This is how Caruso fought: the debut of Kharatyan's son and the new "Deniskin Stories"

After a closed screening at the Moscow International Film Festival, "The Postman" was released in Russia, starring Alexander Petrov. Next weekend's competition will be "Deniskin's Stories" directed by Artemy Dragunsky. The audience will also see Luc Besson's novelty "June and John". The black-and-white drama "On This Earth" by Alexei Uchitel's student Renata Dzhalo will compete for attention. Izvestia has studied the cinema schedules and tells us which films are worth watching this weekend.

Pochtar, 12+

Directed by Andrey Razenkov. Starring: Alexander Petrov, Inga Oboldina, Dmitry Kovgan, Alexander Michkov, Yuri Belyaev, Fedor Lavrov, Natalia Surkova.

Alexander Petrov is not leaving the wide screens this spring. The premiere of "Kraken" has not had time to die out, as from April 24, another project of the actor, "The Postman", is already available at the box office. The film, which is timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, was directed by Andrei Razenkov. He is familiar to a wide audience from the 2001 Northern Lights starring a young Marina Alexandrova.

The action of "The Postman" takes place in 1942 in a provincial town. Petrov plays a humble autistic postman who serves as the only link between the front and the soldiers' relatives. He tries to protect the local girls from bad news. But hiding the truth for a long time does not work: the military department closely monitors the mail. Alexander Petrov's colleagues on the set were Inga Oboldina, Dmitry Kovgan, Yuri Belyaev, Fedor Lavrov. And also Natalia Surkova. The actress revealed the details of filming in Andrey Razenkov's melodrama in an interview with Izvestia.

— Sasha and I had very little contact on the set. But it worked very harmoniously. He is extremely delicate. We sorted everything out together every shift. They asked questions to the director, the cameraman, and offered something from themselves," the actress said.

"The Postman" was first shown at the last MIFF on April 22. He will compete for the victory in the nomination "Russian Premieres".

"I liked the story—it's magical, romantic and very touching."

Actress Natalia Surkova — about the filming of the film "The Postman", the secrets of Academician Pavlov's house and the best substitute for meditation

"On this earth", 16+

Directed by Renata Djalo. Starring: Victoria Snyatkova, Marina Snyatkova, Alexander Alexandrov, Alexander Koruchakov, Sergey Skoda.

Renata Djalo's black-and-white drama "On This Earth" stands out among this week's novelties. The end of the XVIII century. After an attempt by a runaway peasant to jump from the roof on makeshift wings, the villagers begin to strictly monitor the observance of the usual principles. The wings are burned, someone kills the actress of a traveling carnival, and in one of the houses, twin sisters are separated, blaming one for the other's illness. The girl is not ready to admit guilt. She secretly begins to spy on the flight experiment.

Renata Dzhalo studied directing at VGIK in the course of Alexey Uchitel. He acted as a producer in the film of the former student. "On this Earth" has managed to win the love of audiences outside of Russia — in February of this year it was presented at the Rotterdam Film Festival. And four months before that (in October 2024), the project of a former Teacher's student won two awards at the Mayak Contemporary Film Festival in Gelendzhik. One of them is for the best cinematography.

It turned out to be an octopus: how "Kraken" worked out with Petrov on the first weekend

Results of the national box office over the weekend

Carusa, 6+

Directed by Ivan Kharatyan. Starring: Svetlana Ivanova, Mark-Malik Murashkin, Alexander Baluyev, Ivan Kolesnikov, Maria Abramova.

The theme of the Great Patriotic War is also touched upon in the film "Karusa", which is based on real events. The main character of the war drama is called Mitya Vasiliev. He gets a puppy as a gift. The dog howls for a long time, for which he gets the nickname Karusa. Enrique Caruso was the name of an Italian opera singer. The war begins, and Leningrad is under siege. Mitya's family is starving. Carusa decides to help them and goes after the loot through a minefield. This is repeated more than once. During one of these outings, Mitya keeps the dog company. As a result, they catch the eye of German patrolmen.

"Karuza" is the directorial debut of Dmitry Kharatyan's son Ivan. The cast was stellar. The key roles in the military drama were played by Svetlana Ivanova, Alexander Baluyev and Ivan Kolesnikov.

"Deniskin's stories", 6+

Directed by Artemy Dragunsky. Starring: Roman Pankov, Alexander Pashutin, Anna Peskova, Dmitry Endaltsev, Olga Volkova.

"Deniskin's Stories" is considered one of the most popular Soviet children's books. The work of Viktor Dragunsky has been filmed more than once. The last one was released last year, when the TV series of the same name was released. And since April 24 of this year, "Deniskin's Stories" has been available in Russian cinemas as a full meter. Both projects were directed by Artemy Dragunsky, grandson of writer Viktor Dragunsky.

"The audience is waiting for a fascinating journey into childhood, where every day becomes an adventure, and an ordinary country village turns into a territory of exciting stories," said director Artemy Dragunsky on the eve of the premiere. — This film will be equally interesting for both children and adults. Young viewers will see themselves in the mischievous antics of the main characters, and adults will be able to relive the moments of their childhood. We have tried to create a story that speaks about eternal values in a language that is understandable to different generations.

The family comedy tells about the boy Denis Korablev. He spends three months of the holidays with his family in the country. Deniska makes new friends, falls in love. The main role in the new "Deniskin Stories" was played by nine-year-old Roman Pankov. His partners on the set were Alexander Pashutin, Anna Peskova, Dmitry Endaltsev, Olga Volkova.

"June and John", 18+

Directed by Luc Besson. Starring: Matilda Price, Luke Stanton Eddy.

Luc Besson shot the movie "June and John" back in 2020 during the pandemic. The renowned producer abandoned professional cameras and captured everything that happened in the frame on his own smartphone.

Besson invited little-known actors to star in the film "June and John". So, the main character named June was played by Matilda Price. Before meeting Besson, the actress had only one project in her track record, "Mother and Son," where she played a cameo role. Luke Stanton Eddy turned into John. Unlike Price, he is much more experienced. However, of the 15 projects with the participation of the new favorite Besson, none has gained wide popularity.

Critics dubbed the novelty from Besson a romantic thriller. John is an office clerk. One day, his carefree and quiet workdays are disrupted by the bright and energetic June. Passion flares up between the characters, romantic relationships begin. John, in love, robs a bank with June. After that, the couple goes on the run. You can find out how this version of "Bonnie and Clyde" will end now in the cinema.