Man in the Frame
The way bureaucracy works is told by men in the frames.
From the archive
“Man in the Frame” is about a single man who spends his days boxed in by a frame, hanging as a picture on the wall of life. The first frame he has is simple and nondescript, but as he gets older and makes his way up the ladder of government bureaucracy, the frame becomes more ornate, yet never really any bigger. Many in the Russian animation community are still amazed that Fyodor Khitruk’s “Man in the Frame” was ever produced, approved and widely distributed in the USSR. Khitruk had for several years wanted to make a film that openly critiqued bureaucrats instead of disguising them as bears or beavers in children’s fairy tales. Innovative visuals were created with collage and dramatized by masterful use of music and effects.
Why this is free to watch
Man in the Frame (1966) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. No signup, no payment and no advertising interrupts playback. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Fyodor Khitruk
Player shortcuts
- Space Play / pause
- ← → Skip 10s
- ↑ ↓ Volume
- M Mute
- F Fullscreen
- 0–9 Jump to %
