This picture, which, like many others in our country, was sponsored by the Cinema Foundation and filmed with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, should not be viewed with a serious expression. But please note, the film is not declared as a comedy, although it amuses the viewer noblely.
The film opens with the voice of Ivan Yankovsky, who never expresses any emotion in any of his projects, even if he plays an opera singer. Although it is worth paying tribute: open your mouth, depicting singing, he comes out perfectly.
After watching only ten minutes of this masterpiece, the viewer will be surprised by the illogical dialogues between the characters, there will be a feeling that the authors wanted the viewer to think it all up himself, and did not work hard to reveal the characters through their speech. Meaninglessness sometimes strikes, but if other authors, such as Tarantino, the simplicity of conversation played into the hand and gave the picture a certain charm, then here it looks stupid and empty.
It gets worse. Obviously, the director wanted to show that he has a special cinematic look, adding angles and shots to his work that resemble pictures from the Pintest website. This is not a bad thing, but unfortunately, all these beautiful pictures are not unique, although it seems that the authors want to admit that they shot an art house. Cinematography and editing are the most disappointing parts of this film, despite all the previous flaws. The way the camera jumps from one to the other can cause an attack of epilepsy even in a person who has not suffered from this ailment before. For every ten minutes of the film, I think there are 150 glues, which, I think, does not add to the quality of the film.
The characters themselves leave much to be desired. They are empty, which is not revealed. There is Andrei, he is obsessed with Sofia and the idea of singing the part of Herman. Sophia is a talented singer who likes to gamble and spends all her money on them. There's Andrei's girlfriend, she's Sofia's niece and she hates her. Okay. These are all the characteristics of the characters, we are not told anything more about them. Their motivation is not always clear either. The blind confidence of Yankovsky’s character in winning is completely unfounded. If Richie in “Cards, Money, Two Guns” the hero knew exactly how to determine the size of the cards on the opponent’s hands, and knew how to win, then here the character foolishly hopes for luck. And if the character of Richie lost only because the opponent was dishonest, then in the “Dame of spades” the hero was simply too arrogant.
I would like to tell you about the one plus of this film. The plus that prompted me to watch it was filming scenes in the theater, namely the opera itself. Very attractive scenery, interesting work with light. As a theater lover, I was very happy.
Disappointing was the scene where the main character wanted to commit suicide on stage, but he failed. This idea comes from Birdman, I have absolutely no doubt about it. But if in the film of 2013, this scene showed the growth of the hero, how he changed, brought him fame and praise, then in the picture of Lungin, no one seemed to pay attention to the bleeding man on stage.
Even after writing this review, I still couldn’t answer all the questions I have for this film. I do not recommend watching it, if you want to get acquainted with the Queen of Spades, it is better to go to the opera, or to the theater, or read the original work, but do not watch this movie. If you’ve never seen, read, or heard of The Queen of Spades, don’t look unless you want to waste two hours of your time.
5.5 out of 10
Of course, it's a strange movie. Everything in it is conditional, fake, theatrical - and intrigue, and space, and plastic, and the general isolation of the world: inserts of modern Moscow look very strange next to casinos and dollars, which seem to be a relic of some other era (I am twenty-one, I found the dollar in Russia only by books). This is not the Text, lovingly examining Moscow (and Lobnya) from all sides of the two thousand nineteenth, nor the Topys, in which the material world, despite the fragility and doubtfulness of everything that is happening, is still real and tangible. Here the bodies are twisted, and the emotions are strange, and everything turns into a theater where there should be no theater, while behind the scenes and everyday life is almost not visible: such a theater without inside out, with only one front side.
The main character is another boy who has read one book in his life (or it would be better to stop at the primer). Ivan Yankovsky is good in this role, but I am biased and ready to forgive him and the “potousho” and the haunted look of the underside, he is too magnetically beautiful. Ksenia Rappoport here is alive and brighter than all, you can not take your eyes off, although the role of her heroine is not quite clear.
As a matter of fact, the film’s main weakness is that no one’s role is entirely clear—it’s not entirely clear what he’s trying to say. But in tension keeps you healthy, and for some scenes you watch with bated breath; separately good, for all their strangeness, the bursting moon and a quiet song at the very end. Many things could be revealed better, they have potential, but as if there was not enough space in a two-hour film: it is difficult to tell all the stories at once, they do not fit and because of this crumple, because, for example, Lisa does not have enough screen time clearly.
