9 film masterpieces that were filmed in the post-Soviet space

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

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all the former republics of the "great and mighty" went their own way. But of course, the traditions that have been created in the country for decades made themselves felt for a long time, including professional traditions in cinema. In this review, "ten" of the most interesting films - from classics to documentaries - were filmed by directors from countries that were once Soviet republics.

1. The film "Chekhov's motives" (2004)

Director Kira MuratovaContrary to the announcement, there is little mystical in the film. No, there is, of course, the ghost of the bride, but there is much more food for thought than feigned hoaxes. In this picture, Kira Muratova continues the main line of her work, which can be described as "short meetings - long farewells." The heroes leave the house, but invariably return, they cannot break the thread, there is no willpower. And even the children say aloud to them "go away, go away", but everything is in vain. Grotesque comic scenes in the church, philosophical life in the barnyard … Whatever you say, but the director skillfully operates with form, extracting meaning from almost nothing. Even from the absurd profanation of a wedding ritual, where the inarticulate murmur of the Holy Father can become the rhythm that sets the pace for the film. Separately, I would like to note the shooting, almost overexposure surprisingly brings enlightenment to the content of the picture.

2. Film "The Sun" (2005)

Director Alexander SokurovThis picture of the master of Russian cinema Alexander Sokurov looks surprisingly easy. Perhaps for bringing a comic element into it. Yes, yes, despite the complex historical realities of the Second World War that surrounds the protagonist - Emperor of Japan Hirohito, he remains a bearer of culture, humanistic ideals, and most importantly - a man. Which is characterized by mistakes and the ability to admit them, to draw conclusions from them. He is forced to make a difficult choice between honor and the life of many, while in this eastern country the former was always appreciated above. What needs to be done for the sun to come to the people immersed in darkness? The divine status of the emperor, the son of the sun goddess, will help decisively answer this question.

3. Film "Freedom" (2000)

Director Sharunas BartasThe film by Lithuanian director Sarunas Bartas balances on the verge of artistic and existential. The author invites the viewer to peer attentively into the silent world surrounding the grain of sand, and for this he places him in the endless deserts of North Africa, where he leaves him alone with himself. Despite the difficulties of survival in the forced, according to the plot, extreme conditions, the person even laughs at fate. Mirages of the Sahara, reminiscent of the dance of birds of paradise flamingos, despite the fragility and hallucinatory nature of what is happening, only help the hero to reach the ocean, to overcome the state of confusion and uncertainty of existence.

4. Film "Tulip" (2008)

Director Sergei DvortsevoyThe film by director Sergei Dvortsevoy became famous thanks to its participation and awarding at the most prestigious festival in the world of cinema. Perhaps due to the fact that the author managed to harmoniously combine the ethnic component of life in the Kazakh steppe with the mainstream story about a poor romantic who just loves to live. On a tractor, he rushes through the boundless spaces to the music of Boney M, sincerely and selflessly falls in love with the one he saw only once. The jury of the Cannes Show generously thanked the film for the opportunity to see a happy man in the lap of nature. The poetic image of the steppe, the noise of an evening thunderstorm and the anticipation of a family, and therefore a bright future - really captivates at first sight.

5. The film "Hush!" (2003)

Director Viktor KosakovskyThis is a documentary film, the artistic value of which is many times higher than many, many fiction films participating in international festivals. The absurd beginning of the film, the comic of what is happening set the right pace for maturing understanding of the essence of the title and the very idea of shooting in general. Of course, the author did not come to her by staging, he only meticulously filmed the life of a separate house in St. Petersburg for a certain period of time, and she herself opened up to him. She went outside, just like that grandmother in a faded brown coat that merged with the walls of her emergency home. And catching this moment for a creative person is worth a lot.

6. The film "The Temptation of Saint Tõnu" (2009)

Director Veiko unpuuOne of the most successful incarnations of the so-called auteur cinema on the screen in recent years. Genuine surrealism, philistine fantasy, which is at the same time a fairly simple story. Quotes from Dante's Divine Comedy only emphasize the realism and irony of what is happening, where consumer relations have long outweighed everything human, the present. Indeed, it is not easy to remain Saint Anthony when all the abomination of the world surrounds you. But the hero is looking for hope and a chance to improve, to return to the righteous path is still given to him.

7. Film "The Sun of the Sleepers" (1992)

Director Teimuraz BabluaniTouching, despite the drama of the situation, the picture appeals to the kindest feelings in the soul of a person. The outstanding scientist is fanatically looking for a vaccine against a deadly disease, while his son himself walks on a knife edge, taking part in criminal showdowns. With Georgian irony and an easy attitude to life, director Teimuraz Babluani managed to allegorically convey all the bitterness from the inevitable collapse of the old, familiar foundations. And in the image of recovered, but scattered without a trace in different directions, mice show fatalism and at the same time the blessing of parting with myths.

8. The film "Palms" (1994)

Director Artur AristakisyanAn almost religious and philosophical documentary in its purest form. Sit and absorb. If only you can. And even when it is almost impossible to watch - the author's monologue, the offscreen commentary of the director himself, will keep you at the screen. His words are almost without emotion, they simply are no longer there. The terrible reality, the struggle of a person with himself and the social crazy system, will hardly leave indifferent a person who will watch this piercing picture to the very end. No, this is not a work of art. This is the life we choose not to know or see. And she is and sometimes stretches out her palms to you.

9. Film "Khrustalev, car!" (1998)

Directed by Alexey GermanThe film is known primarily for its unique artistic language, which was ahead of its time and was still misunderstood by the majority. The director set himself the goal of not just filming the terrible whirlpool of history that takes the best people to hell in the camps, no. He wanted to turn it inside out, reflect on that terrible time and convey at least a little the absurdity of what was happening in his native country. It is even senseless to draw analogies with Kafka, so the concentrate of horror has been brought to the point of condensation. Needless to say, if such an expected breath of fresh air at the end of the film is replaced by a sip of vodka … Merciless time.

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