Vladimir Sorokin: “DAU's performance was a success, a post -worker inserted a scoop. But I prefer a movie "

This week in Paris, the premiere show of the Happing film “Dau”, shot by Ilya Khrzhanovsky based on the biography of Lev Landau, is completed. It was originally planned that the film would be shot according to the script of Vladimir Sorokin, but the director changed the concept and turned the film shooting into a happy, during which the actors lived on the set (at the Institute) under the constant observation of cameras. As a result, 13 films and a number of series mounted from 700 hours of 35 mm movie materials were mounted. Vladimir Sorokin watched one of the films and shared his impressions with The Insider.

It all started with a “normal” film project, the history of Soviet physicist Landau against the background of the scenery of the twentieth century. The figure was quite a sign for the century and cinematic, so Ilya drew attention to it. I was interested. It is funny that at the institute a physicist was read by a student of Landau, who tried in his own way to copy the grotesque manner of the behavior of his teacher. Alas, he was also an alcoholic, sometimes he came completely drunk at a lecture. Then he was kicked out. I wrote, in my opinion, a pretty decent scenario about the brilliant physicist-Frica Dau and the crazy XX century surrounding him. I even had to remember something from the course of physics. But Ilya even then left the cinema to social anthropology, this began with the second part of our film “4”, when the old women from the village of Shutilovo climbed into his soul. He began to ask for something to redo in the script, it was several times, but at some stage I stopped understanding what he actually wanted. I asked: Ilya, explain what you want? He replied: I want it to be there, well, this is how ... in general, that's it! Then I said: Ilya, this is not for me. Everything - I can't. They parted on that.

Ilya himself began to work on the script, then he attracted someone else. Then he found money, launched a project, built an institute in Kharkov, somehow called, talked about the grandeur of the plan, listed famous people who were ready to star from him, suggested that I participate in this. I honestly replied that I would not be dressed in the clothes of Stalin's times and I will not play a scoop, I lived in it and described it, this is enough. Sometimes we saw each other, Ilya told what was going on at the Institute. Actually, he was only interested in the human situation there: which of the famous people came, how they live, drink and eat, what an internal routine, who went with a scandal, who fell into a hysteria, who has a novel with whom, etc. About the movie, it would not be very good about the movie. Then I found out that everything was already shot by dozens of cameras, the “institute” was destroyed. Ilya fell silent for a long time. We saw each other in London, he said that there was a difficult installation, that all the editors are isolated in separate offices during operation, they have no right to communicate with each other, this is strictly controlled, Ilya carries the keys to the offices with him. I invited him to make a film about the behavior of the installers, but he did not hear. And a couple of years ago, suddenly arose in Berlin with a broken leg, on crutches, full of plans for the premiere. The orthopedic boot on a broken leg, of course, was painted with gold paint. Ilya funded by ideas and loud names, talked about the new Berlin wall. Something grandiose was prepared. The best representatives of mankind had to gather at the premiere and shudder. He proposed to see the material, but for this it was necessary to go to London for several days, but then there was no time. Then he again disappeared for a year. From the German press, I learned that Berlin refused to build a new wall. It looks like ethical reasons. The Germans are extremely careful with their past. As a friend of the German said: "I have already seen this wall." But in the Berlin Theater of Gorky, closed shows "Dau" began. I was invited when the team was already preparing to leave.

In an empty cinema, I watched the material about life at the Institute for one and a half hours: familiar and not very post -Soviet people, dressed in clothes of Stalin's time, "were identified with the era." Who succeeded, who is not very good. The retired gibists hired by Ilya strongly replayed, demonstrating their genetic hatred of rotten intellectuals. The young wives of the Stalinist professors in fur coats and with mouthpieces carried an inspired gag in the language of the 21st century. Vita Mikhailova flickered in BOA, who told about small horses from my "snowstorm". Merci, Vitochka. And further? The same thing: improvisation, retro kostyums, boots, inkwells, and we are quite today's speeches. Sitting in an empty hall, he asked himself the question: what should I enjoy here? Parts play a scoop. They play differently: serious and not very. This is a performance, not a movie. Herman in Khrustalev and Lapshin had a real scoop, not toy. And it was a movie. Here is a completely different task, rather from the field of contemporary art. I understood and appreciated this. Enough an hour and a half. He left the hall, asked the assistant to Ilya (he himself was in London) to show another piece, more interesting. He was heard about brutality, pornses. The answer came from London: if it’s boring, it’s better not to look at all. That is, it was also necessary to look right! Does Ilya shoot a film about watching project? Another performance ... On a letter, where I again asked to show something abruptly than girls with mouthpieces, silly professors and non-profitable gubists, the author did not answer. Offended. Well, has the right. Although, in vain, it seems to me ...

But different people shared their impressions of what they saw. The main review: the fuckers are grandiose, at the exit - ambiguous. Someone was delighted. Someone frowned. One said: "Ilya went crazy, dissolving in bodily." He said the same thing about the final of the film "4": "Dissolved in the old women." A familiar director spoke metaphorically: “I don’t know about the“ Dau ”contribution to the cinema, but Ilya dug the corpse of the scoop and scored an aspen stake into it. Thank you for that! " Agree. The main idea of ​​the performance is read. The noisy premiere in Paris began. The resentment of the audience was laughed at the mess with a show of materials. Gentlemen, on the stage of the post, inserts a scoop with moans, tears and swearing, and there should be an absolute order with popcorn and air conditioning in the auditorium?!

In general, judging by the noise around, the socio-anthropo-phenomenological performance "Dau" was a success. The poster inserted a scoop.

Bravo, Ilya!

But I still prefer a movie.