This is not a film adaptation of Pushkin, or even an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s opera, but rather a classic story about how life suddenly begins to imitate art to the point of insanity; we could tell this story better, but what turned out has its own cold, distorted charm. It is somewhat similar to Renata Litvinova’s “North Wind”, another theatrical story with a few artificial passions, which, despite the obvious weakness of the script, is still not boring to watch.
In an attempt to unravel the logic of the boy Herman, it seemed that the whole point of this postmodern reading of Pushkin is to show by what means actors consciously or being manipulated (in Lisa’s case) try to prove first of all to themselves that they have a right to a certain professional status, fame and all the symbols of success attached to it. The loss of the new Herman, including how he will continue to dispose of himself and his last possessions, is neither mysticism nor coincidence. This is a program that has been helped a bit from the outside, although it looks like the story of a single obsession.
On the other hand, the author of the interpretation slightly ironically over how successful in the first generation because of the complex of mongrels cross the boundaries of reason in an effort to correspond to their place in life. Trying to identify with the former rich. Sophia Mayer is an imperious, attractive and at the same time vulgar diva, reminiscent of the Primadonna of the Russian stage in the manner of communication. The new Herman-Andrey comes from a family of limiters, as evidenced by a sleeping paradise from childhood memories and a vulgar saying, which in fact should have weathered for years of drill, that in music schools and conservatories and not so backward and provincial reworked.
And of course, the emphasis is that our whole life is a game. Meaningful focus on its modern rules and on who is assigned a role in it: 'You turned the opera of the brilliant Tchaikovsky into a mess, into kitsch!'
Charge on the collision of the prudent greed of Western civilization with the thirst for life, naivety and inexperience of new consumers and participants in the business world. And, as in Pushkin’s ' The Lady of Spades', a parable about the impossibility of overcoming fate, becoming someone you are not by your inner nature.
At the first view - frost on the skin and tears in the eyes. But already at the second flies separated from the cutlets, and it became quite obvious that these emotions are not related to ' Lady of spades' Lungina, and to ' Queen of Spades' Tchaikovsky.
Oh, this 'Lady of Spades'! Greek tragedy on Russian soil. A classic example of a clinic of self-destructive passions. From childhood - the best provocation on 'bad behavior' as opposed to philistine vulgarity. Best Musical Work in the World. ' Queen of Spades' - The Best! ' Queen of Spades' - Forever! But not 'Dame of spades'.
The efforts of Yankovsky and Rappoport deserve better use in cinema. The girl who played Lisa (name, of course, I do not remember), in the movie can not be used in any side.
5 out of 10
If not for all these positive reviews of critics, of which at least one, the plague, mentioned the fact that in this film there are jigit from the car service, and that the actor for the main role does not pronounce vowels ...
Whatever.
Who is now in the Russian cinema reproach them.
Vowel letters are gone as a relic of the past.
- What is “The Queen of Spades” about? asks the great opera singer in the image of a beautiful woman, Xenia Rappoport, whose fateful appearance is supported by a set of notebook fam-fatal: red outfits, lipstick and manicure.
"The Queen of Spades," her red lips and expressive smokey-eyes tell us, is a story about money.
The mention of Tchaikovsky softens a little and agrees to add another eternal value to money:
- Well, more about sex.
Well, every time and every nation has the values they deserve.
But to make a film about it that lasts two hours... The screen cracks from convulsive attempts to pull a new Russian owl on the Pushkin globe.
- I am Herman, I am Herman! - rotating his eyes and carefully protruding the glands on the cheekbones, trying to convince the viewer another screen obscene.
- You're German, you're German! - echo his red lips and some pale girl, discharged from the TV series "Daughters", "Mothers" or what else, I do not know what is now pleasing the Russian viewer on TV, except for stories about how we got up from our knees and kaaak step.
- No, I'm better than Herman! - changes his mind character with ventilators. I want to sing, so I have to win at the casino.
Closer to the final, he again changes his mind and calls the opera, in which he kind of dreamed of participating, a “pathetic production”, because in fact he dreamed not of this at all, but of winning a mile in the casino to buy a diamond necklace to the vile old woman, to whom he belonged since childhood.
And no, it's not hard drugs. Oh, if it were hard drugs.
This is the logic of modern Russian cinema.
This scenario is normal.
