The "premonitions" did not deceive: Gleb Kalyuzhny goes to Mariupol
Against the background of box office successes, "The King and the Fool. Forever", "Beauties" and "Tales of Tsar Saltan" have fresh Russian premieres. Among the potential hits are the drama "The Kid" with Gleb Kalyuzhny going to war in Mariupol, the comedy with Evgeny Tsyganov "The Man who Laughs", the mystical thriller "Scurvy" with Nikita Efremov, as well as the documentary hit "Naum. Premonitions" about Naum Kleiman. Of the foreign novelties, "Couture" with Angelina Jolie attracts attention. Izvestia recommends which sessions you should buy tickets for next weekend.
"Kid" 16+
Directed by Andrey Simonov. Starring: Gleb Kalyuzhny, Ivan Alekseev, Oleg Vasilkov, Sergey Umanov, Nikita Manets
Ideally, the war drama "The Kid" should have been released last spring or autumn, then the time was most appropriate. There were just a lot of publications that Gleb Kalyuzhny joined the army, but continues to act in films, he asked to leave the unit for dubbing and premieres, all this was widely publicized. On such a wave of interest, the right thing to do would be to release a story about how an 18-year-old Donetsk rapper decided to volunteer because his mother is in Mariupol, where the Russian army has not yet arrived. All this is all the more interesting because Kalyuzhny was originally not an actor, but a young rapper, when Andrei Zaitsev noticed him, invited him to star in "14+" and made him a star.
The plot is based on the real biography of Pavel Chertok, a rapper who really went to war in 2022 and received the call sign "Kid". He participated in the work on the film, that is, we can at least say that we will see his version of events, about which quite a few films have already been shot. However, most of them are non-fiction. The film's director, Andrei Simonov, had previously announced himself with the film "20/22". It is noteworthy that part of the filming was actually conducted in Mariupol, which makes us take the project seriously, and, by the way, the preliminary box office results show that it is the most interesting to the Russian audience among all the novelties of the week. However, the rating is suspiciously low for a war movie — only 16+.
"The man who laughs" 16+
Directed by Vladimir Kott. Starring: Evgeny Tsyganov, Stepan Devonin, Sergey Garmash, Irina Pegova, Anastasia Krasovskaya
In 2018, the audience saw "The Man who Surprised Everyone", a film by Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov, which became a notable event of the year. Evgeny Tsyganov's performance received special recognition: this role is often called the benchmark and the best in his filmography. The film will forever remain in the history of Russian cinema, as well as other works by an outstanding married couple of directors, including "Captain Volkonogov ran" with Yura Borisov and the scandalous "Intimate Places".
Of course, the title of Vladimir Kott's film refers to a famous art hit and echoes the plot of Victor Hugo's novel. Evgeny Tsyganov plays actor Dmitry— a star of harsh action films who is ridiculously injured on the set of a film about the 1990s. After the operation, the hero has an unusual side effect: he cannot stop smiling and laughing, regardless of his true emotions. The situation is complicated by the fact that the project is funded by a formidable Siberian businessman (Sergey Garmash), who expects the actor to be a cold-blooded killer and does not tolerate ridicule. Through this story, Kott reflects on the social masks we are forced to wear, and the price we have to pay for it if the mask becomes a part of you. As one of Alexey Mizgirev's characters used to say, "a joke with meaning."
"Scurvy" 18+
Directed by Vladimir Golovnev. Starring: Nikita Efremov, Evgenia Mandzhieva, Dmitry Podnozov, Tamara Kuibina
The mystical thriller takes the viewer back to 1991 to the desolate expanses of the Polar Urals. While the empire is crumbling in the capital, another drama is unfolding here, in the icy silence. A young novice named Fyodor (Nikita Efremov) accompanies a priest to a remote reindeer herders' camp on a mission of baptism. But the "edge of the earth" meets strangers with hostility: the ancient spirits of the tundra rule here, and Orthodoxy collides with the Chthonic world of Nenets legends.
Nikita Efremov in "Scurvy" continues to explore the theme of the clash of an intelligent hero with a primitive force, as in "The Librarian." His character is evolving: from a humble executor of the mentor's will, he turns into a man whose mind is gradually destroyed by the influence of northern mysticism. The visual series enhances the impression: endless snowy expanses, ancient rituals and piercing cold are conveyed with almost tangible authenticity. The film is positioned not just as a horror, but as a philosophical interpretation of "northernness" as a special state of mind. At the same time, scurvy acts as a double symbol: on the one hand, it is a disease due to a lack of vitamins, on the other, it is a metaphor for the spiritual exhaustion of those who try to impose their rules on permafrost.
"Naum. Premonitions" 18+
Director: Andrey Natotsinsky
Criminally few films have been made about Naum Kleiman — his last major work, Cinema is a Public Affair, was released more than 10 years ago. The reason probably lies in the fact that Kleiman himself refused to shoot. At the same time, for several generations of the Russian intelligentsia, he became a symbol of culture, dedication to cinema and steadfastness in the struggle for his cause, partly the personification of martyrdom. Despite the destruction of the Cinema Museum, Kleiman's main brainchild, his "temple of cinema", he did not give up: he continued to work with the legacy of Vertov and Eisenstein and remains an influential film critic and educator on a global scale.
Of course, we need to shoot something big and deep about Kleiman, like the TV series "Mr. Scorsese," which was released on Apple TV+ last year. The opportunity to see a great man next to you — an erudite scientist with an impeccable moral reputation — is valuable in itself, especially on the big screen. At the same time, many dramatic episodes from Kleiman's life and around him remained behind the scenes: the picture is closer not to "Premonitions", but to artistic notes — but such chronicle material is of great value. It is hoped that other works on this topic will appear in the future. At the same time, assigning an 18+ rating seems like a formality: everyone should see such a picture.
"Couture" 18+
Directed by Alice Vinokur. Starring: Angelina Jolie, Louis Garrel, Guillaume Marbeck, Ella Rumpf, Gerance Marillier
If the Jolie and Garrel movie had been released a quarter of a century ago, the cinemas would have been full. But, as the poet said, "you and I are three hundred years too late, and there are no more fairy tales in this boring world." Those for whom these names are really important have already aged and don't go to the movies that often. Maybe in vain. Angelina Jolie plays the role of an American director who arrives in Paris for Haute Couture Week. However, the glamour of the shows — the glitter of spotlights and the rustle of expensive fabrics — is just the background for a personal drama: on the eve of the fashion show, the heroine learns about a serious diagnosis. In this role, the actress departs from the usual role of a superstar and a sex symbol, embodying the image of a frightened but persistent woman.
The heroine's fate is intertwined with the stories of two other women: a young model from South Sudan and a makeup artist striving for more. The film "Couture" explores the theme of the body: on the one hand, it shows how fashion turns it into an object, on the other hand, it reveals how illness changes our perception of our own physicality. In a duet with Louis Garrel, Jolie portrays Paris not as a city of lovers, but as a cold mechanism inside which living hearts continue to beat. A luxurious dress always hides a difficult human fate here.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
