Demobbed
Three unruly Russian conscripts collide with the absurd rituals and masculine mythology of military life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- irreverent
- sardonic
- bawdy
- cult movie night
- late night comedy
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The conscription process and army rules about cockades, straps, order, and manhood are presented through absurd comic exaggeration.
The film brings together bizarre recruits, exaggerated officers, and institutional logic in a distinctly Russian post-Soviet comic register.
Bayonet, Bomb, and Bullet begin with distinct personal troubles before following the common path of conscription.
The army is framed as the supposed proving ground for a real man, while the recruits and military rituals repeatedly destabilize that claim.
Films like Demobbed, and why
Catch-22
shares irreverent military satire, eccentric ensemble comedy, and absurd institutional authority
Stripes
shares bawdy conscription humor, rebellious young men, and anti-authoritarian comic energy
The Peculiarities of the National Hunt
shares post-Soviet absurdism, deadpan comic timing, and grotesque social satire
Movie Details
- Director
- Roman Kachanov
- Release Date
- 2000-03-31
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (88)
Cast
- Pyotr Korshunkov
- Mikhail Petrovsky
- Stanislav Duzhnikov
- Viktor Pavlov
- Aleksandr Belyavskiy
- Juozas Budraitis
- Sergei Artsybashev
- Vladimir Shainskiy
- Ivan Okhlobystin
- Roman Kachanov
Common questions
- What is Demobbed about?
- Three unruly Russian conscripts collide with the absurd rituals and masculine mythology of military life.
- What is Demobbed like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Demobbed as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Demobbed violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Demobbed as mild.
- Which films are like Demobbed?
- Films with a similar feel include Catch-22, Stripes, and The Peculiarities of the National Hunt.
- How long is Demobbed?
- Demobbed runs 85 minutes.