Normal is the Ministry of Culture, which gave money for all this. Of course, it is not for the films of Viktor Shamirov to give them to him. Shamirov's stories aren't about money or sex. As we all know, money comes with money. Take a picture of them or about vodka and the Ministry of Culture will help.
And it no longer surprises me that this is Lungin, who once made Taxi Blues and Luna Park. When they were, those blues with moon parks. How much water has flowed since then, not to mention money.
Here's "Golden Eagle" for the best male role, given to a person who talks without pauses and vowels: "Statymna goat?" and until blue clutches his jaw, depicting the struggle of either money with cruel rock, or sex with money, or cold water for the right to vote (the film is somehow not very decided on what he is about) - this is his "Golden Eagle" still surprises me.
But not too much.
Contemporary Russian cinema is gradually fostering severe stoicism. I have already been educated in me, soon it will not be surprising at all.
Do not weep, the viewer, will educate in you.
Today I am, tomorrow you.
Once again I decided to give a chance to modern domestic cinema, once again I am disappointed.
Trailer ' Ladies of the Peak' I saw the movie at the cinema, it seemed tempting, I left it in my head with the hope of seeing it. Having learned that the film was directed by the author 'Islands' Pavel Lungin, I hoped that this story would not leave me indifferent. But with every minute of watching, my hopes fell into the sand.
Which I didn't like.
1. Failed game. No, Ksenia Rappoport is beautiful, she is generally a diamond of modern Russian cinema, and she stretched out her role here as best she could. We can say that the film in general very much avoided a complete failure. But the main character was still not an opera prima, but her ward and part-time young lover, singer Andrei. Here in terms of acting is a complete failure. I understand that Ivan Yankovsky’s grandfather was great, but this is not a reason to take the lead. Absolutely the same in all cases facial expressions of a drug addict, no plasticity, tearing. Well, yes, shone a young strong ass, but, honestly, this is not enough for the main role.
2. Lack of logic. I really didn't expect this from Lungin. The logic in the film is limping. Andrey ceases to be like Hermann, and he knows that Herrmann eventually suffered a disaster. Where does a poor opera singer, who does not have a particularly important role in the theater, take 47,000 USD for the first game? And for what merits are he so easily given 300 thousand of these same U.S. hot Caucasian guys?
As for Sophia, there are questions. She is an unreal prima opera, which is met at home after 27 years of living abroad. I'm sorry, but how old are you? Even if she hit the stage at 25, she must be over 50 when she returns. But Rappoport doesn't seem to be that old. These logical impasses can go on and on. A lot of unanswered questions.
3. The biggest disappointment. This film will certainly not like anyone who has watched the masterpiece ' Black Swan'. Because ' Dame of Peak' this is an absolute tracing from Hollywood cinema, but the tracing is very poorly done. Recall, there is also a theatrical story, where the main character tries to achieve perfection in the image of a black swan, where she breaks herself, her inner world, which resists this image. There she also has a director-provocateur who pushes the ballerina to change her mind. But there's a big difference in all of this from what we saw in 'Lady of Peak'. Nina breaks her psyche for the sake of art, she was already the best ballerina, but her perfectionism does not allow falsehood, although her inner feelings resist the dark image of the swan.
Andrey does it not for art, but for money and fame, consciousness does not break itself, immediately deciding for himself that it is necessary to go the way of Hermann and himself looking for trouble on his ass.
And if the seduction of the director for Nina is a shock, then for Andrei to dump his mentor in bed is just a link in terms of conquering the stage, this is not a step towards achieving perfection.
Here it is more likely that Sophia serves art, finding a light vent, which is simply brought to a nervous state.
Even the ending in these films is similar. But if in 'Black Swan' everything is logical and complete, then in our version everything is twisted and twisted.
I will put five only for the incomparable Ksenia Rappoport and the great opera by Tchaikovsky.
She's a goddess! Or how to pull out a failed project alone.
Everything in this film is bad: from the selection and play of actors, to the plot.
The main character with the same facial expression throughout the film. Dreary. His young friend is the same. Played emotions only makeup (redness around the eyes). None of the normal work of the actors of the second plan (possibly, except for the patron.) But arrogant face even my janitor can do a good job.
The scenery is good. Music is brilliant (but you know who it is).
