Sergey Bondarchuk and Irina Skobtseva: The dramaturgy of relationships in family life

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On stage, he strangled her, but in life he made a condition never to part. The two of them had to go through trials, gossip, aggression and even suggestions from the party leadership of the country. The family of Sergei Bondarchuk was not easy to build. But there was love in her.

First meetings

They first met at a trolleybus stop. In the close crush of public transport, Irina Skobtseva was surrounded by the big hands of Sergei Bondarchuk hanging over her, only she could hear his heavy breathing over her ear. She barely waited for a stop and rushed to the house with all her might.

The second time she saw him was in 1953 at an exhibition where, among other paintings, her portrait hung. The artist Vasily Efanov handed her an invitation card, and entering the hall, Irina saw Sergei Bondarchuk, who was standing and gazing intently into her eyes. He admired either the portrait itself, or the skill of the artist who painted this portrait. Irina, embarrassed, left the exhibition. She was very embarrassed to draw attention to herself.

And then she, a graduate of the Moscow Art Theater School, was approved for the role of Desdemona in the film "Othello". Sergey Bondarchuk became her partner. It was on the set that they realized that something was happening between them. But he had a family where his daughter was growing up.

A wedding or a game?

When the shooting of the film was over, the director decided to complete the scene of the wedding of Othello and Desdemona. Bondarchuk and Skobtseva were sent to Riga. And so they stand in a Catholic cathedral, the organ sounds, the priest comes out, the ceremony begins. And it seems that everything is for real. After the scene was filmed, Bondarchuk categorically told his Desdemona that now she would definitely not turn away from him. She didn't intend to.

The current priest of the Riga Dome Cathedral, where the wedding of Desdemona and Othello was filmed, says that during the filming of the film, when asked, they do not perform a complete ceremony. But for God, the ceremony takes place. And it so happens that the marriage made in the movies is in heaven. It seems that this is what happened to them. Their marriage was made in heaven, and their fate - one for two - is predetermined.

The homewrecker

He returned after filming the mysterious, his eyes sparkled, and to all his colleagues he showed his countless drawings, which depicted a beautiful girl with long hair. But he did not answer questions about her, he simply said: "No, I cannot."

They wanted to be together, they felt drawn to each other. And in life, in life there was an incredible struggle so that he did not think to leave his wife, Inna Makarova. He was summoned to the highest leadership, pressured, threatened.

Irina Skobtseva and Sergei Bondarchuk were not allowed to attend the foreign premieres of Othello together. He was shamed. When once again Irina was told that she was staying at home, Sergei Fedorovich came to her directly from the airport. The head of the trip said that he was not going anywhere without Ira Skobtseva.

For her, the glory of a homeless woman, ruthless and heartless, was entrenched. She just loved. Surprisingly, Irina Skobtseva tried not to comment on the conversations that arose around her. She was happy that her beloved was now next to her.

Always near

They managed to legalize their relationship only after four years. Sergei Fedorovich set her only two conditions: never to part and sometimes give him two or three days for absolute silence. But is this a condition? It's really a joy to be close to someone you love, to do everything to make him comfortable.

At first, they lived in Irina's parental home. Ira's grandmother read newspapers in the morning, and then entered their room with the dignity of a queen, handed the newspapers to Bondarchuk with the words: "Sergei Fedorovich, I emphasized what you should read!" It was touching, it served as a symbol of his complete acceptance into the family. And Irina Konstantinovna's mother readily reprinted her son-in-law's manuscripts when necessary.

Then they were given an apartment, where they all moved together, with Irina's parents, handing over their kopeck piece to the state.

Director and his actress

During the filming of War and Peace, they had a daughter, Alena, and a son, Fyodor. They jokingly called them that, "the children of War and Peace." Alyonushka was born on episode zero, that is, during the approval of the roles, and Fedor made the parents happy on the sixth episode.

From the moment two human destinies merged into one, Irina Skobtseva-Bondarchuk became for her brilliant husband his beloved wife, friend, companion, assistant, his eyes, voice, hands. He made movies, and she did everything else.

She tirelessly assisted him in capturing the most successful scenes when he began making films himself. And when he invited her to work together, she played not just at full strength, but even beyond her capabilities. She knew for sure: if she didn't finish playing somewhere, make at least one mistake, and they would immediately say that Bondarchuk was shooting not the actress Irina Skobtseva, but his wife, who clearly did not live up to her roles.

When they began to teach together at VGIK, she always softened his dissatisfaction with her students, gently reminding him that they are still quite children, that in time they will succeed. And between classes, sketches, rehearsals, Irina Konstantinovna fed the students with pies, gave the girls etiquette lessons and taught good manners. It is not for nothing that she was awarded the title "Miss Charm" at the Cannes Film Festival.

I still serve him …

After the Fifth Congress of Filmmakers, Sergei Bondarchuk was removed from the board, and even diligently tried to blacken his name. For some time he remained unclaimed, finding an outlet in painting, drawing everything that catches the eye. Then came the story of the disappearance of the almost finished new version of The Quiet Don, filmed together with the Italians. All this greatly crippled the director's health. And when the diagnosis was made, it was too late. Lung cancer had eaten away at him from the inside out.

He died on October 20, 1994, having managed to confess and receive communion two hours before his death. He left, and she stayed to continue serving her brilliant husband. Irina Skobtseva still faithfully preserves the memory of her husband, caring only that his name is not forgotten, so that the contribution that he made to the development of cinema is appreciated.

Sergey Bondarchuk and Irina Skobtseva have lived together for 35 years, trying to spend as little time as possible apart. Similar Zinovy Gerdt and Tatiana Pravdina could not do without each other.