"Even a genius can miss the most important thing in life"
Russian cinema is going through a global generational change, which radically changes the focus of the authors' attention. Today's young directors are no longer interested in material possessions or a maniacal desire to leave a mark on history — they focus on sincerity, the search for happiness and the value of human life. Why the new generation of cinematographers turned out to be completely free, how Yura Borisov managed to broadcast the "Russian soul" on Hollywood screens, for which the film crew of the "Top" had to climb to a height of more than 3 thousand meters, how marriage destroyed Alexander Pushkin's life and what it takes to break into the cinema, Yuri Bykov told in an exclusive interview with Izvestia.".
"The younger generation doesn't have a manic desire to leave a mark"
— You received your first award for the film "The Boss", and now you have judged the festival "Shorter". How have young directors changed in this genre?
— Absolutely. By and large, the generation itself has changed.
— What are they interested in? What do they focus on?
A shot from the movie "The Boss"
— They are only interested in the person: his inner world and the subtleties of relationships. That's the only way they see the point. They are focused on being happy. Sincerity, kindness, care and love are important to them.
— What should be the ideal short film? It was said at the festival that the authors began to stretch the timing to 50 minutes, swinging by a full meter.
— The time on the screen does not matter. What matters is the scale of talent and the degree of sincerity.
"So they're more honest?"
— We and our predecessors were also honest. But we had a different upbringing. Let's draw an analogy: what is the difference between a religious person and a non-religious one?
— One goes to the temple, but the other does not.
— Visiting the temple itself is just a physical act. I also go to the beautiful church in my neighborhood. But someone goes there to pray to God, and someone - just to be in an atmosphere of beauty and silence. 20 years ago, it was impossible to imagine an iPhone. In the same way, it was impossible to imagine the current generation: absolutely free, beautiful people who strive only for simple human happiness.
— You are one of the few who does not grumble at young people, but praises them, while others scold them for gadgets and lack of education. Do you have the opposite point of view?
— Absolutely. I judge by the young filmmakers I see personally. These authors are extremely free people. They understand that the main thing is love. They have a clear understanding: a person is born for happiness, and life is too short and fragile a period of time to waste on emptiness in the form of material goods. During this period, you need to learn something really important about reality. Yes, the younger generation does not have a maniacal desire to leave a mark or prove something to others. They view success as a side effect. They always have man and love at the forefront.
"Our task is to create extreme conditions on the screen"
— For the sake of the new movie "The Top" you went up into the mountains. What made you do such a feat?
— Yes, this is no feat. We filmed in comfortable conditions — wherever you can go up by funicular.
A shot from the movie "The Top"
— At what maximum height did you shoot?
— At 3,200 meters.
— Does the funicular really go up there?
— Yes, there is a coffee shop in Arkhyz at this height right next to the station. There was no extreme for the film crew. Our task is to create extreme conditions on the screen, but to provide the team and the artists with complete comfort.
— What will the film be about?
— About the meaninglessness of loneliness and the value of human life, even if it is the life of a stranger.
— It sounds philosophical.
— It's a simple idea. 10 strangers from all over the country go to the mountains for two weeks. At first it looks like a beautiful vacation with mesmerizing landscapes. But the last day turns into a test, where the chances of survival are 50-50.
They don't write about it in tourist booklets, but any assault on heights is a huge risk. Mountaineers consider Elbrus to be "primitive", category 1B. But this year alone, 20 people have died there.
"Because of the avalanche?"
— For various reasons. At altitude, due to lack of oxygen, all diseases worsen, and the heart may fail. Someone is falling into the crevices. Getting into such situations, ordinary people unwittingly find out who they really are. Our main character comes just to relax and "foolishly" conquer the top, and eventually understands the fundamental things.
Actor Artyom Bystrov
— Who plays the main character?
— Artem Bystrov.
— Was he prepared for such a movie?
— There was no need to train the actors specifically. For the sake of PR, I could have made a drama about how everyone suffered in the wild, but to be honest, everyone was comfortable. The artists walked this path with love and enjoyed the trip to the mountains. Before filming, these 10 people didn't even know each other. In general, it was fun, but all we had to do was bring them to the playground and take them back.
"Basta represents our Michael Jackson"
— They say you're doing a movie about Basta. It's true?
— As far as I know, no.
— So the Internet is making it up. How do you feel about his work?
— I respect him very much. I can't say that this is my favorite musician, but I like some of the early projects — there was probably more independent rap. Now Vasily has turned into a pop guru. This is a man who embodies, if you will, our Michael Jackson. His pop stuff is not very close to me, but the biography itself is unique.
Rapper Basta
A man has risen from the very bottom, and openly admits that he was practically destroyed in his youth. And how he was able to grow out of this state and earn tremendous respect, love and recognition is of great interest.
— Whose biography would you be interested in? Who would you like to make a biopic about?
— I've always wanted to make a film about Pushkin, but in a rather unpopular way.
— That is, to show him from those sides where he is not "our everything"?
— No, he is certainly our everything in all its manifestations. I'm more interested in the motive of his marriage. Why did he choose Goncharova? It seems to me that this choice ruined him. Alexander Sergeyevich was an incredibly life-loving man. The film "The Prophet. The Story of Alexander Pushkin" by Felix Umarov. I really wanted to watch it, especially the part related to marriage. In part, the creators had a truthful view, but I still did not get the main answer for myself.
A frame from the movie "The Prophet. The story of Alexander Pushkin"
In a mass, popular movie, my idea probably wouldn't have caught on. But judging by historical sources, he got married quite late at that time, being already an accomplished reveller and a ladies' man. Pushkin felt the finale approaching and, in a kind of panic, very quickly married the first beauty, focusing purely on external signs.
The irony is that this man wrote Eugene Onegin, a true encyclopedia of Russian life and a profound guide to action. But by the end he made almost all the mistakes that were possible. He connected his life with a very young girl who adored balls, attention and meetings with notable people. We don't fully know what exactly happened between them in reality.
— Do you think that Natalia Goncharova was not worthy of Pushkin?
— It seems to me that this decision itself was fussy. It is clear that the image of the great poet is inviolable: no one denies that he is a genius and at the same time was a good father, which proves the finale of his days when he said goodbye to the children. But the whole drama with Dantes, it seems to me, is about doing everything on time. If people find a partner in their mind and heart in time, create a family, then there is no ground for jealousy.
Most likely, there were no infidelities there, but the age difference and the bitter realization affected.: You're already old, and she's young. There is an oppressive feeling, as if your head is being twisted, and then there are these anonymous lampoons. It seems to me that his very bright, stormy, but for too long untethered life eventually led to such a crisis. And then — to the final, when, according to the laws of honor, he had no choice but to challenge the offender to a duel and die.
— And it's sad.
— This proves that even a genius can miss the most important thing in life. Any decision we make is of great importance, especially the choice of a partner. There are examples of harmonious unions, like Dostoevsky's, where there was loyalty and absolute trust. But unfortunately, that's not what happened with Pushkin.
"Yura Borisov is the quintessence of the Russian spirit in cinema"
— Yura Borisov is at his peak now, he was noticed even in Hollywood. Why exactly did it become so in demand?
— In my opinion, Yura is the quintessence of the Russian spirit in cinema. Remember the ending of the movie "Anora": the heroine tries to repay him with her body for caring for him, but he just hugs her, and she calms down. It is remarkable that in the West they considered this facet of our mentality. Borisov is a simple, reliable, non—fussy and taciturn man in whom you are 100% sure. There are charismatic or technically sophisticated performers, but Yura gives off a rare sense of being a good person — in the deepest and most attractive sense.
— Why didn't you call him handsome? Are there a shortage of such actors now?
— There are a lot of beautiful people in the industry, it's just that beauty itself is a very stretchy concept. There is no problem with beautiful artists. The main difficulty is to see them, to give them the opportunity to appear and manifest. People often write to me asking me how to get into the cinema. At such moments, you realize how many smart and capable people have been lost to the profession. But I am sure that a unique talent always seeps out against all odds, like a stream making its way out. I don't see a global problem — we have a small market. We have enough conventional stars and bright artists to cover all our needs. That is why in all landmark projects, approximately the same composition is shot — the generations change, but the number of faces is plus or minus the same.
A shot from the movie "Anora"
— But this is a dead end that deprives others of any chance.
— I agree, but the movie business works differently. Yes, there are always stars in the foreground. But there are supporting roles and episodes. If a person is talented, a standard evolutionary path is open for him. First, he is noticed at graduation performances at the university, then in the professional theater. Casting directors are constantly going to productions and looking for new faces for small but memorable works. Having proved himself, the actor rises higher. The same Brad Pitt started with extras.
— Oleg Menshikov believes that we have too many theater universities and it's time to reduce their number. Are we really overproducing actors?
— Everything is more complicated here. Institutes exist as long as there is a flow of applicants — they live by it and pay salaries to teachers. And how graduates will manage their lives further is their personal destiny. The main thing is that they are taught honestly and professionally. I believe that other filters are needed for new stars to appear. Natural selection in the industry works flawlessly anyway: an actor is noticed as soon as he appears on the screen.
For example, I crossed paths with Yura Borisov on the set of Ilya Uchitel's debut film, where he had a small role. Our acquaintance began with the fact that Yura was fired from this painting.
- why?
— We didn't find a common language with the director. No scandals: the actor was invited, he did not agree with something, and that's it.
— The beginning, to put it mildly, is not the most promising.
— From the outside, it might seem that this is the start of a loser's career. And today Yura Borisov is a nominee for the world film awards. A real talent is impossible to miss. Studying at a university is important for acquiring skills, but it is not decisive for the future. Everything is decided by the person himself.
"A person grows and changes, and a creative one even more so"
— You usually write the scripts yourself, but now you are going to shoot a TV series based on Leo Tolstoy's novel Resurrection. Why did you decide to take up the classics?
— The project is still under development. The novel itself is a story of self—discovery. In addition, it is the most powerful document of the time, showing Russia on the eve of the revolution. In my profession, I combine auteur films and commercial series. I've already shot multi-part projects about modernity and the 90s. Historical costume cinema is on trend now, and I decided to try myself in this genre, but not as a personal author's statement. If we talk about the meanings, then "Resurrection" for me is a story about the search for inner peace.
— Will it be a classic or a modern adaptation "based on motives"?
— After all, it's Tolstoy. The script is just being prepared for writing, but we have no plans to leave the book — that was the original task of the producers.
— You are known as an adherent of harsh realism. What if you were offered to make a fairy tale?
— I don't see myself in this genre, it's not my area of interest. Although, out of professional curiosity, I watch all the high—profile novelties - from Cheburashka to Pinocchio. I perfectly understand their business model and the importance for rental. Today, film stories are the only format where the industry operates at the peak of its budget and technical capabilities. This is an important commercial niche, so I have no complaints about it.
A shot from the movie "Resurrection"
— What makes you want to play roles in your own films?
— Sometimes it's a production necessity, sometimes it's an understanding that the role was written for me. In cinema, you need to use the resources that are at hand. You're not going to Australia to pick up the cast.
— The main thing is to remember about yourself in time.
— It's even simpler: you're writing a script and you know your abilities as an artist very well. That's why everything alternates for me: somewhere I play the main character, somewhere I appear in an episode, and somewhere I stay strictly off-screen. I only go to the playground if I'm sure I'll be useful. Why call someone from outside if you can play by yourself? Although, of course, it's easier to manage the process from the director's chair.
— You have said several times before that you want to leave the profession. Don't you have such thoughts now?
— Well, it was a long time ago, it seems, almost 12 years ago.
— Everything has changed since then, and you no longer plan to leave the cinema?
— I understand that I will be asked about this even when I turn 70 and collect all possible film awards. It's just a trigger question. A person grows and changes, and a creative one even more so. A situation where a young, very talented director stands on the windowsill and screams: "I'll take my name off the credits and myself off the windowsill onto the asphalt if you don't redo the installation now!" means only one thing: he cares. But does this mean that he has finally matured?
— No, probably not.
—Exactly. That's why you're asking me about things that were said 12 years ago. Journalists often repeat this phrase, although I said it only once and a long time ago.
— So, others replicated it for you.
— No, I said it myself. It's just that I was younger, more naive, and much more emotional back then.
— What is your current job?
— I can't disclose the details yet. But, in fact, this is a story about a family.
— If you had to make a testament movie right now - your last and most important statement — what would it be about?
"Mine?" You know, Vysotsky has some great lines.: "It's a shame that I didn't have much time myself, but let someone else be lucky. It turns out that I finally managed to: peace be upon your house." That's probably all.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
