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Culture > Diversion

A movie made from Russian dashcam videos

So you think Philippine motoring is outrageous?

Let's see the bodyguards of a Filipino congressman handle this. SCREENSHOT FROM 'THE ROAD MOVIE'

We see them all the time popping up in our news feed—two drivers verbally and physically assaulting each other on EDSA; a motorcycle getting hit by a speeding car on Commonwealth Avenue; a pedestrian running after a robber who made off with her bag on Roxas Boulevard. All riveting scenes courtesy of dash cameras.

But if we think the Philippines produces the most compelling dashcam videos, wait until you see those from Russia. Which we will soon be able to, thanks to an enterprising Russian filmmaker by the name of Dmitrii Kalashnikov, who has spliced together such footage culled from the Internet and social media to come up with a 67-minute film called The Road Movie.

What are you going to do? Scream for help on Facebook? SCREENSHOT FROM 'THE ROAD MOVIE'

Think of the worst local dashcam video you’ve seen and then multiply it by a factor of 10—that’s pretty much what you’re getting from this documentary, which premiered at a film festival in Amsterdam in 2016. Road rage, wild crashes, freak accidents and weird strangers are the main highlights of this film. Watch the official trailer so you’ll know what we’re talking about.

“Sometime ago, I was involved in the production of videos analyzing different car crashes to show people’s mistakes that usually happen on the road and can lead to tragic consequences,” Kalashnikov is quoted in the press notes as saying. “I was interested by this theme and searched the Internet for more examples of the accidents. And that’s how I ran into dashboard camera videos. I was thrilled by them. The thing is that most people concentrate on the tragic and funny situations that happen in front of the dash cameras. But for me, the most powerful thing about it is the reaction of the people behind the cameras—how they deal with the life that literally crashes into them.”

The movie will be shown in the US starting in January 2018, and will be available for download by March 2018 (with a preorder rate of $14.99). If you’re a cheapskate, just go to YouTube and search “Russian road rage” or “Russian car crash.”



Vernon B. Sarne

Vernon is the founder and editor-in-chief of VISOR. He has been an automotive journalist since July 1995. He became one by serendipity, walking into the office of a small publishing company and applying for a position he had no idea was for a local car magazine. God has watched over him throughout his humble journey. He writes the ‘Spoiler’ column.



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