. . . This is how it happens: I wanted to start a review ' for health ' but, having read the previous writings of my colleagues and largely agreeing with them, I almost created ' for rest '... And all because... Reviewers are absolutely right: for historical, military-historical films / series, serious, meticulous, incisive, and most importantly - highly professional (!!!) are necessary. CONSULTANTS!!! It is these, and not those who put a envelope with money in their pockets, pour cognac, bring a sandwich with red caviar, ask them to sign what they need and take them home... ': How many times have you told the world?39 And in the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, and in the Ministry of Culture ... I think there are appropriate orders... Who's listening to them? Here is my favorite and furiously progressing studio 'StarMedia', which created the mini-series ' Black Sea' (to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, especially note!), sorry, saved on consultants and got a bunch ' Fe' for what happened because of this film flop (films). Experts here have already recorded them perfectly and appreciated, for which thank you! Aye-aye, studio! But I will add only one delicate point, to which, as they say, ' do not dig down': in one of the last series on the ship on which our main characters are sailing, there are ' Lendlize' easel machine guns and even a quad anti-aircraft installation of them (seemingly a Soviet invention!), mistakenly called ' Colts' In fact, this is a modification of the legendary machine gun ' Browning-1919', which has passed many wars (and WWII!) and, until recently, was in service with the US Marine Corps.
.. . I’ve lost sight of the show, if you can forgive me! Now essentially viewed. With the exception of the above shortcomings and omissions, 'StarMedia' produced a film product that is quite worthy of secondary, tertiary, quaternary, etc. views. The studio did not hit the dirt with its face / reputation: everything was filmed / directed perfectly, and most importantly, naturally. What actors are in the lead roles! Favourite Trubiner and Vilkova (by the way, in the not-so-distant TV series ' Kill Stalin' (2013) both played fascist agents, and here-Smershevtsev!). Well, if you speak for Trubiner... Yes, he is in his role (let’s recall the classic ' Military intelligence ') and good. And here's to Vilkova... Yes, she has a diametrically opposite role, in contrast to 'Kill Stalin' (Officer SMERSH), but personally I am a hundred times more dear to her local, completely frostbitten (really!) heroine with a red nose than the current one. 'Well, I did not surpass, well, I did not surpass!' So be it!
I was sincerely glad to meet in the series ' Black Sea' recognizable actors ' second plan ' from a number of previous successful series. They all did well, for which they are very grateful. For this, allow me ' to wrap up ' for I have nothing more to tell you.
7 out of 10
Out of patriotism and optimism, I like to watch fresh domestic films (focusing on the trailer and running reviews, if any) in the hope of something worthwhile. I do not judge them too harshly, because we do not expect reliability from Hollywood, limiting ourselves only to obtaining pleasure, why bother with our own?
Being a land and civilian person, I did not notice most of the military-historical blunders, although, of course, I want to express my wishes to filmmakers: Dear ones, you are investing such efforts and money! Will the services of the consultant overburden the budget? Do it on your conscience - and your film will remain a document of the era, even if not a masterpiece, but screw up, say, with epaulettes - they will laugh and poke even at the beautiful play of the actors!
So, the amateur experience. Let's start with the minuses:
- I didn't like the location. The action takes place in Novorossiysk, lying in picturesque ruins. It is difficult to believe (and Taganrog, on the contrary, knows). All views to the open sea. For reliability, it would be worthwhile to show the characteristic background of mountains and bays from afar, well, not so much now the landscape has changed! All chases and hide-and-seek along the shore occur within minutes of running from the market, and the question arises why powerful counterintelligence has not yet combed the nearest ravine, allowing spies to build nests there.
- Across the sea, spies and counterintelligence move as easily as through a puddle, and parachute wherever they want, like Batman. I remind you that Novorossiysk lies in a long well-viewed bay.
Arriving in an unfamiliar Bessarabian town, where both life and speech are different, immediately go for their own and even open some shops, without attracting the attention of the occupiers.
- In Leningrad, something was invented, I never understood where the father of a spy lives and when he himself managed to have a wife with a child. And Leningrad should be removed more reliably, there and now nature allows, and the chronicle can be mounted. And yes, it is hard to believe that the recruited was awarded the rank of officer without red tape.
