An "outsider" is allowed to enter: by March 8, "Tulips" will grow in the cinema

By the International Women's Day, moviegoers are waiting for a real feast of novelties — and the comedy almanac "Tulips", created based on the success of the "Christmas Trees" series, starts. In it, viewers will see five funny novels starring superstars. Other bright films are also being released: the magical fairy tale "The Frog Princess 2", the deep drama by Francois Ozon "The Stranger", based on the novel by Albert Camus, the atmospheric Yakut horror "Border" from director Dmitry Davydov and the stylish ironic thriller "The Heir" starring Glen Powell. Izvestia has studied the latest releases and will tell you which ones definitely deserve your attention this weekend.

"Tulips", 16+

Directors: Anna Kuznetsova, Yulia Lysova, Yulia Uzkikh, Vladislav Ikonnikov, Yuri Korobeynikov. Starring: Elena Yakovleva, Gosha Kutsenko, Alexey Serebryakov, Nikolai Kolyada, Slava Kopeikin, Yulia Topolnitskaya

By March 8, a new comedy almanac is being released, which may become an annual festive film showcase — like the "Christmas Trees" for the New Year or the iconic "Old Songs about the Main Thing" that have graced the television airwaves for many years. The familiar intonations of the "Fir Trees": cute, funny, memorable characters that you want to come back to again and again. Gosha Kutsenko's character is one of them: the actor recently shared details about the role, which has become one of the most striking in the almanac. Nikolai Kolyada, the brilliant creator of the original theatrical universe, also starred in the film. Unfortunately, the artist did not live to see the premiere for only a few days.

The long weekend will be tough for Russian rental. Two more Russian comedies will be released that will compete for the audience: "The New Mother-in-Law" with Garik Kharlamov and "Tenderly to yourself" with Artyom Tkachenko. And the weekend will last only three days. The viewer always benefits from such competition, while cinemas, distributors and producers of these films will see how effective the promotion of films has been. Preliminary data shows that comedies are running side by side in the top five box office leaders, and we'll see what happens next soon.

"The Frog Princess 2", 6+

Directed by Alexander Amirov. Starring: Valentina Lyapina, Alexander Metelkin, Nikita Kologrivy, Alisa Rudenko, Roman Kurtsyn, Jan Tsapnik

It seems that the celebration of the "Tale of Tsar Saltan" is coming to an end. At Thursday's morning sessions, she has already been overtaken by the new "Frog Princess" with Nikita Kologrivy. It's too early to write off Sarik Andreasyan's film, but this weekend he will definitely give part of the audience to the new fantasy release. Last year, the first "Frog Princess" was also released on March 8 and eventually earned almost 600 million rubles. It's not as impressive as the result of "The Tale of Tsar Saltan," but ticket prices have gone up. This means that even with the same number of viewers, the ticket office at the exit will be higher.

The plot's plot is reminiscent of Pushkin's, only from another fairy tale. Ivan Tsarevich and Vasilisa are having a wedding, but right at this moment the bride is abducted by someone sinister. And then Ivan goes on a quest. However, he will not act alone, but with his sister Varya and their friends. What awaits us in the Tmutarakan kingdom? Everything is as it should be: insurmountable trials, evil and good magic, testing all the best qualities for strength. And, of course, Ivan Tsarevich will have to show how much he loves Vasilisa and what he is ready to do for her.

"Outsider", 18+

Directed by Francois Ozon. Starring: Benjamin Voisin, Rebecca Marder, Pierre Lotten, Denis Lavand, Swann Arlo

It is difficult to explain why Francois Ozon is practically a national artist in Russia. He is not just appreciated and known, he is loved as one of his own, they always look forward to visiting, and as soon as he visits us, crowds of fans and fans of all ages flock around him. Everyone has their favorite Ozon movies, and they are not just watched to the holes in the screen, but remembered by heart and quoted. Some people love "The Rat House" and "Criminal Lovers" more, others are closer to "Raindrops on Hot Rocks" and "Under the Sand", aesthetes adore "Ricky" and "Franz", and "8 Women" has become a household classic for everyone, like "The Fifth Element", "Criminal reading material" or "Fight Club".

But, as Sergey Uvarov notes in a review for Izvestia, all these cinephiles and just fans of good movies in the "Stranger" may not find the Ozone they know, even if some shots seem to quote his "Pool". Because Ozone made such a subtle stylization that the author of the film is almost invisible behind it, but the novel of the same name by Albert Camus, based on which the picture was shot, comes to the fore. And Ozone doesn't use postmodern tricks here. Or uses it, but very delicately. So, to invite Denis Lavant, the charismatic fool from almost all of Leos Carax's films, to one of the main roles is, of course, a signal to the viewer that everything is not so simple here either and that the Ozone has not gone away, but disguised itself. How can you not love him even more after that?

"Border", 18+

Director: Dmitry Davydov. Starring: Vyacheslav Shatnenko, Liliana Petrova, Eva Kuzmenko

Dmitry Davydov, the flagship of Yakut cinema, continues to experiment with genres. His pace is still Stakhanov's — several films per year. He talked about this in his first interview with Izvestia in 2022, and last year we met him at the Cannes Film Festival. Together with his main colleague Stepan Burnashev, he came there not to watch other people's movies, but to present his own. And if you still haven't seen his brilliant works "Bonfire in the Wind", "Scarecrow" or "Songs of Summer", then you can start with "Border", there are many of the things that made Davydov a cult figure far beyond Yakutia.

"The Border" is a mystical folk horror that is woven from something that is almost invisible and inaudible, but for some reason it feels very good once you close the door in the hut at night. And when you decide to go out, you'll see enough that you'll never forget it if you stay alive. There have been scenes in the spirit of gloomy carnivals in Davydov's films before, but here they have a special emphasis. Because there are amazing creatures on the border between our world and some other, and a father and daughter will have to deal with them, choosing new friends and enemies. It's all creepy and funny, because Davydov, fortunately, has an amazing sense of humor.

"The Heir", 18+

Directed by John Patton Ford. Starring: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, Ed Harris

The comedy thriller "The Heir" is an acting comedy starring Glen Powell, where there are much fewer scenes with Margaret Qualley than most viewers would like. But they are there, and this is a plus, as well as a small amount of screen time allocated to the character of everyone's beloved Ed Harris. In the center of the plot is Glen Powell's character named Beckett. He really wants an inheritance of tens of billions of dollars, which he will not see, because he still has seven members of a large rich family ahead of him. Beckett decides to kill them and take a huge jackpot for himself. The decision is understandable, given that Beckett is too young, handsome, and cynical to turn down such a chance.

The problem with the film is that everything stated is not very catchy. Not so long ago, Park Chang-wook's "Method of Elimination" was released, where the hero really wittily eliminated competitors, but it was a highly artistic and intelligent movie. After the premiere at Sundance, the documentary "All about Money" by Irish documentary filmmaker Sinead O'Shea will be shown worldwide. That's where the hero really is, Anfan terribl of a multibillion-dollar empire, and he does wonders vividly: he trains subversive detachments in the United States at his own expense, finances Tunisian football, and reads Lenin in Russian. We talked about it in an article about the festival. "The Heir", unfortunately, the movie is too moderate and glossy, despite the impressive cast. In the United States, it earned $6 million with a creak and was destroyed by critics, although its viewership ratings are good.