"When I plunged into this atmosphere, I felt inner peace for the Motherland"
We have everything we need to protect the country, Alexander Chernyaev, director of photography and co-author of the script for the multi-part feature film "The Specials", was convinced. In order to reliably convey the work of the special forces on the screen, the entire film crew had to fully immerse themselves in the process. Every detail was consulted by current FSB officers, and the main cast members received special training. In an exclusive interview with Izvestia, Chernyaev told why the real characters do not look like the Terminators, what the wives of the special forces told him after watching the picture, and how true patriotism is actually born. From October 18, "Specials" will be shown on REN TV.
"This has never happened in modern cinema"
— How did the story of the "Specials" begin for you and what caught on in it?
— It all started with a call from Inessa Yurchenko, producer and head of Triix Media. She said: "Sasha, there is a very good project for you." In a nutshell, she told me about the FSB Special Forces Center, their work, and their personal relationships. I'm hooked on this topic. I realized that this had never happened before in modern cinema. Therefore, I set myself the task of trying to make a movie that was significant for me, like the films "In the zone of special attention" and "Retaliatory Move". So that young boys would watch our "Specialists" and not be afraid of the army, not afraid of service, not afraid of men's work.
— This is really the first art project about the work of the special forces. You've been in close contact with employees and veterans. What did they tell you that you didn't even imagine before you started working?
— These are wonderful guys, active specialists. The first contact was a bit cautious. They looked at us with some disbelief. They say the filmmakers have arrived, and now they're going to shoot all sorts of nonsense again. In order to somehow establish a relationship and reduce the distance, I worked closely with them on the site. I listened very attentively. Moreover, these guys really delved into the script. They helped and told me what was true and what was not true. At some point, the distance went away, and quickly enough. And we have such a real creative union.
— And there were moments when they said, "No, we can't show you that"?
— It was at the stage of making scenario decisions. The editor-in-chief and I tried to come up with some stories, we offered them, but they said, "No, we're not going to tell this yet." Such plots were dismissed at the script level. We showed everything to the specialists.
— And at the moment of work, could they stop you and say: "A real special forces soldier will never do that"?
— Yes, it was like that all the time. We work with actors. And they, not knowing the special forces life, tried to bring their own somewhere. We were immediately corrected: "Stop, you can't do that."… We all understand, but we can't do that. Our colleagues will just curse us and not understand." So we worked out the details in great detail. Once there was such a moment: we made a rough build and sent it to the consultants to look at. And they say: "That's all right, but your actor is holding his finger on the safety lock incorrectly." I was so mad, I said: "Who's going to see this? Who needs it anyway?" But it wasn't true, and I had to redo, even reshoot something. Everything was as thorough as possible.
— What surprised you when talking to these people?
— Everyone is very reserved. As much as possible. They say, "Do you remember back then, 10-15 years ago?" But they never talk about what is happening now. They never talk about their current problems. Either about what can already be said, or about the present, but very restrained: by first name, patronymic, without call signs, without everything. That's how they communicate. It surprised me, the guys are constantly at risk and are very sensitive about what is happening around them.
"They don't leave their own"
— Did you also serve in the army at one time?
— Yes, I served in the airborne troops of the draft 1987-1989. And my company commander was a captain whom I remember well. I really liked him as a person. And when I was invited to this project, I found out quite by chance that he went through the special forces line. And later it turned out that he was one of the project's customers. And 35 years later, we met. I told him then, "I guess you don't remember me anymore?" And he says, "No, it's impossible to forget such Moscow hoses."
His opinion was very important to me. I was worried and worried when we showed the film in Balashikha, at the Special Purpose Center. During the viewing, the guys were sitting there, and next to me was the commander of my company. I was as worried as a student about an exam. After watching it, everyone was afraid to turn in his direction. And after watching it, he said so clearly: "They will watch the movie!"
"Was that an endorsement?"
— Yes, yes. And getting his opinion was very important to me. He is a general, a Hero of Russia. In general, it was incredibly important to me how the FSB officers would perceive the series.
— In the series, a lot of attention is paid not only to service, but also to family, friendship, and relationships between people. Why was it important for you to show this side of life?
— Special forces is full concentration on the task they perform. If a fighter has something wrong at home, he will still think about these problems. They won't allow him to fully focus on his service. This must be avoided, it's just dangerous. To some extent, he can frame the whole group. An element of inattention appears. Guys go on business trips for quite a long time. And their rear, their family— is their fortress. They talk about family very rarely, very little, because they cherish the relationships they have. During that screening in Balashikha, I saw their families, how they were organized. It's very touching. You can see that their wives are behind them, and you can rely on them. This is the same female special forces, they have their own task, and such reliable family relationships can be envied.
— I was just going to ask about women. We are used to seeing special forces through the prism of a male fraternity, but it is clear that his family and wives remain behind him. Have you talked to them?
