Elena Safonova - 65: Filming with Mastroianni, marriage with a Frenchman, separation from her son and other secrets of the "Winter Cherry" star

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

June 14 marks the 65th anniversary of the famous actress, Honored Artist of Russia Elena Safonova. She has played over 100 movie roles, but most viewers will remember her leading role in the film Winter Cherry. The ups and downs of her own fate were no less incredible than those of her heroine: her partner on the set was Marcello Mastroianni himself, in the 1990s, when many of her colleagues were left without work, the actress was invited to shoot in France, where she got married, gave birth to a son and lived for 5 years. But this tale had a sad ending - litigation during a divorce, separation from his son and long years of loneliness …

Continuer of the acting dynasty

Her path was largely predetermined from birth, because Elena was born in a famous creative family: her mother, Valeria Rubleva, was the director of Mosfilm, and her father, actor Vsevolod Safonov, was known to the whole country from the films Belorussky Vokzal, Case of the "motley", "Shield and sword". In the 1960s. the family moved from Leningrad to Moscow and settled in an acting house on Mosfilmovskaya Street. They were often visited by movie stars - Evgeny Leonov, Evgeny Evstigneev, Anatoly Papanov, and Innokenty Smoktunovsky at one time even lived in the Safonovs' apartment. Elena often traveled with her father on a film expedition, helped lighting and sound technicians, and cinema, according to her, from childhood was something dear and home for her.

She chose the acting profession under the influence of her father, but, despite her loud surname, she did not achieve success immediately. Elena played her first roles in films at the age of 17, but at VGIK she was accepted only on the third attempt. She worked as a librarian for 2 years, and when she finally became a student, her studies were very difficult for her. After studying at VGIK 2 course, Safonova transferred to LGITMiK.

She played her first leading role at the age of 25 in the film "The Return of the Butterfly", and although critics then declared the young actress a "discovery", until the age of 30 she remained a little-known artist to the general public. At the theater. V. Komissarzhevskaya, where she came after graduation, she was also not trusted with major roles.

Triumph of "Winter Cherry"

When the director Igor Maslennikov started shooting the film "Winter Cherry", he saw Natalia Andreichenko and Sergei Shakurov in the lead roles. But the actress at that time began an affair with the American Maximilian Schell, and on the appointed day she did not come to the shooting. She had to urgently look for a replacement, and the director opted for Elena Safonova. True, her tandem with Shakurov did not work out - the actor said that he could not find contact with his partner and refused the role. Vitaly Solomin was approved instead. Under Safonov, the main character in the script had to be rewritten - there was no temperament, no hysteria, no exactingness, no other contrasting colors, no matter how Andreichenko would decorate this image. In the performance of Safonova, Olga turned out to be lyrical, touching, meek, soft and arousing empathy and sympathy from the audience.

At first, both the director Igor Maslennikov and the cameraman Yuri Veksler doubted the correctness of their choice, but when they reviewed the footage, they realized that they had hit the mark. Olga, performed by Safonova, did not demand anything from her married chosen one, but only patiently waited and forgave him all his mistakes. Thousands of spectators recognized themselves in this heroine. The director said: "".

"Winter Cherry" enjoyed incredible success and brought all-Union popularity to Safonova. During the year, the film was watched by 32 million people, and the leading actress was recognized as the best actress in the USSR according to the results of a survey of readers of the magazine "Soviet Screen". Film critics also praised her work. So, G. Chermenskaya wrote: "".

Recognition abroad

After that, other directors also drew attention to the actress. Nikita Mikhalkov offered Elena Safonova the main role in his film of joint Soviet-Italian production "Black Eyes". The actress's partner on the set was Marcello Mastroianni, who offered Mikhalkov to cooperate during his visit to Moscow. The script was written specifically for the Italian film star, for the director it was the first experience of filming abroad, as well as for Elena Safonova.

Of course, at first the actress was confused, which she later recalled: "".

This film was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, Cesar, won a prize in Cannes for Best Actor, Safonova and Mastoyanni were awarded the Italian David Prize. After that, European fame came to the actress, and she began to receive offers not only from Soviet, but also from foreign directors.

Marriage to a Frenchman

In the early 1990s. the actress was invited to France to shoot the film "The Accompanist". One of the roles was played by the French actor Samuel Labarthe, with whom Safonova began an affair. It did not end after the end of filming, and the actor invited Elena to stay in France and become his wife. For 5 years spent abroad, the actress starred in several French films, participated in productions of local theaters. She even received an offer of cooperation from Alain Delon, but on the advice of her husband she refused. As Safonova realized later, Labarte was guided not by professional considerations, but by ordinary male jealousy. He wanted his wife to be engaged not in a career, but in a family, and the actress was not ready to make such a sacrifice.

Before that, there was already one marriage in her life, back in her student years. Actor Vitaly Yushkov became her chosen one. It was because of him that she left VGIK and moved to her husband in Leningrad. They lived together for 6 years, but this marriage was doomed from the very beginning. The actress admitted: "". After the divorce, the actress had a short affair with a married Armenian businessman Vache Martirosyan, from whom she gave birth to a son, Ivan. Elena gave him her last name, because his father did not even suspect that his son was born.

When Safonova moved to France, she took Ivan with her. In a marriage with Labarthe, she had a son, Alexander, and according to French law, after the divorce of his parents, he had to stay in this country with his father until his majority. The litigation lasted 3 years, but in the end the actress had to return to Russia only with Ivan.

Return to Russia

In 1997, Safonova divorced her husband and returned to Russia. During that period, she starred in the films "The Princess on the Beans" and "Women's Property", which provoked a new surge in her popularity. After that, her film career took off again. But her successes no longer brought her great joy, because separation from her son became a great grief for her. Since then, the actress lives in two countries, visiting her son whenever possible.

The son grew up long ago, followed in the footsteps of his parents, choosing an acting profession, and decided to stay in France. Safonova never married again and never found family happiness. Recently, she rarely appears in public, refuses interviews and leads a closed lifestyle. The only thing that pleases the audience is that she still often appears on screens in new films.

Her father could have passed away 20 years earlier if not for his meeting with actress Elsa Lezhdey: Secrets of the Safonov family of actors.