2 wives-muse of the great director Emil Loteanu, whom he glorified all over the world

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

They say that directing is not a profession, but a way of life. And, probably, there is a large grain of truth in this when remembering about the life and creative path famous Moldovan director Emil Loteanu, who created the masterpieces of Soviet cinema - "Tabor goes to heaven", "My affectionate and gentle animal." He was incredibly devoted to his work, and Mosfilm is still proud of his films, which were included in the golden fund of Russian cinema. He fed his creative energy with love, true love … He sincerely fell in love with his main heroines, who later became the main heroines of his fate. He truly loved life in all its manifestations, although she did not always reciprocate with the director. …

The director of immense talent, Emil Loteanu, shot his best works in Moscow during the Soviet era, when cinematography in the country had a special status. The romantic poet Emil Loteanu literally burst into Soviet cinema and painted a screen portrait of the Moldovan people and his homeland in bright colors. Outstanding directors worked at Mosfilm in those years - Bondarchuk, Tarkovsky, Gaidai. And Loteanu took a worthy place in this galaxy of eminent masters.

Turning the pages of a biography

Emil Vladimirovich Loteanu was born in 1936 in the Bukovina village of Sekuryany, and grew up in the Romanian village of Klokushna (now the Ocnitsa region of the Republic of Moldova). In Emil Loteanu, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Russian and Polish roots are intertwined. His paternal ancestors were from Bukovina and bore the name Lototsky. His grandfather was the owner of the mill, and after the annexation of Bessarabia to the USSR, the family was threatened with dispossession, repression and exile. Therefore, the family was forced to flee to Bucharest. Having moved to Romania, the Lototskys changed their surname and began to be called in the local manner - Loteanu. The father died when the boy was 12 years old, and later he and his younger brother were raised by one mother - Tatiana Loteanu, a teacher of the Romanian language and literature.

Emil, by nature was a very poetic nature, he began to write poetry early, became interested in cinema. In Bucharest, he tried to enter the acting department, but to no avail. This failure prompted Emil to return to Soviet Moldova. Having settled in Chisinau, he literally lived in the streets and warehouses. He worked in newspapers, wrote and published poetry. At the age of 17, Loteanu, driven by his dream, went to Moscow and entered the Moscow Art Theater School. Luck smiled at the handsome and temperamental Moldovan guy. At the entrance exams, they did not even look at the fact that he spoke Russian rather poorly, he was so organic and convincing.

For two years, having mastered acting, the young man entered the directing department of VGIK. After graduation, he returns to Chisinau and starts working at the Moldova Film studio. It was there that the first films of Lotianu were shot, which brought recognition to the young director: the revolutionary saga "Wait for us at dawn", the poetic story of the first love "Red Glades", in which 17-year-old Svetlana Toma made her debut. However, soon the promising master, who became a bright star of poetic cinema, was lured from the republican studio to Mosfilm.

Love as a lifestyle

For more than ten years Emil Loteanu lived and worked in Moscow, where he shot his most famous films: a free adaptation of Gorky's early stories "The Tabor Goes to Heaven", a tape based on Chekhov's story "Drama on the Hunt" - "My affectionate and gentle animal", and also the biographical film "Anna Pavlova". It was this director who discovered the talented actresses Svetlana Toma and Galina Belyaeva for Soviet cinema, who were not only his muses, but also wives.

It's amazing how a man could feel the sacred feeling - love so subtly! All his films are literally woven out of love. He himself was always in love to the point of unconsciousness. It was love that incredibly inspired the director, it was she who was the guiding thread in his life. Temperamental and talented, bright and gallant Emil Loteanu was very popular with women. He always made an indelible impression on them, spoke beautifully and dressed elegantly. He also knew how to look after beautifully, was attentive, knew how to sincerely care. Therefore, it is not surprising that the director had many novels, mainly with women who were much younger than him.

Svetlana Toma

Emil Loteanu was not only a "godfather" in cinema for Svetlana, he became her first love. At the time of their acquaintance, Lotian was 29 years old, and Toma - 17. Their fateful meeting violated all the plans of the young girl, made her the favorite of millions, a movie star named Svetlana Toma (the pseudonym "Toma" is the surname of her French ancestors). And over the years, not only creative projects have linked the director and his muse. They were literally tied by fate, which plunged them into a whole palette of feelings. Their uneasy relationship was seething with incredible love passion, resentment and hatred.

And it all began as in a fairy tale. Graduating from school, Sveta Fomicheva dreamed of becoming a lawyer and, of course, in her life there was not even the slightest hint that she would become an actress. Once a 17-year-old girl was standing at a bus stop, she had to take the documents to the law school. But suddenly a young man turned to her and invited her to act in films. A serious young lady, deciding that they were trying to get to know her in a very non-original way, resolutely refused. The guy did not give up, posing as an assistant director, he persistently persuaded the girl. And Svetlana still does not understand what forces then led her after him. I came to my senses only when I was in the studio in front of the door with the sign "Red Glades". It was for the role of the main character of this film that Emil Loteanu was looking for an actress.

The working relationship between the director and the young actress quickly grew into a romance that long remained a mystery to those around her. The girl had heard that for many, the path to the cinema lay precisely through the bed with the director, and she was very afraid that something similar might be thought of her. However, the last day of filming for Svetlana was a real test:. Filming ended, and the director and actress really parted ways.

The film was released on wide screens in 1967 and was highly awarded at the All-Union Film Festival, and the young actress received the Best Debut Prize. By that time, Svetlana had already said goodbye to thoughts of jurisprudence forever and became a student at the Chisinau Institute of Arts. Soon, the actress married a classmate, gave birth to a daughter. But family happiness was short-lived. Her baby was barely eight months old when her young husband died tragically.

