I already have an Oscar"
Actress and director Nadia Mikhalkova is used to hearing complaints about her famous surname. She visited almost all the world's film festivals and held in her hands her father's Oscar for the film "Tired of the Sun." But this prevents her from following her own directorial path. Nadia presented the family drama "Fiery Boy" at the Mayak Film Festival. In an exclusive interview with Izvestia, she talked about why she loves making movies about teenagers, what she consults with her father Nikita Mikhalkov about, and how she treats neural networks.
"Sometimes I feel like a teenager who has lost his bearings"
— At the Mayak Festival, you showed the film "Fire Boy". How was the story born?
— I'm generally interested in the teenage topic. Partly because of the nephews, with whom we have a difference of 12 years. It helps me to understand them better. Although sometimes I feel like a teenager who has lost his bearings. What is the right thing to do, what should be said, when to do it from the heart, and when — because it is necessary? Teenagers express these thoughts much more vividly.
Denis Kosikov during the filming of the movie "Fire Boy"
And then comes another age, mature. And you start living on a hunch, not a mental impulse. There is only today for teenagers. They don't try to determine what will happen tomorrow. They don't try to hedge their bets. It's such a burning condition. And I'm interested in studying it. I don't like the hackneyed word "teenager" at all. But I'm very close to what they're going through. Although I'm much older than them. Age is just a number in the passport. No more than that.
— Did you shoot "Fire Boy" for kids or to help adults?
— It just so happens that there are four heroines in the film. They are all of different ages and social status. I think it will help the female audience to see themselves from the outside. And young viewers need to be emotionally involved. It's an elusive thing to get a teenager to be patient and watch for an hour and a half, and then give some kind of moral. It's a movie that you have to be ready for. But not by the level of development, but by the state of mind. Our film is for both adults and young people who are ready to talk about what is in their hearts.
— Despite the fact that in the film, mom and son can't talk.
— Have you ever noticed that the everyday question "how are you" does not imply an answer? This is a background question. A formality. And when I felt it, I realized how wrong I was. After all, such irresponsibility sometimes leads to disastrous results. Especially in relation to their children. That is why Oksana Akinshina's heroine says one of the most important phrases in the film to Yulia Vysotskaya: did you ask him how it really was?
Oksana Akinshina and Denis Kosikov on the set of the movie "Fiery Boy"
It doesn't matter if the main character is to blame. Everyone has their own view of the circumstances. This movie is about feelings, sensations. We are used to the fact that a crime must be followed by punishment, atonement. It is necessary to reach the bottom in order to rise later. But for some, the bottom is to go to jail, and for others, to pass by a person who needs help.
Maybe we didn't follow the standard narrative pattern. Nowadays, movies prefer a more convex and obvious narrative. But I am very glad that we managed to touch someone and outrage someone, on the contrary. The worst thing is when the viewer remains inert.
— You often take pictures of your sister Anna Mikhalkova. How do you separate professional and personal on the site?
— We don't share it in any way. Our bond is so strong that we can equally argue about the lines of her character, as well as about some everyday things. I love her. I accept it from beginning to end. It's a real happiness to know that your sister is the best actress. Why not take advantage of it?
"Since you were born into such a family, you should always say, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm here by accident!"
— Do you show your films to your parents for professional or personal feedback?
— When I'm just working with the material, I consult with my dad. We are having serious discussions on a professional basis. If Dad scolds, then that's for business, and if he praises, then it's especially pleasant. And I am especially grateful to him for that. I'm showing my mom the finished painting at the premiere. Of course, as a child of my parents, it is important for me to tell them how I see this world. And since I have a great family, everyone respects everyone's opinion. There is no desire to please or please, there is a need for respect.
Nikita Mikhalkov with his daughter Nadezhda
— Is it important for you to get approval from the audience, the professional community, and reach your Oscar?