Plot. Here everything is compared to the zabugorny ' Black Swan'. I disagree. There, paranoia is great, here at the level of a children's matinee. The plot twists are absurd and ridiculous. Especially when it comes to bandits. About the movement of money (singer, singer, philanthropist, bandits) generally quiet nonsense of a madman. If this is a scam, what was it? Who is there in ' Navara' (except patron?), what is the reason for the singer? If not a scam, then what is it and why?
But there is one thing worth watching for. Xenia Rappoport game. She was always questionable about her talent, and here she is just amazing. Just missed the director. It turned out not an aging Princess Golitsyn, and one hundred percent Nastasya Filippovna from ' Idiot' Dostoevsky. But that doesn’t make her any less beautiful.
She is defiantly greedy and inhuman. Dazzlingly beautiful and attractive. A demoness is not allowed. She laughs not only at Herman, at the whole world. Although she is incurably addicted to games and alcohol and, of course, money. She is the embodiment of evil, but it is impossible not to fall in love with her. She's perfect. Her feminine energy, charm, self-confidence turn off the brains of men around. To fall in love and die of grief.
For the whole film there is not a single passing scene with the main character, everywhere Rappoport played brilliantly. Plus makeup and costumes. Love pleasures are filmed luxuriously with a strong energy of passion of the heroes (by the way, the ass of the hero was superfluous), but without vulgarity and boobs (more often the bet is on nudity).
In general, it is worth watching only because of the main character, she is a goddess. The rest of the scenes can be rewinded boldly, the plot is still a failure.
A tenth grade? No grade. Like a player who came on as a substitute 5 minutes before the end and did not even have time to touch the ball, but tried.
Popular opera singer Sophia Mayer, upon arrival in Russia, considers putting Tchaikovsky’s “Lady of Spades” on stage. Along the way, she meets her niece, who will actually play her role in the play. She also has a boyfriend, Andrei, who just craves the role of Herman in this play. Around them three will be an unprecedented whirlwind, where will be tested and reason, passion and love.
This is the plot of the new film by Pavel Lungin “Lady of the Peak”. The picture combines a drama about the pursuit of a dream, a thriller component about the obsession with this very dream. And, of course, the power of love. Viewing unwittingly recall the film Darren Aranofsky “Black Swan”, where black oppressive colors literally ripped off the main character of her cover. The same thing happens with Yankovsky’s hero, Andrei. His obsession with acting on Herman's stage simply turns into a crazy game between life and death, where only he should be the winner, because, as you know, Herman lost for the third time. But having plunged into the role of Herman, Andrei ceases to see where the line between reality and rationality, madness and common sense lies. Continuing to absorb everything Herman, Andrew loses himself. And now his main goal is to play this Herman on stage in order to conquer the whole world. And there is money and fame.
The opera singer Sophia Mayer will help him in this, for whom Andrei is just a toy. And mockingly, with a little slyness, she'll show him the beauty of the world. Will Andrew see all this trick and a cruel joke? No, he's Herman, not Andrei anymore. And the mind will return to him only after he realizes that there is real life before him, but it will be too late. Russian roulette doesn't wait. One bullet, two people, and death are all the ingredients of sudden chance. Will he be lucky this time?
I must say, before you another good Russian film, which is pleasant to watch. His whirlwind pitch, excellent acting, plot and catchy drama do not let you take your eyes off throughout the viewing. Most of all, of course, Iankovsky's game is impressive. The verified image of a psychologically confused person is shown very well. Scenes with an abundance of insecurity, recklessness and unbalanced Andrew the most relish of the whole film. Clear images, scenery, an atmosphere of hopelessness and suspense - there are all the components of a good thriller. It's still decent for Russian cinema.
The film is interesting not so much for its plot, although the intrigue is fascinating, but it often seemed predictable. Interesting director's moves, metaphors with which the director ridicules certain types.
The type of psycho-egomaniac demonstrates the desire of a person to live his whole life on display. The image of a cynical bitch succeeded Rapoport, each time you wonder how a woman can be so soulless. This is one of the fetishes of our time.
How the story turned out and how it ended is secondary to me. The main thing is how real emotions and relationships are shown in the process. Fears for heroes can reach the heat.
One of the master moves I consider metaphorical language, the connection of life and theater. I had a question after watching "Where does the theater end and life begin?"
A couple of days ago, for the first time read “The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin, after which I decided to fix the material by watching the film.
