends to play kind of interestingly off of Zoology’s more disturbing aspects. There’s an unabashed sadness to Natasha from the get go, where she’s seen fainting at work, a predicament that does not exactly lead to instant concern on the part of her harridan coworkers. A trip to a clinci suggests Natasha is in some considerable pain, but what’s causing the distress is not made clear, at least not initially. Instead, Zoology focuses on the, yep, mundane trials and tribuations of Natasha’s unhappy life, which includes living with her strictly religious mother (Irina Chipizhenko).

Even the revelation that Natasha has “sprung” a tail is handled in an almost discursive fashion, with Natasha visiting a doctor who refers her to a young X-ray technician named Petya (Dmitri Groshev). In one of the film’s patently peculiar plot machinations, Petya seems to have an almost fetishistic interest in Natasha’s appendage, and the two begin a halting romance, one that allows Natasha at least a glimmer of happiness (not to mention a mid-film makeover that seems to suggest a stunning new hairdo can solve any number of emotional problems). Playing out against this May-December romance (a plot point which seems to be mirrored in some chitchat between Natasha and her mother concerning the family cat) are a number of vignettes showing Natasha being relentlessly harangued by her coworkers (one scene involving rats in a desk drawer is especially unsettling), as well as navigating perhaps even more treacherous territory with her mother, an elder firmly in the throes of “that old time religion”, concerned about an increasing amount of town gossip about a demonic woman who has grown a tail (she’s obviously unaware it’s her own daughter).

There are a number of really interesting and at times even pointed observations about society and even elements like Russian orthodoxy (religiously speaking) running through Zoology, but I have to say I’m really not sure if the film’s underlying conceit really amounts to anything, at least in a clear and concisely allegorical way. The whole “tail” element is so bizarre as to almost necessarily draw attention to itself, which in turn makes some of what Natasha is going through seem almost too fantastic to take seriously, at least in a traditional manner that links the audience’s emotions to what a focal character is experiencing. If the film is meant to be a fairy tale of sorts, it’s certainly more on the Grimm side of things than Mother Goose. This is a dark fable, to be sure, and will probably not appeal to literalists who want their intimate personal dramas appendage free.

Zoology Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Zoology is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only some brief generic verbiage about the transfer:

Zoology appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 surround sound. The High Definition master was supplied by New Europe Film Sales.

The IMDb lists this as having been shot with the Arri Alexa, and I assume the Blu-ray was culled from whatever DI was prepared. The result is a rather interesting, if at times fairly widely variable, presentation. Tverdovsky (whose name is transliterated as Tverdovskiy on the IMDb, for those interested in such things) and cinematographer Aleksandr Mikeladze play with light, brightness and contrast, sometimes achieving frames with effulgent halos that create a kind of hazy look. That said, fine detail levels on things like the ratty sweater Natasha wears are generally excellent even given some of the lighting issues (see screenshot 4). There are some sequences that have been graded fairly heavily towards blue, and with that technique plus some nighttime footage added to the mix, there is a somewhat softer ambience to these scenes than the bulk of the presentation (see screenshot 18). In reasonably decent lighting, this transfer pops quite well in terms of detail levels, even when the palette is intentionally tamped down and kept on the drab side. There's quite a bit of outdoor material on display here, and detail levels remain high across the board, with some nice depth of field when vistas allow.

Zoology Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Zoology features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix (in the original Russian, with optional English subtitles) that frankly doesn't have a whale of a lot of opportunities to fully exploit immersion. There is good placement of ambient environmental effects when the film ventures outside, and even some interior moments, as in a couple of vignettes with Natasha in various waiting rooms, offer at least some discrete channelization of effects, but on the whole this tends to be a somewhat subtle sound mix that supports all elements without ever really offering anything overtly "showy". Fidelity is fine throughout, with no problems of any kind.

Zoology Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• An Appointment with the Doctor (1080p; 12:33) is an interview with actor Dmitry Groshev. In Russian with English subtitles.


• The Tail of Zoology (1080p; 24:39) features film historian Peter Hames.


• Trailer (1080p; 1:45)

As tends to be the case with Arrow releases, the insert booklet also contains some interesting writing, which in this case includes an interview with director Ivan I. Tverdovsky.

Zoology Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zoology has some fascinating elements, but I'm not sure its central conceit is all that helpful to a story that might have resonated even more had it been left in the realm of "kitchen sink" realism. As it stands, Zoology kind of reminded me in some ways of The Lobster, albeit without the context that film provides in order to "explain" the transformations its characters undergo. Zoology will probably be best appreciated for those with more outré tastes tending toward Art House fare. Pavlenkova is outstanding in the main role, and the entire film has a very Russian combination of dourness and pitch black humor. Technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.