Record holder “Heart of Parma” became the record holder of the Russian film distribution, becoming the leader in fees for the weekend for seven weeks in a row.
Before that, the record was at Avatar, which lasted 5 weeks in 1 place. It is clear that this is largely due to the lack of major Hollywood premieres, but other Russian (and not only) films still come out. What is it about Heart of Parma that it became the highest grossing film of the year at the Russian box office?
The film is based on the book of the same name by Alexei Ivanov and tells about the life of Perm prince (representative of Moscow) Mikhail in the second half of the 15th century, when the Moscow principality conquered the Ural lands.
The film is good from a technical point of view. The scenery, costumes, makeup, everything is done at a high level (although there are exceptions, I was very embarrassed by the obvious wig Michael at the beginning of the film).
I was also impressed by the fighting scenes. Especially the final battle. It did not consist simply of a sword battle, it had many layers, the alignment of forces changed several times, and most importantly, the scale was felt. Even during the battle, I watched as gradually new traces of dirt, blood and wounds appeared on Michael’s face, this is a very cool work of a makeup artist. And the coolest is the camera work, which felt the great influence of the Battle of the Bastards from Game of Thrones (let’s be honest, a good source for reference). You really get inside the action and feel the gravity of the situation. This is one of the best things in the movie.
But overall, Heart of Parma seemed uneven to me. The film runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes and by the end it is exhausting. It feels like if they cut it by 20 minutes, it would be better. There are moments in the middle of the movie where I started to get bored and lose the thread of the narrative. I also thought it was a bad start to the film, about 20 to 30 minutes, when Prince Michael is still a little boy. We are thrown into a new world without explanation, and at first you feel disoriented. But then, when Michael is already growing up, the film is interesting.
What's this movie about? In my understanding, in political terms, this is a story about the process of centralization of the state and opposition to this process in the region. This is a film about the struggle for autonomy. The antagonist of history is Moscow, which is trying to “align” Perm principality and forced to go to war on the neighboring and partly friendly for Perm Kazan Khanate. And we are shown how difficult it is to resist a centralized force that will ultimately prevail and achieve its goals.
But I am very pleased that the leader of the Russian box office is a film that shows tolerance and communication as important values, and criticizes violence as a way to resolve conflicts. “Friends” of the main character – Michael, whom we empathize with, all look different, speak different languages, believe in different gods, but remain faithful to each other. And they are opposed to absolutely identical Moscow vigilantes. This film clearly speaks to the importance of cultural differences and the need to embrace and support them.
“Heart of Parma” is not an ideal film, but it leaves a pleasant impression and is worth watching.
7 out of 10
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