- Too much attention in wartime to personal life and passions. And a woman in counterintelligence is, in principle, possible, but better not in combat operations.
- All the previous would have been nothing, but one episode just finished me when a professional counterintelligence officer, right on the eve of the main operation, fails himself and almost destroys the whole group, stepping up for the German bedding (!), which her own Fritz beats! I was thinking maybe it's an undercover scout. No, she ' just wanted to live and love' ('kohati', in Ukrainian). No words at all. .
Now the pluses.
- A rare film where SMERSH’s activities are shown absolutely positively. Definitely our right-wing, intelligent and sympathetic heroes. Showed unvarnished shooting of traitors and even interrogation of prisoners ' with bias ' no objections.
The love triangle of a woman and her loved ones is strong, but in different ways two men, one of whom has already died, but is alive in the memory of all, is very good.
- The heroine of Lenochka (Vilkova) with her cold Leningrad, and concurrently - commissar type quite fits into counterintelligence. It is believed that she deliberately chose this male path. Believe in the love of men for this strong and purposeful nature.
- Good Panin. And the traitor from him is so vile that you want to put against the wall, and the white officer is quite canonical, and believe that he will not change Russia.
- Trubiner as Saburov is beyond praise. This is generally the main Stirlitz of Russian cinema, which will pull any film on itself.
- Other heroes remembered non-photogenic Vazhin, blond spy, head of counterintelligence and a characteristic Italian. Count Kotryanu looks faint. Other backgrounds.
- Ruins, yes, capital, believe that the war is over. Where did they find so many?
One last thing. Despite all the shortcomings and factual mistakes noted (not by me), the film is VERY action-packed, famously twisted, does not let go of the screen and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. With a more responsible approach, the creators could stand in line with 'Meeting Place'. But after all, ' Interest ' is the main thing in adventure cinema. We do not criticize with a serious face 'bondian'.
Military fiction, cranberries, which have no connection with history, because probably could not bring himself to examine this parody of a military detective to the end.
Talking about the quality of the work episode, in which the same ruins and even their angles are used as interiors in scenes occurring as it were in Leningrad and Novorossiysk.
I will never believe that a recruited agent in SMERSH could be introduced to the rank of officer in conditions when the half of the country "rested" in the Gulag. The Germans did indeed sometimes produce our prisoners in rank. But first, not all, but only major military commanders, such as General Vlasov, and secondly, the ROA had a different form of "second-class" soldiers.
Except for Saburov (P. Trubiner), there are no sensible officers in the task force. The rest are chronically idiotic and always fail even the simplest tasks. But they are all like goose water, and continue to serve in a unit where the strength of the kulaks is not the most important quality.
Pavel Trubiner looks wonderful, beautiful and convincing in shape, in this infused kit of a naval officer, the truth is a representative of the land service, but for some reason is called in the maritime manner.
Other advantages, except brilliant Trubiner, in the picture did not notice.
On the recommendation of relatives, so to speak, stocked up on popcorn, prepared to taste the best film of our time about the war.
Since I was a Navy officer in the past, I was wary from the very first shots. Two naval officers, albeit with red gaps, a man and a woman, discuss the future after the war. And the leitmotif of the discussion was the desire of the man to become the captain of the ship & #39; Captain of the ship, Carl!!! Everyone knows that there are no captains on a ship. There are commanders as senior on the ship, and lieutenant captains as officers with the appropriate rank. Captains are on ships, i.e. self-propelled swimming aids not intended for combat.
A minute later, like a thunderbolt in the clear sky, these officers began to address each other on the wrong ranks. Namely, "Comrade Captain of the Second Rank", and "Comrade Captain of the Third Rank", although in epaulettes they were "Lieutenant-Colonel Engineer" and "Major Engineer" (formerly military engineer of the second and third rank). Calmly watch the film further could not, paused, grabbed from the shelf the memoirs of Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, remembering the receipt of his academic education, when he was thinking about which way to choose – his first education was a team, academic – engineering. He then said that there are many engineers, commanders are many, and commanders-engineers are few, talked about differences and drew conclusions why a second education as an engineer helped his career, but this is another story. By the way, red lights on epaulettes and now say that the officer does not belong to the sailor and for him there are land ranks. In short, the abuse of every sailor’s hearing by frequently divulging the wrong ranks continued until the very end of the film.