I liked the movie "Lady of Spades." The whole cast was new to me: I did not see the works of Rappoport and Jankovsky, as well as the performers who played supporting roles. But it was an exact hit in the images created by Pushkin. Andrey (Yankovsky) is a typical German. He's weird, he's hungry for money and he's willing to do anything for it. Yankovsky played a great role, that sometimes you think it's all a talented game, or is he in life like that? And, of course, Rappoport played an imperious, luxurious woman and an opera singer who knows how to conquer hearts and master the mind.
What's the movie about? For me about money, about dreams and passion.
What we strive to become is not always what we really want. What did Yankowski's hero want? Being Hermann to get rich like him? Or be Hermann to become a celebrated opera singer? The answer is obvious. In the pursuit of dreams, you can lose yourself. He became Hermann, completely repeating his fate.
Hence the conclusion is as follows: you do not need to invent ideals and blindly imitate them. After all, everyone has their own way. Pay close attention to what you dream about. Dreams tend to come true...
For a long time postponed watching the film Pavel Lungin “Lady of spades”, and recently decided to do the same. Now I can clearly understand what was holding me back, despite the grinding trailer and a lot of rave reviews. Fear of disappointment in the great master. Because even Woody Allen sometimes changes luck.
Without diminishing the merits of Lungin as one of the most talented domestic directors, I must say that the film, if not disappointed, then did not please. In some places just laughed despite the famously twisted plot. In my opinion, it could have been more interesting. Fortunately, the material that served as the basis of the script, more than obliging. Pushkin, after all...
I'll start with Pushkin. For those who have never read Pushkin’s immortal work, what is happening on the screen may seem like a complete galimatia. Well, or an incomprehensible game for life, but for death. However, even for those who read, it is unlikely that the plan of the director was fully revealed. And that's the problem with the movie. Perhaps the script is weak for a psychological thriller. And Lungin swung at the thriller. Psychological. I understand that “Lady of Spades” is far from an adaptation of Pushkin’s novel, and not even a staging of Tchaikovsky’s opera, but it is better to have one of the two than a questionable postmodern cartoon.
There is absolutely no desire to retell the content of the picture, because previous reviewers have done this many times. I will focus on a few scenes that have not left me indifferent. Sophia Meyer’s first appearance was really promising. I will not hide the fact that being a longtime fan of Ksenia Rappoport (I saw her not only on the screen, but also on the stage of the theater), I follow all her new works in the cinema. Therefore, I am used to the fact that such a brilliant actress has no passing roles. She is one of the few modern movie stars who not only creates screen images, but also inscribes them in the history of Russian cinema. And whether she can not cope with the role of an opera diva, a world celebrity, especially since there was already experience ("Yuriev Day" by Kirill Serebrennikov). However, the closer the denouement was, the more uninteresting I became the fate of her character in the film by Pavel Lungin. Why? Probably because the director could not really reveal the character of the “femme fatale” and the motives of her actions. Strangely, whether Sophia Meyer overtook retribution for the evil that she committed (I still do not understand why this lady was even qualified for such a thing) remained behind the scenes. But in “Helena” Zvyagintsev retribution was in the air, it could be felt with nerve endings even through the TV screen.
Although, in general, there are no questions about the game of Ksenia Rappoport. She literally turned into a villain-seductress. In the camera lens many times get her eyes - demonic eyes, whether possessed or crazy woman. But Sophia Mayer's laughter made me nervous. The actress clearly overplayed.
The main male role went to the young Ivan Yankovsky, which in itself is right. Such roles should be played by young people, and the next morning after the premiere wake up famous. In fact, it is difficult to evaluate the work of Yankovsky, because despite all his efforts, his hero turned out to be so unsaid that old Freud turned over in his grave, probably. After all, in the synopsis for the film, and according to the idea of the film’s authors, a unique tenor Andrei, who dreams of big roles and wipes his pants on the “bench” in the opera house, not only is the man ambitious, but also mystically connected with the main character Sofia Mayer. I didn’t see either of them in the movie. Instead of ambition – imbalance, complexity and doom, and the so-called connection on the screen is limited only to the love scene and meaningful phrase in the finale, as if the hero in childhood began to belong to Sofia. For me, these two characters still remained unrelated to each other by any fateful ties, and their relationship in the film is subordinated exclusively to the will of the director.
