Film "The Edge": actors, roles and plot

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

This picture was nominated for a Golden Globe and won 4 Golden Eagle awards. The actors of the 2010 film "The Edge" perfectly recreated the atmosphere of the first post-war years. They showed the plight of the Russians who were in German captivity.

A difficult film about ordinary people

Aleksey Uchitel never made films on light topics. All his paintings are saturated with human emotions, and each tape becomes a revelation for the viewer. It would have been risky even 30 years ago to touch upon the topic of exiled people in their familiar environment, but now it is vital for people to know such facts. Hard work on the felling of the forest and the unenviable proportion of women are shown with maximum openness to the viewer. For the actors of the film "The Edge" the roles were not only of professional interest. Many artists dream of filming with the Teacher.

Storyline

In September 1945, the demobilized tanker Ignat is looking for a job, and fate brings him to a remote station called the Edge. Before the war, he worked as a machinist, so he dreams of his own steam locomotive. However, the inhabitants of the settlement take the new foreman with hostility. He -a hero of war and a stern disposition, a man who will not joke with them. Ignat immediately shows that there will no longer be a mess, and he will follow the work with all responsibility. The exiled settlers try their best to offend their new boss. Only the beautiful Sophia immediately feels affection for him.

On the day they meet, she invites him to her closet and they spend the night together. The girl has a little boy named Pashka. But Ignat does not know that this is not her son - she saved the child in Germany, he is German. Sophia's former boyfriend does not intend to tolerate her relationship with the new foreman, but Ignat quickly puts him in his place.

The driver learns from a local resident that there is a real train in the thicket. He finds an old Gustav steam locomotive, which he must fix. For many years it stood abandoned in the middle of the forest on rusty tracks. This name was given to him by a girl who lived in this very locomotive for a long time. She is the daughter of a German who lived and worked here before the war. His father was killed by Fishman, an NKVD officer, and now she has to hide in the forest.

Ignat was able to start the locomotive and drove it to the depot. Elsa came along with him. But the story did not have a happy ending. Soon Fishman himself comes to the Land, finds Pashka and a German girl in the village. He takes the child away from Sophia and leaves with Elsa. Ignat catches up with them on the "Gustav" and manages to cut. After the collision, the Chekist gets hit on the head with a speedometer from him. The driver picks up Elsa and Pashka and leaves. At the end of the film, the girl in broken Russiansays that now they live happily, they have three children with Ignat, and Pashka is already quite an adult.

How The Edge was filmed

In 2010, the audience learned that the film was shot in the Leningrad region. Alexei Uchitel planned to shoot in Siberia, but already in the process he realized that this would be impossible. To transport all the equipment to such a distance was an impossible task. The film used real pre-war steam locomotives, which the Russian Railways provided to the director at his request. Of course, during the filming, these iron colossuses were significantly damaged and had to be overhauled. The settlement of the Edge itself with its houses is part of the scenery. Ordinary people took part in the crowd. All the scenes, according to Teacher, were extremely difficult to shoot. There is practically no computer graphics in the picture. The episode with the burning sauna was filmed in a real fire, and the girl from the extras even received back burns.

Roles and actors of the film "The Edge"

The photo of the young beauty Yulia Peresild in dirty clothes and disheveled hair shows the essence of this heavy picture. The role of a girl with a difficult fate was given to her not by chance - the casting, together with the director, was conducted by Vladimir Mashkov. According to the plot, the girl was supposed to become his mistress and die tragically in the final scene. Each of the actors of the film "The Edge" did not just pass the usual audition, but really tested for strength. After all, the picture had to be shot in harsh conditions.

Vladimir Mashkov - Ignat

Rolea stern driver was immediately offered to Mashkov. The teacher thought that it would be several weeks before the actor gave an answer, but on the same day he received consent. Later, he not only helped to select the remaining applicants, but also helped in the filming. The director considers him a co-author of the film, and does not forget to say that Mashkov performed all the stunts himself - without a stuntman. He jumped into icy water, drove a steam locomotive and starred in a bed scene. It was one of the most difficult moments on set, and the actors had to mentally prepare for a long time to shoot in one take.

Yulia Peresild - Sofia

The actress got not the easiest role. The upbringing of someone else's child in a working settlement cost her heroine not only condemnation from the outside, but also great moral agony. To prevent anything from happening to him, she had to tie the baby to the table. A difficult relationship with a former lover and a passionate affair with a new foreman did not come easily to her either. The young actress was able to convey all the pain of parting with the baby, which she could not survive.

Anjorka Strechel - Elsa

For the role of Elsa, the director decided to look for an actress from Germany, but she had to be very young. The teacher did not find a suitable candidate, so he had to raise the age bar a little. Once he was sorting through the catalogs and saw Anyorka - the girl was perfect for this role. The aspiring actress not only endured all the hardships of shooting in harsh conditions, but also showed a real talented game.

Elsa in her performance turned out to be a lively and emotional heroine. And endurance and diligence give her the right to take one of the best places in the list of actors and roles in the film "The Edge". In 2010, she became known in Russia. Perhaps the Russian audience will still see the charming German woman in other films by Russian directors.