Further, officers communicate strictly by rank (...incorrect, let me see their epaulettes). In the Navy and in counterintelligence, they only communicate when they're going to rip the junior in rank! The tradition is, in a normal situation, to address officers to each other by name and patronymic. In the memoirs of Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov and Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov, this goes through every paragraph.
Okay, the music in the film is good, the plot may be sur, but it turns, I decide to look further in the mode of unscientific fiction. It wasn't here. From the sea take out a hermoshka with magnetic mines and in it. Mines are piled with detonators inserted... Kaarl, with detonators inserted!!! It's not even fiction, it's a mockery of the basics of engineering training. . .
Assigning to a German saboteur who realized his error, the Soviet officer rank. All over the world, at all times, the first officer rank was conferred and awarded by the commander-in-chief, the head of state. And then they thought, and gave him a new uniform with epaulettes, dressed, brought to St. Petersburg to his father. Then they said, everybody, you're our brother. The title is given to you, so simple... Orders for the title are sent to the first person of the state not every day, go through a long way of approvals, all without exception, and always, but here ... Batz, and the fact is that the spy is now a military counterintelligence officer.
But the most apotheosis occurs in the feedback frame by 1942. Proud, dissatisfied, and always in love counterintelligence with colleagues stormed the house. She has the epaulette of the sergeant of the second article on her shoulders. And it is addressed ' Comrade Major'. Why, how, how? From that moment he found himself busy until the end of the film, trying to delve into the nooks of the mind of writers and directors. By the end of the film, it dawned on me and seemed to understand their logic. Epaulettes in the Navy, as in the Red Army, were introduced in 1943. And before that, there were noodles on the uniform. The director did not find anything better than to use the epaulettes of the Marine Corps field uniform, which was introduced in the 60s, if I am not mistaken. Two skirts on the chase of a petty officer of the second article should mean two sleepers on the noose of a major (captain of the third rank). That's how they made a sergeant out of a major.
Let’s leave behind the scenes what a hysterical female major did in naval counterintelligence during wartime. It is strange that for the sake of tolerance, a Negro was not included in the film.
If you filter these and countless other blunders, then the film can be seen ... as a good fantasy on the theme of war. Although if you bothered to find a consultant from naval historians, you could add one or two to your rating.
Those who remember the skinny girl from the adventure series "Panther", throwing enemies left and right in general, the role of Ekaterina Vilkova in the new series will appeal. We have another fighter now on the military theme. For Trubiner, who played a role in the series “Military intelligence” is also not new to play a super cool fighter-saboteur. I actually liked the series. Action above the roof. Stresses the duality of the nobleman Panin, but in the end, and with him everything becomes clear. You will have to watch the movie to see which side it is on.
The picture came out our response to the militants of the 90s, imbued with feminism.
The film's descriptions set us up for serious material, qualitatively presented: '1944. Shortly before the start of the Crimean offensive, the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Flotilla are in serious danger. German submariners are preparing a large-scale action to destroy the main combat units of the fleet. In Novorossiysk comes the captain of the second rank Sergey Saburov. '
We also understand that the main actor will be a counterintelligence agent who will oppose all German sabotage work. But, instead, through almost every frame insert a woman serving in the Smersh! (she even on the report does not know what they want from her), why is she there! She and like a rimbo with a machine gun at once storms the building with saboteurs, and the forensic expert and out of place appears here and there with ' acid mine', which gives the impression that the main role in reality in this heroine.
A few words about the actress: one of the commentators very accurately described her as a mannequin in the lead female role & #39; There is no femininity or any emotion in her. Another noted that she would be more suited to the role of warden in the Abwehr camp.
It's kind of taken, too. The reliability of the form is limping, then the cap on the female head, then with ' golden & #39; epaulettes on the field uniform and a huge brilliant cockard in battle and so on, etc. It's not like old friends met at night. Playing actors is better, worse. Computer effects, apparently, did not have enough budget.
Wanting to summarize, I thought how to briefly characterize the picture, and I remembered the performances of the team KVN & #39; Soyuz & #39; where they covered the hit group Quean - I want to break free. Unfortunately, this picture is it again. .