Almost to the middle of the film, I was tormented by what Ivan Yankovsky looks like. And I found that he looked something like a young Helmut Berger. Only the scale of talent will be more modest. But our guy still has a lot to do, I think. And Visconti could use it. Not literally, of course. After all, almost every actor has a director who does this actor.
By the way, if I had forty-seven thousand dollars, I would suffer and fall into hysteria from sitting in a theater somewhere without roles. Don't know. To each his own, I guess. But to bribe the director or art director would certainly try!
Oh, Lisa, poor Lisa, aka Maria Kurdenevich! She suffered from her own aunt and a bad boyfriend. However, when an old friend and part-time sponsor Mayer (well, with what joy?) Oleg (Igor Mirkurbanov) presents a wax figure of her stage heroine as a gift to the newly minted opera diva, all sympathy and all the vaunted mysticism collapse, for inevitable parallels with Sofia arise. Was it worth it, right? . .
If we talk about theater in the cinema, the scenes of rehearsals and the performance itself, when the divine music of Tchaikovsky sounds, are truly fascinating. Still, there are segments in the film that succeeded in glory. And I would watch the whole theater for two hours if the director had the courage and imagination to create a story behind the scenes. But instead, some criminal elements appear on the stage and brutally deal with the loser. Is that really how Russia looks from Paris? This is about Lungin, who lives in Europe.
In general, I recommend not to watch the movie “Lady of the Peak” for the night. And from Pavel Lungin, the viewer has the right to expect more convincing works.
6 out of 10
The first thought at the beginning of the credits is, 'Cool movie, though!'
This is not the first time I am convinced that watching a film should be approached without any preliminary study of the cast, reviews of critics, prizes received, rumors, etc. So I started watching this movie unexpectedly, having only a memory of the trailer I saw on television.
So, ' Lady of the Peak' is a very cool movie. After the first review, there was a desire to repeat it to consider the details. There was no feeling of boredom or distraction for a minute. The film has a holistic plot with a twist, climax and denouement, and intrigue - how will it end?
The only mark is the not very convincing articulation of Xenia Rappoport when performing opera arias. But at the moment does not spoil the impression, since she does it only a couple or three times (unlike the other main characters, who are not suspected of unprofessional opera work).
The film has a very beautiful and spectacular visual range, which, along with the performance of acting tasks, creates a general impression of the picture.
Anyone who appreciates full-fledged intriguing mystical paintings, I highly recommend this film. The film does not pretend to be genius, but contributes to the work of the viewer’s thought on a given topic. And this is the most important value of any artistic work.
Once again, when watching domestic cinema, there is a feeling of a merciless deadline constantly hanging over the entire film crew. As if the script as such is absent, and the timing is burning, and the whole process is like bare improvisation, it should be noted not the most successful. Heroes cardboard, like robotics switches switch switching switch from one mode to another, personality transformation, internal torment, negotiations with conscience, the viewer does not see anything of this, ' good cop' turns into ' bad' at the click of a finger. This is the result of the talentless play of the young cast of the film and the failure of the director, who could not lack the talent to drape, since he took the boy to his team & #39; by acquaintance & #39; It is funny to see how Ivan Yankovsky, who received the main role on the family basis, tries to act out the tragedy of a simple guy without connections and money in the world of bohemian show business.
And it would be nice if the film was another full-length video from YouTube, as often happens with modern Russian films. But as a director acted SAM Lungin, and the main female role in Rappoport, which as a premium perfume, his game creates a stunning, rich plume. How such a diverse composition was formed, I do not know.
And also these Caucasian resolutes, from whom our hero so carelessly borrowed 350 thousand dollars. Filled with ascomine, a stereotyped image of evil, in the manner of the Russian mafia in American militants.
The only thing that pleased the 120 minutes of the action was the opera parts, scenery and costumes of the theatrical production, which cost two broken human lives.
There was a desire after watching this film-sketch, to go to listen to the original opera in a beautiful evening outfit, in the ears and on the neck of diamonds, on the eyes of the veil of languid passion, and forward confident gait from the thigh, to try on the mask of the high-society lady for a couple of hours. And then run home, back to plush pajamas and woolly socks, because being yourself is a true happiness.
After the trailer, I really wanted to see this movie. The trailer, as if crazy action excited its psychological thread, but after watching it again realized how much a stunning trailer and not quite enchanting movie can be. I don’t mean to say that the film is bad or uninteresting. It's wonderful as a drama, but unconvincing as a psychological thriller.
