goncharov has a fucking deathgrip on me!!!

mixing the 'cycle of violence' theme with themes of one's identity being tied to an organization??? the realization of 'you can be a person without being of a people' that andrej has to swallow down???????

dont even get me fucking STARTED on the way andrej tries to find himself with goncharov, only to be pushed back and made to realize that he n33ds to be HIMSELF, not someone else's, whether that be belonging to another person or belonging to a group

speaking of subtitles, i remember watching the original subbed version of goncharov at a scorsese retrospective years ago, at an italian festival i used to work at at the time, and they still used the italianized transcriptions of russian/soviet names back then, so it was andrej and katja and goncharev, and the iconic scene where andrej asks about the meaning of the ajvazovskij painting in the mark's gallery (aka the most subtextually homoerotic scene of all time)... and idk, i just miss the italian translitteration system man, wish we didn't just do it for classical music composers anymore.

I think we're not talking enough about one of the most significative objects of the movie: the De Ville, Goncharov's car.

This car is Goncharov's heart, soul and pride. It was on screen in almost every outside scene of the movie and I found it really important.

It survived almost every fighting scene, avoiding bullets and always shielding Goncharov, granting him to escape, it was his certainity, his most prized possession and his truest ally. Only at the end it exploded, in the iconic scene that leads to the Bridge Scene and then to the ending, predating Goncharov's own death, and the movie makes it very clear that, with the loss of his beloved car, Goncharov officially loses all of his certainities and his anchors, his past and his identity and is now completely alone, heading through his own demise.

The De Ville is Goncharov's pride. It was the first thing he managed to buy in Italy, while the infamous clock was the last he managed to bring from Russia, thanks to the mafia. I think we all remember the iconic flashback of the car's purchase, and Andrej's look in the distance, his hidden smile for having been able to help Goncharov deal with the seller. Also, the car is the symbol of Goncharov's status in the mafia and what makes him immediately recognizable.

His pride was in that car, which he never parted from, and which he never allowed anyone else to drive: that's why it's so relevant the scene of Katya secretly taking the car trying to run away, betraying Goncharov for the first time, and of course, that's why it's so symbolic The Blood SceneTM, when Goncharov finds a bloody Andrej on the street and takes him in the car, saving his life when Andrej was already surrending to death, and staining of blood the white seats. And don't get me started on the Fight scene, when Goncharov and Andrej argue on the street, and Goncharov looks at Andrej for a bit too long, tries to say something but then violently shuts himself and gets in the car, slams the door and drives away, leaving Andrej, and all the feelings and the possibilities left unsaid, along with their last possibility at understanding each other, behind.

And once again, the car gets destroyed only before the Bridge Scene, leaving Goncharov right before Katya's and then Andrej's betrayals: it's Goncharov's rock falling away, leaving him completely alone, without his pride and his status, that leaded him until there, like he was before arriving in Italy. And then, when he's at his lowest, left without anything, lead there by his choices and his moves and his status in the mafia and by his pride and ambition, in that exact moment, the two people that he loved and that loved him - Bc I think Katja and Goncharov loved each other, only not in a romantic way - betray him.

I don't know, maybe it's me, but I find the De Ville being really important in the movie. I think we really should aknowledge it more.

Are we just going to ignore that the flashback after the credits of Goncharov 1973 implied that Katja and Sofia came from the same orphanage before Katja was adopted into a wealthy family? And no "Sofia is literally what Katja could've been." is not the point I'm trying to make here. I’m sorry but if you ship Katja/Sofia, please realize that it’s incest. Bad and wrong! You are shipping two (probably) foster sisters together, one if them being adopted and the other not knowing doesn't stop the fact they are sisters. I don't care if they aren't biologically related. It's fucking weird. It's also weird how people ship any girls that interact together, just because two gals don't hate each other's guts and they interact somewhat positively doesn’t mean they are in love with each other or want to fuck. Also in some cultures it's normal to kiss each other platonically on the mouth! If you ship Sofia/Katja you are actually xenophobic and acephobic and ableist! If you want positive gay rep goncharov x andrej is RIGHT THERE!

Okay, there's a lot here. Let's unpack all of. this. together, right now.

First off, your argument that Katja/Sofia is pseudo-incest because they came from the same orphanage is so far beyond false equivalencies that it's nonsensical entirely. If you think simply because two children are raised close to each other, their relationship is incest, you are so far beyond "out of touch" that you're on the moon. For god's sake, wait till you learn about schools.

Second off, it is hilarious that you are telling ME that it's weird people ship any girls that look at each other for longer than a second because first off, I did my fucking time as a femslash shipper (AND closeted lesbian, might I add) in the 2010s media landscape. It is my god-given right to sexualize looks between women. Second off, you reducing Katja and Sofia's dynamic to "girls that interact together and don't hate each other's guts" you are so WRONG worstie you are so incredibly wrong because like....when Sofia tells Katja "I know you as intimately as my blood knows the curves of my heart"? Whe Katja lied to Goncharov about having a lighter on her but she pulled one out of her pocket for Sofia? I literally have to laugh. If a man and a woman did this, it would be read as romantic from the start. Just because it's two women doesn't make it any less romantic, and frankly it says a lot about you immediately desexualizing and de-eroticizing the very homoerotic interactions between two women than it does about me.

Finally. FINALLY. The absolutely hilarious statement you made that "If you want positive gay rep goncharov x andrej is RIGHT THERE!" POSITIVE GAY REP GONCHAROV/ANDREJ? THE TWO MEN THAT SWORE A BLOOD OATH TO DIE TOGETHER? THE TWO MEN THAT HAD A WHOLE ANCHOVY SCENE? THESE TWO MORALLY GRAY ASSHOLES OF GUYS?? Ohhhh yeah. Yeah. If that's the ship you're calling your sweet little sunshine babies or whatever the fuck, just watch Teletubbies or something, because clearly you aren't equipped with the critical thinking skills OR sexy, sexy sulci you need to understand Katja/Sofia. I rest my fucking case.

The Car Chase of your dream, straight out of Goncharov the movie is finally here!

Help Goncharov Escape!

Play Goncharov, a Russian mobster having moved to Naples, Italy, for... err... reasons. A meeting with the local Don goes haywire, forcing you into a car chase to save your... well, Goncharov's life.  As you fight goons and henchmen with your trusted partner, Andrej, not everything goes to plan.

And not everything is what it seems...

Features

A one-button game. Play the action or let the counter run out. Whatever you do, you will fall on a different path.

Accessibility: the game can be played with a mouse or the 1 key.

Available in French and English.

Audio and SFX (with volume setting).

5k words total.

8 endings.

This should probably be a 14-16+ kind of game...

TW: mention of blood, shooting, car crashes, injuries, bad driving, mafia, swearing...

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