As with all movies on this website, our goal is not to provide a complete synopsis of the film, but rather to document how the movie relates to the meaning of life. With that said, be forewarned, there are still spoilers ahead.
O, Lucky Man! was a Russian movie which came out in 2017 and was directed by Eduard Parri, not to be confused with the American movie with the same title. The movie opens with the main character, Slavik stating: This idea comes all of a sudden. You're 26, and you cannot realize what you have been doing all these years. My friend, for example is 30, and he doesn't care a shit about it. He's there, all absorbed in his Matrix, and I am here, in my real world. While Slavik lives in the real world and is not happy with his current status in life, his friend hides away all day in video games. But what Slavik is summarizing here is the infamous midlife crisis.
On the brink of suicide, standing on a bridge and teasing the grim reaper, two strange men pull up and talk Slavik out of jumping. The men tell Slavik that they will write a new biography of his life, changing his past, and hence giving him a new future. He accepts, and becomes an instant economics graduate of Brainstone University in Italy... although he speaks no Italian and has never been to Italy.
At first, his life changes for the better. He gets a new job, meets a woman, and works his way up to middle management in less than a day. Or as the song in the background declared, The American Dream is in fashion today. And you strive for this dream to work like a robot for the pay per Diem. You're a middle manager.
But his luck quickly changes, and as more success comes, so does the bad luck. He becomes increasingly successful and quickly works his way up to CEO of a large company. But this only brings him more misery. He is kidnapped, not once, but many many times. His relationships aren't working out, and bizarre things begin to happen to him. Attempting to escape what is happening, Slavik quotes, People say one cannot escape from his fate; but one can always try to flee away!
Oh, and the CEO he replaced, also had worked his way up in the company, but he found that it was a dead end. So he quit, stole a bunch of money, and traveled the world, thanking Slavik for teaching him not to be scared of life, people, and trifling matters. Slavik, whose fame has become so great, but fortune so poor, is again on the brink of suicide and turns to confront the two men he met while on the bridge. He attempts to murder then for causing so much misery in his life. The men tell Slavik, You set your mind to commit suicide after so poky and so purposeless, so plain and so routine life! But due to us, all this shame is behind. Now you will die as a real man!
Not being able to murder the men, he goes back to his life and ties up loose ends, much to his satisfaction. He meets a new woman... or rather discovers one he has ignored the whole movie and finally finds happiness and a reason not to end his life. She says to him, You know, and idea came to my mind like this! When you read a book, for instance, you turn a page with your forefinger, and the electrons inside it move and collide faster, they heat up and at last there's a bang! And the whole universe finishes its existence.
So what's the moral of the story? Well, as Slavik would go on to state near the end, Life's a deceptive thing. And when it seems to you the things are going to finish the next moment, don't believe this feeling. It's nothing but a new start!
People often wish for the wrong things—but when we get these things, they often bring troubles we weren't prepared to handle. A mundane life is not necessarily a purposeless life. Sometimes, you just have to change your perspective and appreciate what is right in front of you.
Overall movie rating:
Overall - 5
Meaning of Life Relevance - 6
Uniqueness – 7
Did you see the movie? If so, what do you think? Does the American Dream lead most people to mundane lives, to middle management drudgery?