The production itself looks very high-quality and stylish, it pleases the eye, from which I want to look further to the very end. But all psychologism was hidden, eaten or hidden in the eyes of the young Yankovsky. Actress Ksenia Rapoport looked spectacular, but not too bright, although she could add a little spark for the greater joy of the audience.
After watching it, I had the impression that this film is not about the hero Herman and his tragedy, but there is more tragedy in the young Lisa performed by Maria Kurdenevich. That's where the real horror and sadness is. It is Lisa who is experiencing a psychological trauma and trying to survive it, pass through herself and live on. Here is the beauty of a brilliant director's production. I don't know if it was an accident or if it was the director's real goal and job, who knows. But the film is definitely worth seeing. Personally, I think the main mistake of the film is its timing – two hours. Now, if you cut and cut a little bit, it would be a great thing for all time.
By the way, I very often see in many films how the success of the duel (Russian roulette) in the film ' Deer Hunter' haunts many directors and screenwriters. Here and here did not do away with a deadly contest, where two people decide their fate with one bullet to the amusement of the crowd.
Good to see you all!
Quote from the opera 'The Queen of Spades': ' That our lives are a game!'
After many years of immigration, the world-famous opera diva Sophia Mayer returns to Russia. Her goal is to stage in her native opera house 'The Queen of Spades'. She will play the Countess herself, the role of Lisa will be played by Sophia’s niece, who hates her aunt, and Herman must be performed by the main director of the theater Golovin. However, the ambitious young tenor Andrei does not agree with this distribution. He believes that he is Herman in the flesh, and now he is ready to do anything to prove his rightness to Sophia Meyer.
At the decision-making stage ' watch - do not watch' new film by Pavel Lungin ' Dame Peak' left no chance for long thinking. Firstly, attracted the figure of Lungin herself, as the director of such, albeit controversial, but bright and noticeable paintings as ' Tsar', ' Island' and ' Taxi-blues'. Secondly, the participation of one of the most talented actresses of modern Russia Ksenia Rappoport in this film was of interest. Thirdly, the idea itself was intriguing - the immortal work ' The Queen of Spades' on the verge of fantasy and reality, because of which this film was constantly compared on the network with the excellent psychological thriller Darren Aronofsky ' Black Swan' which, by the way, I liked very much. However, unfortunately, many of my expectations for this picture have not been fully satisfied.
Of course, the impressions are very mixed. For example, I liked everything in this film that had to do with the visuals, atmosphere and musical accompaniment. Lungin applied a lot of cool staging solutions, made a fashionable, juicy picture, and, what was especially pleased, actually put the opera inside the film: that is, he created the scenery, distributed the roles, acted out and shot the key scenes of this immortal work. All this was done very stylishly and brightly. The script of the tape is a middle for half. It seems that there is an intriguing plot, interesting plot twists, but at the same time the final of the tape is read much in advance, and I did not catch the depth of a special story. Well, yes, the guy moved on the basis of the personification of himself with Herman, well, yes & #39; I am a jeering creature or have the right' (although this is Dostoevsky, but the line is clearly read). So what? That's it.
What struck me especially was the acting. I know how Ksenia Rappoport can play, I have seen quite a lot of films with her, and, for example, in such films as '2 days' or 'Stranger' Ksenia proves her right to be called a brilliant, talented actress. But the image created by her in the film ' Dame Peak', I, to my great regret, can not contribute to the Golden Fund of roles of Xenia Rappoport. In my opinion, her opera diva Mayer looked very tense, unnatural, pinched. The same can be said about the young Yankovsky, who played very unevenly - at times his madness looked very impressive, and at times he clearly overplayed. But the worst nightmare is the supporting roles, especially performed by Maria Kurdenevich and Igor Mirkurbanov. Where Lungin dug up these performers I absolutely do not understand, but they played, as it seems to me, just ugly, which constantly spoiled the impression.
The result was a film from the category, as I like to say, 'span on the ruble, hit on the penny' Too bad. With this level of technical implementation, it would be possible to pay a little more attention to the script and selection of the cast. But it turned out the way it did. That’s pretty average.
This movie is about the fact that even gods are human. They are mortal, even if they manage to trick her around. They are hungry, even if they get everything they want. They get their way and they lose. They love it, but they learn to walk on their heads to get covered in stardust. And they are us.
