Behind the scenes of the film "Driver for Faith": Why critics called the Oscar nominee a failure

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

October 14 marks the 73rd anniversary of the famous screenwriter and film director, People's Artist of Russia Pavel Chukhrai, who became famous for his films Thief, Driver for Vera, Players, Cold Tango, etc. Probably, the greatest resonance was caused by Driver for Faith”- this film was nominated for“Oscar”, became the triumphant of“Kinotavr-2004”and the owner of several film awards, but was defeated by critics and failed at the box office. What caused the controversy around the most famous film Chukhrai, and why he was disqualified by the Oscar committee - further in the review.

In the film "Driver for Vera" Pavel Chukhrai acted not only as a director, but also as a screenwriter. He himself called his work "a drama of failed love and a failed family", and in the press it was called a "political thriller" and "melodrama" and "a drama about a state machine that destroys people." "Driver for Vera" was one of the first domestic films to support surround sound technology and high-definition images. The shooting of the film lasted about 2 years, the preparatory stage was also very long - everyone knew Pavel Chukhrai as a very demanding and scrupulous director. Actors for the main roles were chosen for several months. The selection took place in 3 stages - the first took place without a director, in the second he auditioned himself, and in the third there were screen tests with takes, costumes and make-up.

About the choice for the main role of Igor Petrenko, known at that time for the films "Star" and "Carmen", Pavel Chukhrai said: "".

Alena Babenko, who at that time was still a little-known actress, was invited to the casting after her role in the TV series "Give me life." She managed to bypass dozens of applicants and get the main role. The actress took an active part in working on her image - she herself came up with a biography for her, offered to make Vera lame, and the heroine's gait "spied" on a girl she accidentally met on the street. This work brought Alena Babenko the first resounding popularity and several prestigious awards: "Nika" in the category "Discovery of the Year", "Golden Eagle" in the category "Best Actress in a Film", and a prize for Best Actress at the International Film Festival in Minsk.

Alena Babenko will forever remember her first meeting with the Ukrainian actor Bogdan Stupka, who was approved for the role of the general, the father of her heroine. The actress recalled: "".

The shooting was difficult, each scene was rehearsed for a long time and several takes were filmed. Bogdan Stupka with a laugh told how he drank port wine with a dozen takes a dozen takes, and then he could hardly stand on his feet. But Alena Babenko was not laughing - the scene in the general's office, where Vera confesses to her father that she is pregnant, and he punches her in the face in response, they filmed 18 takes! The director did not allow the film crew to relax and be distracted, some of the actors even had nervous breakdowns. At the end of filming Igor Petrenko admitted: "".

The events in the film unfold in the 1960s, during the Khrushchev thaw, at the dacha of General Serov in the Crimea. The shooting took place in Sevastopol and its environs - the villages of Alsu and Kacha. They searched for a suitable dwelling for the general for several months. Chukhrai traveled all over the Crimea, reviewed a huge number of boarding houses, recreation centers and private dachas. The search lasted until someone advised him to look into an empty children's sanatorium, which was housed in a 19th century mansion. Previously, it belonged to the ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya, and during the Second World War, the headquarters of the Balaklava partisan detachment was based there.

"General's dacha" had to be remodeled not only inside, but also outside. We started with the road: instead of the worn-out asphalt, gravel was poured, specially invited designers broke flower beds in front of the house, flowers for which they were looking for within a radius of 100 km around Sevastopol. And since to sew outfits for the heroes of the 1960s. it was impossible to make modern fabrics, they were looking for clothes for them in the “flea” markets of Sevastopol. The tailors of the Sevastopol ateliers were also involved in the work, which in the 1960s. sewn officer's uniforms. Former military personnel were involved as consultants, and 1,500 sailors of the Black Sea Fleet were involved in the crowd.

The first screening of "Driver for Vera" took place at "Kinotavr" in 2004. The film became an absolute triumph of the film festival - it received the main prize and won 3 more nominations. And after that he collected a whole collection of prestigious film awards: "Golden Eagle", "Nika", the Grand Prix of the Honfleur Festival of Russian Cinema, the Grand Prix of the International Film Festival in Minsk.

Despite the absolute success of the film at film festivals, at the box office it did not live up to expectations - with a budget of $ 3 million, Driver for Vera grossed a little more than 2 million in theaters. in overloading events, in the unreliability of characters, in the absence of psychological motivations, in historical inaccuracies, etc. Many viewers were unclear about the essence of the moral conflict in the film and the character of Igor Petrenko's hero was incomprehensible. Many left the cinemas in disbelief - did Victor love Vera? For himself, the actor answered this question like this: "". And Pavel Chukhrai said: "". But all this remained behind the scenes, and the audience had to draw their own conclusions.

In the fall of 2004, Driver for Vera was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film nomination. The film was nominated as a nominee from Ukraine - according to the Oscar rules, the country can apply for the award if Ukrainians worked on the film and it was presented there in the film distribution. "Driver for Vera" was filmed by Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers on the territory of Ukraine, the main role was played by Ukrainian actor Bogdan Stupka. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine received official confirmation that the film was among the candidates for the Oscar, but as a result it was not allowed to participate in the competition. He was disqualified due to the fact that the film from Ukraine was in Russian, and the director and most of the actors were Russian. The Oscar committee considered this to be a gross violation of the rules.

Another famous work of Pavel Chukhrai was the film "Thief": How one of the highest-grossing movie hits of the 1990s came about.