Behind the scenes of the film "Sweet Woman": Why Natalia Gundareva thought she was not suitable for the main roles

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

15 years ago, on May 15, 2005, at the 57th year, the life of a wonderful theater and film actress, People's Artist of Russia was cut short Natalia Gundareva, which was so popular that it was often called the most popular of all folk. She played many striking roles, but her first leading role was Anna Dobrokhotova in the film Sweet Woman, thanks to which her film career took off. But this might not have happened - at first the actress refused to shoot, not considering herself either a "sweet woman" or one of those beauties who are usually invited to the main roles.

The screenplay for Sweet Woman was based on a novel popular in the 1960s. writer Irina Velembovskaya, who was called "Shukshin in a skirt" and the founder of women's psychological prose. Her books were then published in huge editions and translated into foreign languages. Daughter Velembovskaya Ksenia told: "". However, the result did not live up to her expectations: Vysotsky never starred in the film, many changes were made to the script. But the audience was not disappointed: in the year of the premiere, the film was watched by 32 million people.

In the role of the intellectual Tikhon, director Vladimir Fetin saw only Vladimir Vysotsky. However, the actor had too tight a schedule: just at that time he was filming for Alexander Mitta in the film "The Tale of How Tsar Peter Got Married", besides, he was busy in theatrical performances, and every day he had a schedule of minutes … Nevertheless, he found time for screen tests, which turned out to be very successful, and he was approved for the role of Tikhon. The director of Lenfilm wrote a letter to the management of the Taganka Theater with a request to release the actor for the duration of the filming. He was allowed to act in his free time from his main work, but at the last moment Vysotsky refused himself. Fetin had to urgently look for another actor, and as a result, the role went to Oleg Yankovsky. Today it is difficult to imagine someone else in this image.

Problems arose with the search for the main character. The director planned to shoot his wife, actress Lyudmila Chursina, in the role of Anna Dobrokhotova, but she did not see herself in the form of a “sweet woman” and herself proposed to her husband the candidacy of the young Natalia Gundareva. Before that, she did not play the main roles in the cinema and considered it quite understandable and fair: "".

The director himself doubted that she would cope with the role, because the main character had to be not only attractive and confident in her own irresistibility, but at the same time evoke in the viewer not contempt because of her commercialism and primitiveness, but pity and sympathy. At the same time, she needed to play Anna Dobrokhotova both as a very young girl and a mature woman. And Gundareva was not confident in her abilities and was horrified when she saw herself on the screen. After the release of the film "Hello and Goodbye!" she lamented: "".

When Gundareva received a call from Lenfilm, she resolutely refused screen tests with the words: "". For a young actress, who had previously starred only in episodes, this behavior was illogical - such a chance fell out! And in this film, she really really wanted to play. But later the actress explained: "".

And yet, the director's assistant managed to persuade the actress to come to audition - they say, even if she is not suitable for this role, Fetin will find work for her in his other films. But all fears were in vain - in the frame Gundareva looked light, graceful, alluring and incredibly attractive. She was approved for the role right there. Upon learning of this, the actress, by her confession, experienced just "puppy delight." She began to refine the image, inventing more and more new features for him.

The actress watched those women who seemed to her like her heroine, on the streets and in stores, trying to remember and reproduce their gestures, facial expressions, manner of moving and speaking. Gundareva recalled: "". And in her performance, the rude philistine really looked charming and made the audience empathize.

After the release of the film, 28-year-old Natalya Gundareva woke up famous. According to the poll results of the magazine "Soviet Screen" she was recognized as the best actress of the year, "Sweet Woman" became a springboard in her creative life, the film was the leader of distribution in the USSR in 1977, it was bought for showing in many countries of the world.

Despite the fact that Gundareva did not look like her heroine, they still had something in common: Anna Dobrokhotova sacrificed her personal happiness for the sake of material well-being, the actress also could not build a happy family for a long time, but for other reasons: What did Natalia Gundareva regret until the end of her days.