... and the vapor? I mean, I know they go to a bath house on New Years, and so that's the vapor in the Lungs, but how does it make sense as a title? Is it some play on words that has to do with Fate as a vapor, or something?
Dgross-3,
No-no-no-no-no! Allow a native speaker of Russian clarify a few things for you.
The title of the movie is a double-decker - a fairly frequent schtick in Russian cinematography. As an example: a little-known children's comedy of the early 1930s was titled "Please Come In, or Authorized Personnel Only". (How appropriate for the country, where double-speak has been a way of living - and surviving - for millennia.) "Ironiya sudby" is pretty clear - "Irony of Fate". The second part is a bit trickier. Russian stuff.
Do you know how Russians greet each other on New Year's Eve? "S novym godom!" - literally, "[I congratulate you] with/on the new year." A generic "Happy holiday!" would be "S prazdnikom!", again "[I congratulate you] with/on the holiday." Get my drift? "S lyogkim parom!" has nothing to do with lungs or vapors. It's a common greeting extended to a person who has just emerged from a Russian steam bathhouse. Why would "light (or easy) steam" be a formula for a festive greeting? The answer is steeped in history. Unlike Americans, who routinely bathe (or shower) once (or more) a day, Russians have always enjoyed a hot bath once a week at the most. Don't ask me why - whether water was in short supply, just like everything else, or the traditional lackadaisical easy-going nature of the Russian soul was to blame, the fact is that having a bath has always been an occasion for a "Happy steam!" wish. In a way, wishing our disingenuous hero a "Happy Bathing" adds a comical component to the whole switcheroo - considering the happy ending of the story, that vodka-sodden bath-house bash was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him.
Hope that helps! Oh, and next time you shower - "S lyogkim parom!"
Ahhhhh! Spasibo bolshoye!!!
First - okay, a double-decker title, that makes sense. They used to be a lot more common in English literature than they are now. Now they are usually considered comedic titles, e.g., the full title of the movie we all know as "Dr. Strangelove" is "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb".
As for the "lyogkim" - oy, that was an automated internet-based translator playing a big joke on me, with the help of my own mistakes. I knew it was the instrumental case, but I thought the word was "lung" ( L YE G K YE ) not "light, easy" (L YE G K O ). Bhhhhhhnnnnt!!
Tyepyer' ponimayu! Spasibo!
Thanks for that, john_zloty
Great film. VERY funny. Loved it.