"Motherland" (TV series): viewer reviews and reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Motherland series, reviews of which will be described below, was released in the spring of 2015. He immediately attracted the attention of viewers with a brilliant cast. And the name of the project evoked patriotic feelings. Many began to watch this film with pleasure, anticipating an exciting spectacle. However, the series "Motherland" did not become super popular. Feedback, interesting facts, strengths and weaknesses of this project will be the subject of this article.

Actors

It's not often that really interesting pictures appear on our screens. Here is "Motherland" - a series, reviews of which are very mixed. However, the cast of the film does not cause any complaints. The main role in it is played by the charismatic Vladimir Mashkov. His unfaithful wife is portrayed by Maria Mironova. Victoria Isakova organically fit into the image of a neurotic agentFSB, and Sergei Makovetsky - her mentor. The series was also decorated with other beloved actors: Andrey Merzlikin, Alisa Khazanova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Maria Shalaeva, Timofey Tribuntsev. It would seem that with the participation of such talented artists, a real masterpiece should have been born. But not everyone was satisfied with watching the film.

Storyline

The Motherland series has an unusual plot. Viewer reviews testify to this. The action of the film begins back in 1993, when two officers went missing during a military operation in the North Caucasus: Yuri Khamzin and Alexei Bragin (Vladimir Mashkov). Six years later, the latter was found in one of the terrorists' secret bunkers. He was severely emaciated, chained to a wall, but nonetheless alive and relatively he althy. The story of the major who miraculously escaped death immediately became the property of the media. The best specialists were involved in the rehabilitation of Bragin. And among them is Anna Zimina (Victoria Isakova), an expert analyst of the counterterrorism department of the FSB. After the first conversation with Bragin, the girl realized that he was hiding some secret. Throughout the first season, she racked her brains over this problem, and in the end she almost solved it.

Sources

It was filmed based on the American project Homeland TV series "Motherland". Viewer reviews can therefore be divided into two categories: those who saw the American version of the film, and those who did not see it. Strictly speaking, the primary source is the Israeli television series Prisoners of War. The Russian public is not familiar with him, but inthe plot of the picture can capture local realities. The constant threat of terrorism, the visit of an oriental prince in search of girls for the harem, the nuances of intra-family and business relationships seem alien to some viewers. As one of them ironically remarked, two Russian peasants, after a six-year separation, under tragic circumstances, will never sit down to drink red wine on a balcony overlooking Moscow at night. Men in Russia prefer different pastimes and definitely different drinks. However, the framework of a foreign project dictates its own conditions. Therefore, the actors in the Russian version sometimes look unnatural and utter lines that are not characteristic of their characters.

Drama

The TV series "Motherland" with Mashkov made a considerable impression on the audience. Reviews of many of them indicate that the film owes its popularity to the virtuoso play of this actor. With one look, Vladimir expresses the whole gamut of feelings of his hero: hidden anger, inexpressible suffering, inescapable sadness. However, some viewers argue that such a heat of passion, on the contrary, made them turn away from the screen. It would be better if Mashkov saved his dramatic talent for the next adaptation of Dostoevsky, they say. Some people have a similar opinion about the game of the two main actresses of the project - Maria Mironova and Victoria Isakova. The heart-rending suffering of the first and the strange imbalance of the second did not arouse any sympathy in them. However, here the question is more to the director of the series, Pavel Lungin, than to the famous film stars. Most likely, some nervousness of the heroines was supposed to give domesticversions of greater reliability.

Negative reviews

As mentioned above, the series "Motherland" with Mashkov is borrowed. Feedback from fans of the American film about its Russian version leaves much to be desired. Even sincere admirers of the talent of Victoria Isakova, Sergey Makovetsky and Vladimir Mashkov admit that this time their favorite actors did not cope with their task. Some generally argue that it would be easier for unknown artists to cope with the embodiment of the heroes of the series, while the recognized masters already have their own well-established roles. For example, Mashkov is no stranger to depicting both heroes and traitors on the screen, which may be why he is perceived without much enthusiasm by fans of the Homeland series. In addition, some viewers believe that the plot of the film, applied to Russian realities, turned out to be too far-fetched.

Positive feedback

Many of those who have not seen the American version of the project call the Motherland series quite watchable. Feedback from such viewers suggests that comparison with the original greatly spoils the impression of this film. But if you perceive it as an independent product, then everything seems not so deplorable. Firstly, almost until the last episode it is impossible to unravel the main intrigue of the series: will Bragin turn out to be a traitor or not? What can make such a person betray the Motherland? How can the human psyche be transformed under the influence of severe trials? Secondly, the Russian screen has not appeared for a long timereal quality spy movies. The audience missed them and perceived the series "Motherland" as a ray of light in the darkness of long-boring action movies, detective stories and melodramas. They only have minor complaints about the fact that the action of the film is a bit long.

Reviews

The series "Rodina", reviews, reviews of which are interesting to many, was negatively received by critics. Devastating articles about this project appeared in such well-known publications as GQ, Kommersant, Afisha. Critics' claims are partly justified: indeed, the actions of the characters in the film are not always motivated, the plot plot raises questions, the acting sometimes looks strained, and the musical accompaniment causes melancholy. Film experts stubbornly compare the Russian version of the film with the American version, and this comparison is not in favor of the first. Critics unanimously recognize Pavel Lungin as one of the best directors of our time, but consider the Motherland series to be one of his most unsuccessful works. Viewer reviews are still less categorical.

Factual errors

The public loves to find actual flaws in various designs. Several of these errors are contained in the series "Motherland". Viewer feedback indicates that the creators of the series did not follow this side of the issue very closely. For example, the very first USB drives appeared on the electronics market only in 2000, and in one of the episodes of the film, the plot of which takes place in 1999, it is easily used by a resourcefulheroine. Of course, it can be assumed that flash drives appeared in the arsenal of the secret services earlier than ordinary consumers. But these are fantasies, and we are talking about facts. In addition, some places in the city of Moscow looked different in 1999. In the first episode of the series, the main character sits on a bench in the park near the Rostokinsky aqueduct, which was broken only in 2004. And the monument to Dmitry Donskoy in the Tula region, which is visited by the Bragin family in the eleventh series, was restored only in 2005-2007. This is the list of "inconsistencies" that the series "Motherland" contains. Reviews, interesting facts about it are detailed on popular film history sites, which, by and large, indicates that the film still "hooked" the viewer.

Unrealized concept

In each television project there is a main idea, which is gradually brought to the attention of the audience during the demonstration. In this sense, one of the most controversial films is the series "Motherland". Reviews of the audience indicate that they do not quite understand the motives of the characters in the picture. Indeed, the Russian version almost copies the American one frame by frame, but does not convey its main idea. Let's start with the fact that the English "homeland" is translated as "native land" as opposed to the concept of "state", that is, a system that often makes decisions on behalf of millions of people, without always being interested in their opinion. The personal patriotism of the protagonist in the American series - Sergeant Brody - makes him commit a betrayal andgo against their criminal leadership. In captivity, he formed his own system of values, which he is trying to defend in his native land. Against this background, it is not entirely clear what the concept of the Russian project Rodina (TV series) is. Season 4, reviews of which we have yet to hear, if it is ever filmed, perhaps will clarify this issue. The same applies to Anna Zimina. In the American project, agent Carrie Matheson suffers from bipolar disorder, provoked by the 9/11 attacks, which she, along with other intelligence officers, could have prevented. From series to series, she carries the burden of guilt and tries to rehabilitate herself. In the case of Zimina, again, it is not entirely clear what drives her. In the series, she seems to be just a very unbalanced woman who, for some reason, was hired by the FSB. So, having completely copied the American series externally, the creators of the Russian version forgot to breathe life into the inner world of their characters. And this is perhaps the biggest "minus" of the picture.

Conclusion

Now you know everything about the "pluses" and "minuses" that distinguish the series "Motherland". Reviews, reviews of this film are no longer a secret for you either. It very rarely happens that Western-made projects transferred to Russian soil gain a second wind and begin to take on a life of their own. In most cases, such experiments are doomed to failure - the difference in the worldview of the audience is too great. However, the series "Motherland" cannot be called a frank failure. Season 1, reviews of which are alreadyknown, had some success with the audience. But much of it is still alien and incomprehensible to the Russian public.