"Top". Movie reviews that make you think

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

In 2009 at the national film festival "Moscow Premiere" the debut screening of the drama directed by Vasily Sigarev "Volchok" took place. The film was called “a special event” by Russian filmmakers and festival participants.

Recognition

In the same year, the film was awarded an impressive number of Kinotavr prizes (the main prize and prizes for the best script, female role, film critics of the Russian Federation and the Guild of Film Critics) and was selected to participate in the competition held in Karlovy Vary. Despite the misunderstanding of ordinary inhabitants, the film "Volchok" received admiring reviews from critics, its rating was IMDb: 7.20. Filmmakers appreciated the new level of Sigarev's cinematic extremism.

Household fairy tale

Nothing stirs the hearts of compatriots like national films. Volchok received good reviews, among other things, for showing the harsh Russian reality without embellishment.

The story begins with a scene of persecution. Law enforcement officers are chasing the pregnant heroine across the open field, immersed in snowdrifts. Because of what she didcrimes, the heroine is sentenced to a prison term, and the born child is transferred to the upbringing of her grandmother. The daughter will see a dissolute mother after seven years. Paying off the child, the woman gives the baby a couple of cans of condensed milk, a hedgehog, a hematogen and a wooden top. Then he hurriedly leaves with unknown men in an unknown direction.

A girl has many reasons to turn into a bristling wolf cub, but the unrequited and selfless feeling of love for her mother helps her socialize. And perceive the surrounding reality as a top. The film reviews are diametrically opposed. Some film critics-moralists express their protest against the demonstration of indecent scenes with the participation of a child in the story.

Children's narration

The film "Volchok", reviews and reviews confirm this, in terms of the structure of the narrative, it is similar to Anna Melikyan's "Mermaid", in which the abominations happening on the screen are described by a child. But Sigarev presents "children's narration" without flirting with the achievements of civilization and glamour. In addition, the off-screen voice of the girl actually belongs to the lead actress, concurrently the director's wife, Yana Troyanova. Which cannot but prompt a lover of intellectual cinema to the idea of the isolation of being, in which children, out of hopelessness, are forced to repeat the fate of their parents.

Despite the love for his characters, the director does not idealize them, so it is very difficult to watch and perceive his production. Spectators who have gathered to watch the brainchild of Sigarev shouldprepare for a rather dark storyline and an impressive amount of profanity in it.

Main character

Despite the fact that the story is told from the perspective of a child, the protagonist of the drama is a prodigal (in every sense) mother. Such a characteristic role was a real gift for the brilliant actress Yana Troyanova. The performer made the heroine the embodiment of spiritual meanness and weakness, the character turned out to be truly repulsive, disgusting and righteous anger. The actress managed to demonstrate to the viewer not only the character of her heroine, but also its transformation. Simply amazing acting!

Visual decision and direction of the drama "Top"

The film received rave reviews not only thanks to the efforts of the actors invited to the production of the tape. Experts called the pictorial solution of the picture excellent, which is the direct merit of the debutant cameraman Alexei Arsentiev. Thanks to his skill, the wretched provincial house looks like a strange, even mystical place, just as the little heroine perceives her home. The artist's work is also remarkable: the brightness of the outside world is contrasted with the dullness of the interior of the grandmother's house, and the catchy tones in the clothes of Troyanova's character are contrasted with the restrained attire of her sister and mother. However, the success of the visual system cannot smooth out the unpleasant aftertaste from the moral ambiguity of the drama "Top".

The film is praised by filmmakers of all stripes for the fact that what is happening is not without dynamics, althoughMost events take place indoors. And when the need arises, the action is transferred to the space, which is more than enough. Not all directors who previously worked in theatrical productions manage to achieve such an effect the first time.

About shortcomings

Like most adaptations of plays, Spinning Top has one drawback - an overabundance of monologues and dialogues. Since theatrical action is limited to the stage, its main driving factor is the actors. Even the most ordinary text in their performance sounds different, each time changing depending on the mood of the audience. Cinematography is many times more dynamic, and much can be expressed with the help of a visual series of images, rather than text.