Is This the Worst Movie Set in History?

Would you travel back in time for the chance to live in Soviet Russia? Probably not. But what if doing so meant you'd be in a movie -- would you do it then? Probably not? The idea sounds ridiculous, but not to director Ilya Khrzhanovsky. For the last six years, the Russian filmmaker has been working on 'Dau,' a movie based on the life of Soviet physicist Lev Landau. To film it, Khrzahnovsky has done the unthinkable: he's set up an exact replicable of a Soviet town inside an enormous brick building, where saying the wrong word can either mean loss of paycheck, or, loss of job. In the latest issue of GQ, writer Michael Idov travels to Russia to visit the set (or, as the film crew refers to it, "The Institute") and document his experience. However, this is the era of Communism! He can't just go strolling in there as a journalist. Before he's allowed to enter, Idov is forced to dress in Soviet attire and have his hair cut. Then things get even weirder when he begins to interview the actors, in particular a girl named Olya. Olya has been living [on set] 'since 1949,' a pat answer everyone gives this week; in reality, she's been on the set for four months. She works at the cafeteria from noon to 10 p.m. and spends the rest of her time in a communal apartment she shares with a 'physicist' named Konstantin. On what I imagine is Khrzhanovsky's signal, she invites us over later that night. Outside for a quick Soviet cigarette, far from the director's gaze, Olya doesn't let the facade crack for a second. 'Do you want to be an actress,' I ask. 'What? No! I want to be a scientist. And there you have it folks: method acting at its finest. In true USSR form, the director has been capturing everything through hidden cameras and microphones. And if you happen to do something that's not up-to-snuff with the set's strict policy, you could get fined. At one point, Idov asks if the director plans on augmenting the city with CGI in post-production. "See, if one of the guards heard you, he would fine me a thousand hryvinas [about $125] ... You can't use words that have no meaning in this world," says Khrzhanovsky. In all honesty, this project sounds less like a movie and more like some giant experiment on the human condition. After all, production has been going on since 2006. They've almost been shut down several times, only for Khrzhanovsky to find funding at the last minute. So what is the point of all this? What type of film is Khrzhanovsky trying to shoot? Khrzhanovsky came up with the idea of the Institute not long after preproduction on 'Dau' began in 2006. He wanted a space where he could elicit the needed emotions from his cast in controlled conditions, twenty-four hours a day ... The Institute's ostensible goal was to re-create '50s and '60s Mostcow, home to 'Dau''s subject, Lev Landau. According to the article, the film is about 80 percent done. At the end of the piece, Idov screens some raw footage. He describes it as "a vertiginous mix of avant-garde sensibilities, Hollywood sweep, and reality-show techniques. One sequence, a riot at a train station, looked like Michael Bay crossed with Heironymus Bosch... Another piece was a forty-minute-long improvised squabble between Landau and his wife." So, when the movie is finally finished, what's going to happen to The Institute? "I don't know," said Khrzhanovsky. "Right now, shooting is the only thing that justifies the enormous costs of keeping it up. I don't know what to do later." [via GQ] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook