Translated material
The Emperor and the Assassins
Yuri Gladilshchikov
The Moscow Film Festival opened with the long-awaited premiere of Gleb Panfilov's film "The Romanovs: The Crowned Family"
The Moscow Film Festival opened with the long-awaited premiere of Gleb Panfilov's film "The Romanovs: The Crowned Family"
To one of the main cultural events of the Moscow summer - the XXII International Film Festival - the Itogi film reviewer went through the main (spectator) rather than the service (journalistic) entrance. (Photo: Pavel Gorshkov )
Opinions about Panfilov's "Romanovs" are radically opposite (I am referring not so much to reviews as to conversations after the screening). The film is being criticized. For being old-fashioned and for the fact that this is “an educational program for schoolchildren.” They say that the execution scene in “The Regicide” was much more terrible (by the way, yes, although in “The Romanovs” the execution is more naturalistic. McDowell in the role of the regicide Yurovsky was also worth a lot).
The film is praised. For the director's super-professionalism, especially noticeable against the backdrop of the professional catastrophe that Russian cinema is experiencing, and also for the fact that, despite its 150-minute length, it is not large-scale, not epic, but chamber, intimate. No crowd scenes at the front and only one on the street of Petrograd. No storming of the Winter Palace, no agony of the regime (as in the famous film by Elem Klimov). Only the history of the royal family - ideal and idyllic - from February 1917 until its death. At least (I also heard this assessment) “The Romanovs” is better than “The Barber of Siberia.”
As for the “educational program” - everything is correct, with the only amendment that Panfilov, most likely, was not counting on schoolchildren, but on the so-called ordinary people. I believe he wanted to show “ordinary people” that the emperor and his family were not parasites on the body of Russia who bathed in luxury, but its hard-working servants. Selfless, selfless, brought up in the spirit of stoicism, capable of high humility, moreover, possessing the gift of providence and, of course, genius in a variety of fields - from playing music (Nicholas himself and his daughters) to developing designs for naval ships of the future (Tsarevich Alexei).
Comparison with “The Barber” is also natural, especially since “The Romanovs” have two obvious (though, alas, not for the mass audience) advantages. Firstly, Panfilov’s picture is much less Hollywood (for entertainment value, it could use some change of rhythm, but Panfilov seemed not to want to curry favor with the viewer), and secondly, it is still more original in its ideas. If Mikhalkov made a film about the fact that we are good because we are Russian, then Panfilov (if I interpret “The Romanovs” correctly) - about the fact that the imperial family was the gene pool of the nation. A gene pool that has been refined over centuries. It doesn’t matter at all who Alexandra Feodorovna was by origin and what percentage of Russian blood (1/32, 1/64 or 1/128) flowed in Nicholas’s vessels - all the same, according to Panfilov, they were the national elite. In the film there is a phrase addressed to the crown prince that even in a Bolshevik prison he is obliged to consider himself a highness, since he was specially raised as a prince, and this is a special culture. Accordingly, it can be understood that by killing a family, the Bolsheviks did not just want to destroy political opponents, but deliberately destroyed the national gene pool. Or, let's put it another way, the true "Russian standard". And all the nasty things in Russia (including modern Russia) are because the gene pool has been destroyed, and with it, in particular, the culture of politics. There are no more people capable of working intelligently and selflessly, without populism or bragging, for the good of their homeland. The vile and petty Kerenskys and Rodziankos came, then the monstrous Lenins and Sverdlovs, and then others.
The idea is quite sound.
Otherwise, Panfilov’s film is also quite American, except that (I repeat) it’s not pop at all. Traditionally beautiful voice-over music. First, as in Star Wars, there is a written account of the background to the events. When those same Kerensky and Rodzianko appear, the titles “Kerensky” and “Rodzianko” appear. What's worse is that the characters' reactions are too often predictable, and dialogue like: "I love you, dad!" - “I love you too” is too much. According to the genre, “The Romanovs” is quite a melodrama; Panfilov deliberately does not indulge in serious interpretations of historical events and the destinies of the country, as well as in thoughts like “how can we develop Russia”. He talks a lot about whether Nicholas II was strong or weak, an ideal king or not, whether he made a mistake when he abdicated the throne, and whether it would have been more correct for him, like Peter, to be more active in beating heads? But all this is only in newspaper interviews. The film is about family, family, family. Love, tenderness, love.
Those who come to the cinema for educational purposes will most likely remain a little annoyed. Since from the film it is not only not clear whether Nikolai did the right thing by renouncing (and whether he thereby betrayed both Russia and his family), but it is also not clear why everyone around him suddenly longed for his renunciation? Why did everything become so bad if, judging by the beginning of the film, it was so good: the people, except Petrograd, were not violent anywhere, and the army was combat-ready, and there were only a few months left before the defeat of the Germans, and Nicholas’s generals loved him.
But those who come simply “to see Panfilov” (even if they are disappointed in the film or tired of its calm academicism) will probably notice another difference between “The Romanovs” and “The Barber”: despite the extremely ideological title “The Romanovs: The Crowned Family” ( it, of course, frightened many), Panfilov managed to make not an ideological, but a psychological film. A pleasant surprise.
PS Read about how the XXII Moscow International Film Festival turned out, whether it was better or worse than the previous ones, in the next issue of “Results”. Most journalists write about the ceremonial side of the festival: the noble intentions, objective difficulties and unconditional achievements of its organizers, about the arrival, press conferences and Moscow excursions of rare foreign stars, etc. In fact, these are reports not from the front door, but from the back door - that which is for our own, chosen ones. The Itogi film reviewer decided to write about the festival from the main entrance, that is, to look at it as a simple viewer who does not enter the halls with journalistic accreditation, but buys tickets, tries to get information about which films to watch and which ones. no, he wants to buy an unavailable festival catalogue. There are enough impressions.
At the opening, Gleb Panfilov’s film “The Romanovs: The Crowned Family,” which had been awaited for many years, was shown.