After a while, fate brought Svetlana and Emil together again on the set and not only. They lived in a civil marriage for about ten years. And while the couple was together, Toma played in two more of his films: "Lautara" (1973) and "Tabor Goes to Heaven" (1976). Their family relations were very difficult. Lotyanu, like all talented people, was a complex person. And when it came to the filming process, he did not spare anyone. So, in order to achieve the appropriate grace and plasticity from the actress, Loteanu forced Svetlana to walk with loads of 20 kilograms each tied to her legs before filming. This training gave excellent results - soon the actress could not be distinguished from a real gypsy.

There was also a case when, trying to achieve credibility in the frame, Toma almost died during the filming of one of the episodes. During a furious race, the phaeton's right front wheel suddenly came off, and the actress was threatened with a fall at full speed. Only thanks to the skill and courage of one of the actors, Svetlana was able to jump off the phaeton and stay alive. So all her life she will have to rely only on her own strength and resist the blows of fate.

The film "Tabor Goes to Heaven" was released on the wide screen in 1976 and was a huge success, collecting 65 million viewers, he won first place at the box office. Also, the film was awarded 30 prizes at international festivals: in San Sebastian (1976), Belgrade (1977), Paris (1979). It was purchased for rental by 140 countries of the world.

Nevertheless, this picture was the last joint work of Loteanu and Toma. In 1977, when the director began work on the next film "My affectionate and gentle animal", there was no leading role for Svetlana in it. Emil took her off only in the episodic role of a gypsy. By that time, their civil marriage fell apart like a house of cards, and a new muse appeared in Loteanu's life. It was 16-year-old Galya Belyaeva. Emil Lotyan was 41 years old at that time. Svetlana was forced to come to terms with the fact that both on the set and in the director's heart her place was taken by another.

Galina Belyaeva

Galina was born into a family completely far from art. Her mother worked as a power engineer, her father left the family even before the birth of her daughter. Young Galina entered the Voronezh Choreographic School. Although the ballet fascinated the girl, deep down she dreamed of cinema as well. At the age of 15, she sent her photo to Mosfilm hoping to be noticed. And the miracle really happened. Her photo caught the eye of Emil Lotyan, who for more than a month unsuccessfully searched for a performer for the role of Olenka Skvortsova. Later, the director recalled: The young ballerina from Voronezh was brought to Moscow. Work has begun on the image. For several days Emil fought over Galina, and, as it seemed to him, to no avail. But at a crucial moment after the command "motor" During the filming of the film, Loteanu, madly in love with his new Muse, became for a young girl and a teacher of acting and a lover. Galina soon became pregnant and was expecting a baby. When she turned 18, they got married. The age difference between the spouses was 25 years.

The painting "My affectionate and gentle animal" was released on wide screens in 1978 and in comparison with "Tabor" had much less success. At the box office, it was watched by 26 million viewers, and it took 16th place.

Read more about the relationship between the director and the actress, as well as about her further fate, read in our publication: Zigzags of Galina's fate: Why did the star of the film "My affectionate and gentle animal" disappear from the screens.

A life that has lost its meaning

After divorcing Galina and leaving Mosfilm, Emil Loteanu returned to Chisinau, headed the Union of Cinematographers of Moldova, taught at the Chisinau Institute of Arts, and made documentaries. But soon the country was overwhelmed by perestroika, which led to the collapse of the Union. Cinematography gradually fell into decay. The lack of demand depressed the director. However, after several years of creative silence, Emil Lotyan still managed to shoot a new film - "The Shell" (1993), as it turned out later, it was also the last one. Unfortunately, there are not so many films in Loteanu's filmography as it could be. But most of those that he created continue to live today.

Colleagues said that Loteanu burned down because he was not allowed to work. For more than 12 years he had to punch the right to shoot the next picture. And when he finally achieved it, the days of the Maestro were already numbered.

last love

In the last years of his life, Loteanu again lived in Moscow, worked on the script for the film "Yar", in which he wanted to raise the topic of famous people of the era who lived in the capital at the beginning of the 20th century. There were no funds for the adaptation of this film for a long time, and the director was very worried about this. In addition, his health was very shaken. The fact that the director had cancer was not told to him until the last. Therefore, when Goskino finally found money for his picture "Yar", Loteanu only managed to select actors for the main roles and record music.

The maestro was full of new creative plans and ideas. He urgently began to resolve organizational issues. In early 2003, he flew to Chisinau, where he settled the question of future filming. And in Bratislava I met HER. He approached her on the street and offered to film. He knew for sure that she was his new Muse and the main character not only of the film, but also of life. A photo of a young girl Petra Filchakova, who was 50 years younger, Emil kept with him at all times. A new spark of love flared up in his heart.

But he found out too late about his illness, but thought that he would have time to shoot the picture, but did not have time to do anything except one take with Petra. He thought that he would have time to love … But, alas. On April 12, Loteana was taken to the intensive care unit of the Military Hospital. The doctors immediately warned the family that his days were numbered. His ex-wife Galina Belyaeva and his son Emil Loteanu Jr., who united the former spouses for many years after parting, have been inseparable with him in recent days. Emil died on April 18, 2003.

On the day of the funeral, looking at the many wreaths and baskets of flowers, Svetlana Toma bitterly dropped, wiping away a tear: Galya Belyaeva came up and hugged her. So they stood, embracing, and cried at the grave of a man who was the most desirable and beloved for everyone, who made them outstanding personalities and famous actresses.

In the fate of Svetlana Tom there were many worthy men, but only one was a genius - Emil Loteanu. Acting drama "Rada's Gypsies": Why Svetlana Toma considers the film "Tabor Goes to Heaven" a gift of fate and at the same time a curse.