Far Eastern Express: "Red Silk" goes to China
Posters on the streets of Beijing, a hall with an innovative film projection system and a tourist route based on the film connecting the two countries. In China, they are preparing for the premiere of the historical action-packed detective story "Red Silk", created in a co-production of Russia and China. The distributor is the largest company, China Film Group, which has 90,000 cinemas at its disposal. Our picture has already managed to win box office success. Now it's up to the Chinese viewers. On the eve of the high-profile event, Izvestia learned all the details.
At the highest level
The release of the film in Chinese distribution was announced at the highest level. In an interview with the Xinhua news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "There is active cooperation in the field of film production. In February, the joint film "Red Silk" was released in Russia. We expect it to be seen by viewers in China in the near future." The Beijing premiere is timed to coincide with the visit of the Russian president to China, and will be an eloquent reminder of the joint victories of the two countries and the history of their union.
The film is set in 1927. Couriers of the Chinese Communist Party are supposed to carry secret documents across Russia. Agents of the ruling conservatives in China and foreign spies are trying to prevent this. And the Soviet special services are helping, including Nikolai Garin, a Russian intelligence officer who dreams of returning to his homeland, played by Milos Bikovic.
Despite the fact that the events of the film are fiction, the plot does have a historical basis. The young Soviet republic supported the Chinese Communists, and the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in the Moscow region. Therefore, adventures in the best traditions of spy thrillers are combined in "Red Silk" with a careful recreation of the details and the atmosphere of the era.
Common values of peoples
In Russia, the film was released in February and became a box office hit. It was watched by almost 1.5 million people (for comparison: all Chinese projects in our screening, including co-productions, gathered a total of about 1 million moviegoers last year). And there is no doubt that high-profile co-productions will be received no less warmly in China. The professional community has already had the opportunity to evaluate the film: "Red Silk" became the headliner of the week of the best film and television projects of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries held in August.
Now the audience premiere is ahead. Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, in an interview with Izvestia, stressed: it is a great honor for the film to be released three days after the parade in China, which will be attended by the leaders of both countries.
— This is our first serious experience together. We have received instructions on joint film production from both Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and President Xi Jinping, and this provides us with additional opportunities and responsibilities. Russia has an important advantage over the cinematographies of many countries. Soviet cinema was known and loved by the older generation in China. And it is very important for us that our paintings fall in love with young Chinese children," Olga Lyubimova shared.
On the Russian side, the NMG Film Distribution company, part of the National Media Group, participated in the creation of the film. Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the holding, sees great prospects in this project.
— "Red Silk" opens a new page in the history of cooperation between Russia and China in the field of cinema. This is an important step in the implementation of a systematic approach that will help mutually promote the best national films and jointly create films that demonstrate the common values of the two peoples," Svetlana Balanova noted.
Tempering faith and spirit
The distributor and the halls are getting ready for the launch of an important release. Beijing's bus stops are covered with large posters of "Red Silk." Their appearance attracts attention, including due to the unusual Russian faces — after all, there are usually no advertisements for foreign films, only Chinese films. The Taipingyang cinema chain reports on its website: "The film fully reflects the hardening of faith and spirit in the harsh Siberian frosts." And ordinary viewers say that they have heard about the project and are going to go to the cinema to see it.
— Yes, I saw it on the news. This is a film that China shot together with Russia. They say it's exciting! And I would also like to see Russian actors in it," a Chinese resident told Izvestia.
At the opening ceremony of the SCO Film Week in Qingdao, Alyona Sviridova sang the title song from "Red Silk" — "It will be so." The film was also shown there as part of the week itself, along with classics of Russian cinema: "Nostalgia", "The Siberian Barber" and "12".
Singer Alena Sviridova
The solemn event will take place on September 4, at the main cinema of China Film Group in Beijing. The screening will take place using CINITY projection technology, which provides 120 frames per second (instead of the usual 24 fps). Hence the exceptional realism of the image, which is so important for a film whose plot refers to historical realities.
At the same time, the director of "Red Silk" Andrei Volgin notes that in China the film will be seen in exactly the same form as in Russia.
"There were recommendations and attempts to adapt the film for the Chinese audience, but then it was decided not to," he said. — If we go together and we have a common story, then the viewer should see exactly the same picture both here and in China, it should not be any different.
In the footsteps of the heroes
Meanwhile, the Amur region has already developed a tourist route based on the film. So the Chinese audience, impressed by what they saw in the movies, can continue to immerse themselves in the story in real life.
— Now tourists from China have two main requests: "red" tourism, that is, everything related to the development of the Communist Party in China, and film tourism. The route of the film "Red Silk" fits exactly into both of these trends. We want to make this journey as immersive as possible and plan to connect other cities. For example, we are actively working with Heihe and Irkutsk," Daria Ulko, Deputy director of the Amur Region Hospitality Agency, told Izvestia.
Perhaps a joint film production will also help tourism between the two countries. Moreover, this is just the beginning. The filmmakers of the two countries are already hard at work on the sequel, called "Black Silk."
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
