Rereading Iosif Brodsky through Andrei Khrzhanovsky's "A Cat and a Half"

Abstract

This study examines select sequences from Andrei Khrzhanovsky’s animated short film Poltora kota [A Cat and a Half ] (2002), which constitutes the preparatory work for the feature film Poltory komnaty, ili sentimental’noe puteshestvie na rodinu [In a Room and a Half, or A Sentimental Journey to the Homeland] (2009). Both films are inspired by the life and works of Joseph Brodsky, particularly his autobiographical essays and poetry. The aim of this work is to analyze which literary material was selected and how it was reused and translated by Khrzhanovsky, thus reflecting on the interweaving of cinema and literature, on the poetic and visual nature of the works of the writer and the director, as well as on some recurring key concepts, such as memory and time.