Dzisay(2004)

Dzisay is a Russian film that reimagines an ancient Japanese tradition for modern times. A successful businessman, inspired by the historical practice of keeping a sacrificial scapegoat called "Jisai," hires an unemployed intellectual to absorb all of life's misfortunes on his behalf. The arrangement is darkly comic yet troubling: the hired man endures beatings, humiliations, and disasters while his employer remains untouched by fate's cruelty. The film explores the absurdity of wealth and power through this twisted relationship, questioning what one person will accept for survival and what another will demand for protection. Dzisay blends satire with social commentary, examining class divisions and the human capacity for exploitation in contemporary Russia.