— We talked. At first, while we were preparing the project, we talked with the bosses, and they tried to find out how the employees were living, how their holidays were going. But after the premiere in Balashikha, where 700-800 employees and their wives were sitting, we got good applause. They were staring so intently. And then everyone started coming up to take pictures, and the wives said, "Thank you so much, we finally saw what our husbands were doing." Because when leaving for a mission, wives are usually told: "We're leaving. Don't worry about it." And the wives are sitting in the rear, just on watch, and waiting and, of course, worried.
— They probably had an interesting family conversation after the show. There must be some kind of conditional agreement between them: "I'm not telling you anything, you're not asking about anything." Or what?
— I don't know specifically if there is such a contract, but they certainly have a certain code of special forces. They don't abandon their own. Even after being seriously injured, the guys still remain on duty. They are not fired, they are not written off, they are always supported. This is, of course, a real brotherhood, and the best of the best serve there. I can honestly say that when I plunged into this atmosphere, I felt some inner peace for the Motherland. We have everything we need to protect the country. I also regretted to some extent that my son did not serve in this line. If I had known earlier, maybe I would have pedaled this topic.
"We made a movie to remember!"
— How long did you choose actors and what qualities were you looking for in them?
— When I joined the project, I was already in the middle of casting. And the main actors have already been chosen. But at the beginning we faced another problem. The original script was written by a man who was somewhat far from the specifics of the work of the special forces. And to write vivid images, you need to plunge into it. That's why, when the artists appeared, I talked to everyone. It was important to me that they think about their characters, whether we feel the same way about the characters. After all, their images are based on real guys. There are not just officers there, but people of different nationalities, from different families. Candidates for service in the FSB are selected very seriously. The competition is about 100 people per place. And they are chosen not only for their physical strength, but also for their intelligence, and in many other ways.
— Did the actors also undergo difficult training?
- yes. For two months they took what could be called a "young fighter's course," they were taught mainly movement tactics so that they could feel the most difficult physical exertion, and with full equipment. When the guys came back, they had such scared faces. They said, "Do we have to do everything? How is this even possible?"
We've been shooting for a year, and I want to say that the guys have become very close friends with each other. They feel like they are already part of this family. We continue to communicate. This work also brought something important to the creative biographies of the actors who performed these roles. There were consultants on all our shifts, and one day, a year later, I approached one of them and asked, "Sasha, why don't you approach the guys?" And he replied, "I don't need to come any more. They're doing everything right."
— Did you consciously abandon the obvious star cast?
— Of course, consciously. We wanted to see new faces. And the actors had to play something real and eventually become real on the screen too. It seems to me that the starry faces in this project would simply add to the artistry. But our series is still a feature documentary. You did the right thing by choosing these guys.
— Did you allow the actors to perform their own stunts? Maybe they were tearing themselves up?
— Some of them, yes. Definitely. They passed an obstacle course, a shooting course. We did a lot of things ourselves. It also became a kind of test for them. And every single one of them said, "We imagined something completely different." On the first day of filming, when we were in Ingushetia, everyone was just getting used to it. We had a shift that lasted for a couple of hours. We ended up shooting for 14 hours. All this time, the guys were standing in full uniform. The heat was 34 degrees. They were dripping so much that even the metal helmets were soaked. It was a very severe ordeal for them. When the episode was filmed, in which one of the main actors Denis Donskoy dragged a wounded comrade, the actor actually got heat stroke.
—Wow," he said. You also had filming in several places: in addition to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ingushetia, Stavropol Territory, and Crimea. Which block turned out to be the most difficult, perhaps the most memorable?
— All the blocks were difficult, to be honest. There is an unspoken rule of the series — the viewer must be started from the first two episodes. And on the third or fourth they usually have a little rest. Here, each episode is intense, and events are escalating.
— The series deals with events that were recently part of the news, and the details of the operation remained classified for a long time. Why, in your opinion, is it now necessary to tell these stories in an artistic language?
— I think the time has come. We need to tell you about this, such a secret unit, about which there are a lot of myths. Someone uses a brand and takes pictures that are completely untrue. And in no way, in any way, does it work for the image of this organization. I think it's time to really talk about what it was like. We recorded real events, wrote the story in cinematic language so that others would not rewrite our story. As our detractors are doing now with the history of the Great Patriotic War. All events and episodes are recognizable. They are still nearby, they have not been erased in the memory of eyewitnesses and participants. We made a movie to remember!
— And what would you like the viewer to experience after watching, besides the impressions of the action?
— The goal in this film was to show not so much action as "how it was." I wanted to show that our heroes are not "terminators", not fictional figures who play with muscles on the beach. These are ordinary guys. They are invisible in everyday life. They are very humble. But at some point they can concentrate as much as possible and instantly. They have excellent training and sincere motivation. They are able to protect the country. That's what I wanted to tell you about. And, of course, it is very important to me how the audience accepts this film, especially the young people. Patriotism is nurtured on such unimaginative examples. And, of course, to all those involved in the creation of this film, to my entire team, a bow and thanks!
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