— I already have an Oscar. I'm very spoiled in this sense. I've probably had all the festivals in my life. Therefore, there is no goal to assert oneself. Of course, it's nice to be praised, appreciated, and rewarded. But these paths are finite. The only way to survive in our profession is to do your job honestly. Shoot because you can't help but shoot. To get infected by it and infect others.
You see, I'm probably not in the position or age to want to please everyone anymore. I want my children to like me. The people I go through life with every day. It's important for me to be on the same wavelength with them. As for cinema, when you give it to the audience, there is no goal to please, there is a task to hook.
— During the discussion of the film at the festival, there was a phrase that you need to come down from Nikolina Mountain to talk about the torments of the soul. Do you often hear similar claims in the profession because of the surname?
— Oh, I live with it! Apparently, since you were born into such a family, you should always say, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm here by accident!"
Anna Mikhalkova on the set during the filming of the movie "Fire Boy"
— Does it hit you?
— Before, of course, it did. Now I was glad that such a controversy had arisen. So, it's not in vain. I don't think that you have to commit any sin to talk to your soul. And it is only through pain that we come to a dialogue. But for some reason, people still allow themselves to point to Nikolina Gora, the Mikhalkov family name, and say that I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth. For me, this is a passed stage. And now, apart from gratitude, I feel nothing.
"A neural network can't even send you like a human"
— In August, the list of recommended films prepared for studying in schools became known. And there's only Soviet cinema. Should children study cinema at school and which one?
— It seems to me that they should, because with the advent of rils and shorts, children began to lose concentration quickly. Watching movies is a certain culture. The author's movie is too slow for them, the hand reaches for the phone all the time. Although when my daughter watched the first build of "Fire Boy", she gave very correct comments. And she always speaks bluntly if she doesn't understand something. But here the topic got her hooked. She liked the movie.
Another question is which films will be shown in schools. To be honest, I haven't seen the list and I won't be able to make a similar one. I love movies too much and am very responsible about choosing films for my children. We even had a rule.: watch a difficult movie once a week and then discuss it. But once a week turned out to be too much even for me. After all, sometimes you just want to relax and not connect your head and heart.
Nadezhda Mikhalkova on the set of the movie "Fire Boy"
— We have only recently witnessed the revival of Intervision, and in November Moscow will host the new Diamond Butterfly International Film Award, which should be our response to the Oscar. Do you think the award will be a way out of the cultural lockdown that Russia has been in lately?
— It seems to me that the world of cinema at some point found itself in a crisis of thought. I'm talking not only about Russian cinema, but also about world cinema. This is not related to politics or lockdown. Besides, we now have an overabundance of opportunities. The neural network creates texts and images. A priest in a cassock with a cross can speak in the voice of cartoons or the text of superheroes. The viewer is entertained all the time. And he gets tired of it. Now we see that people are just waiting for a human story, where there are few special effects, no superpowers and other decorations. Love, friendship, loneliness, hatred, betrayal — all according to the classics.
And "The Diamond Butterfly" should first of all open up to people those wonderful paintings that you will never see at the box office. Because they are authentic, based on the cultures of their countries. This is a real treasure trove of good works.
— Do you use artificial intelligence? Did you resort to his help in the "Fiery Boy"?
"Nothing." We're all the old-fashioned way. Although I understand that sometimes it's just convenient. For example, you don't have anyone to talk to, so you write to Chat GPT. But I'm still for the soul. The neural network can't even send you like a human. Everything will transform your thought indefinitely, although you should have stopped there a long time ago. And if you had a real friend next to you, I would immediately say that the idea was stupid. Perhaps I'm just a man of the old formation.
Anna Mikhalkova and Alexander Ustyugov on the set during the filming of the movie "Fire Boy"
— You've probably heard that Hollywood has its first AI actress. Do you see this as a threat to the creativity of the acting profession?
— No, absolutely not. When cinema and television appeared, everyone said that the theater would die. But he is more alive than all the living. Now it's just another round. It's nothing more than a toy. I'm for progress, of course, but a man needs a man.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
