War and peace: what film premieres await us in May
Perhaps the main film premiere in May will be "Not on the list" — a large-scale film based on the novel of the same name by Boris Vasiliev, the last, it seems, of the military works of the writer, who still has not really been awarded a high-quality film adaptation. And for fans of sports excitement, May has prepared two premieres at once: the "Finale" about volleyball players — for representatives of the older generation and "Faster than the Wind" — for young fans of living fast. Izvestia tells about the most interesting film premieres in May.
"Not on the list"
May 1
On June 21, 1941, young lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov, having been assigned to a permanent duty station, arrives in Brest and goes to the location of his new unit in the Brest fortress. Due to the late arrival time, Pluzhnikov did not have time to be included in the unit lists and put on pay, and he is awaiting his first morning in an officer position. But in the morning, the war begins — and Nikolai Pluzhnikov will have 10 long months together with his comrades and alone to resist the enemy in the fortress ruins, defending the land of his Homeland until his last breath.
Boris Vasiliev's works can boast of a surprisingly successful screen fate: "And the dawns here are quiet" became the best picture of 1972 according to the Soviet Screen, "Tomorrow was the war" gave a start to the big cinema directed by Yuri Kara. The story "Was not on the list" had to wait longer, but the result clearly would not disappoint the viewer. The film was shot in the traditions of Soviet military cinema, without attempts to use excessive means of emotional expression, but with a surprisingly deep immersion into the deafening and ruthless atmosphere of war. The creators of the painting also carefully approached the reconstruction of both pre-war Brest and the fortress itself. Vladislav Miller's role of Pluzhnikov was an absolute success: he fully justified the "Advance" award for the most promising young actors.
"How to seduce a girl, or what men talk about"
May 8th
After the divorce, 50-year-old Julian, due to financial problems, is forced to earn extra money, picking up fellow travelers for trips to Madrid. Soon he meets Lorena, who becomes his regular passenger, and gradually falls in love with her. In the end, Julian decides to tell the girl about his feelings, however, as luck would have it, it is on his scheduled day that two new passengers board him, and their presence not only prevents Julian from making a long-planned confession, but also turns everything upside down.
In the original, the eccentric comedy by Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia ("The Day of the Beast", "The Oxford Murders") was called "The Fourth Passenger", but the distributors clearly decided to play it safe, hinting to the audience that the film would feature a lot of flirtation, harassment of varying degrees of shamelessness and greasy tavern jokes. All this is really going to happen — as well as dangerous driving, dashing car stunts and other reckless entertainment for boys over the age of forty. Gray hair in the head is a devil in the rib.
"The Finale"
May 8th
On August 12, 2012, the Olympic London hosted the volleyball final, in which the Brazilian national team met with Russian athletes. Few people doubted the victory of the Brazilians: the "chosen ones," as the Brazilian fans called their idols, practically did not know defeats. At first, it would seem that the forecasts were fully justified: The Russian national team lost 0-2 in games at the end of the match and 19-22 in the third set, the outcome seemed a foregone conclusion. And only athletic anger and the will to win allowed the Russian athletes in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the fight.
Sports dramas have become increasingly popular with viewers in recent years, which is not surprising: top—level sports are always a game on the edge of the possible, a fight without pity for oneself and the opponent, and against this seething emotional background, plots that cannot be imagined by the most talented screenwriter are spinning by themselves. The story of the improbable victory of the Russian volleyball team, which won its first Olympic gold in 2012, is based on real events, such as the plot of Rodnina, which was released a few weeks ago. However, sports plots are finite.: The fact that the filmmakers from "legends of the deep antiquity" so quickly got to almost modern events and clearly do not plan to stop, of course, is somewhat embarrassing. To become a legend, history must "lie down." Otherwise they won't believe you.
"Nightingale vs Muromets"
May 22nd
The robber Nightingale, having defeated Ilya Muromets by cunning, gained fame, and at the same time immortality. The elixir of eternal life, however, did not come to him for nothing: hundreds of years later, he will have to revive the god Veles, who helped him become immortal. Ilya Muromets, found and revived by the scientist Kiselyov, will have to confront the villain. He will be assisted by the professor's sons, Maxim and Egor Kiselyov, who managed to find out the secret of the hero. The steel heart developed by Kiselyov brings Ilya Muromets back to life — but the professor soon dies, and the hero, along with his sons, will have to defeat the Robber Nightingale and restore Ilya's good name.
Like his other predecessors, fairy—tale heroes who, by the will of Russian cinematographers, have fallen into a bright present, Muromets easily gets used to modern technologies, runs on a moving track, pedals an exercise bike and turns plastic walls into dust, using them as a punching bag. But the fearless hero went further, mastering interactive armor in which he fights in the arena with combat robots. Judging by the pictures of the fights, the filmmakers decided to please the children with domestic "Transformers" featuring live actors. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. Unlike the idea of providing the glorious hero with a ridiculous and pathetic phobia — the fear of spiders, because of which, as it turned out, he lost the battle to the Nightingale. Alas and ah, such a reputation of the hero, most likely, can no longer be fixed.
"Faster than the wind"
May 29th
Max is a young fan of motorsport, she is professionally engaged in karting and is sure that this is her vocation. However, at the age of 17, tired of fighting for her dream, she gave up racing to find something quieter to do. But she can't escape fate: The girl meets a retired racing driver, who becomes her coach and helps her get a place at the academy, where they train the best racing drivers in the world. There she meets the ambitious handsome Will, who, like Max herself, dreams of winning Formula 1. A spark breaks out between them — but not everything is so simple in the world of motorsport, and Max will have to choose between his professional aspirations and his feelings.
It seems that cynical filmmakers have never so openly mixed popular genres in an effort to get a movie cocktail that is guaranteed to attract viewers. A sports drama, a teenage melodrama and, finally, the genre of car cinema generated by the Fast and the Furious, with black stripes on the asphalt, screeching tires and cars turning picturesquely in the air. The cocktail turned out to be very unusual, but no less attractive for this: the viewer will follow the twists and turns of the plot, developing with true racing speed in all directions at once, with no less attention than the real Formula 1 championship. The latter, of course, is shown with the maximum degree of conditionality — but the target audience of the picture is not yet aware of this: they are all 16 years old, and although it is too late for them to prepare for the Queen of auto racing track, they will be able to seriously raise revenue for karting clubs.
"The Cuckoo"
May 29th
After a long absence, Arkady returns to his parents' house, which was destroyed by time. He has to put to rest the soul of a woman who has become an evil spirit after death, but, as you might guess, it is not easy for him: in a place where he faced terrible events in childhood, it is not easy for him not to succumb to the soul-engulfing horror. Getting to know a neighbor seems to smooth out creepy childhood memories, but it is after their meeting that the guy begins to notice more and more strange things around him and eventually realizes that the mystical events are connected with the father of his new acquaintance, who, as it turned out, hides a terrible secret.
Yakutia for Russian cinema in the coming years may become what Kazakhstan turned out to be for the late Soviet cinema: a fresh stream, a source of original ideas and non-standard work with the frame. The black-and—white thriller is the first full-length work by Evgeny Nikolaev, who received the Impressive Debut award at the Mirror Festival for it. The film is very carefully constructed visually — every frame, every mise en scene is worthy of being placed on a poster. The participation of non—professional actors is not emphasized or emphasized - but in the atmosphere of a God-forsaken Yakut village, they look much more natural than a famous actor in makeup could look.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