I know everything is always subjective. And this film will only appeal to those who find something to cling to. Here I found (and it's not even a beautiful cheeky Yankovsky, and believe me, he's good). The fact is that there is hardly a hero in the film who can be completely sympathetic. Almost all the characters here are somehow unpleasant, but at the same time they are very alive: they understand and feel, and you realize that from the inside out, every talented and even more than successful and barely achieved stardom has its own weaknesses and desires.
Listening to the arias from the opera ' The Queen of Spades' performed by the soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, you begin to believe that a person is able to jump above his head, colonize Mars, achieve immortality and peace in the world, if there are those who can sing.
However, you can cling to the little things in this film, each of which, like a thread, leads to something more. Then this film is about expensive beautiful cars and worthless diamonds, about a huge empty house, about the exploded moon, about talent, about connections, about risk, about luck and bad luck, about miracle and betrayal ... It's about love and death, because ultimately, all the stories on Earth are about that. Even you and I are about it. It’s also about hell inside and emptiness outside, or quite the opposite. What do you think?
A story of passion and madness, love and betrayal, risk and despair. “Lady of Peak” by Pavel Lungin with Ksenia Rappaport and Ivan Yankovsky presented the viewer with a good psychological, beautifully staged thriller, in which the main chain of events led the viewer to the Bolshoi Theater stage, where among the magnificent scenery the young singer Andrei (Yankovsky), will perform the main part of his life – the part of Herman.
The film was liked primarily by the beauty of theatrical scenery and costumes. “Lady of Peak” is perhaps a good example of where you can see the result of millions of investments in the budget. The last and most important part of the film, focused on the day of the premiere of the production, presents the viewer with a magnificent combination of creativity in terms of stage design, and the opera parts, albeit somewhat tire a person who is not used to them, but still give pleasure to the thunderousness and layer of human voices.
The painting by Pavel Lungin is a cunning weave of intrigues in human society, offering a kind of cocktail of love, greed, walking on the heads of other people for their own benefit, betrayal, friendship from childhood, not knowing the measure of gambling, searching for the guilty among their surroundings at the pity of their beloved.
Along with the positive features of the characters and the demonstration of their shortcomings, Lungin presents to the viewer the hypocritical defecations of the main characters, where Andrei (Ivan Yankovsky) is ready to become a litter and get what he wants through the bed, Sophia Mayer (Rapoport) weaves dirty intrigues inside his own team, getting pleasure from the fact that she is licked and kissed, savoring how she delivers pain to the closest people, Oleg (Mirkurbanov), although he makes sure that his money investments do not go to the wind in time, not trying to stop someone from this critical step. Here is a broken heart, found, if you believe the finale, solace in a rich papillon and became, in fact, the same litter as Andrew. Here is the cattle and arrogant attitude of Vsevolod Golovin (Simonov) to a younger, and therefore more gambled and risky opponent.
In short, “Lady of spades” is a serious set of human psychology, which is interesting to observe and which is interesting to study both collectively and individually.
The only thing I didn’t like was the performance of his role by Yankovsky. In his character and manner of speaking, he was similar to Mels from Stilag, who appeared with the same as a pompous exclamation in his voice.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
A particularly good script. In the sense that Lungin traditionally could not resist and took a few completely optional steps down the level, to meet the wider layers of the audience. Forgetting that really broad layers live much deeper. And so – and the bar lowered, and did not acquire supporters.
And yet the movie worked. And in performance - famously, energetically, with excellent acting work. And by design. The idea is generally cool: Pushkin’s drama to the music of Tchaikovsky, in parallel on stage and in life, is played by the real Hermann and the real Countess. Herrmann is a classic middle peasant, graciously admitted to the higher realms, not realizing that he is here forever, genetically alien, naively suggesting that a bohemian membership card can be bought. The countess is only beginning to age outside, but has long since decrepit diva, for which the casino is much more acute than life, starts with Hermann / Hermann a game of Peak Lady at once on two sites and almost dies (nearly losing) breaks the bank.
And again, Pushkin is right: in this life, the Hermanns do not win.
' Dame Peak' is not something new and original, but just a domestic version of 'Black Swan' Without any prejudice, ' Black Swan' is many times superior in quality (direction, acting, script) our next misunderstanding.
I love psychological films, and I respect the creators who undertake to bring to life the most unusual ideas. Pavel Lungin has worthy works of this genre, but 'Dame of Peak' is a miss on the full program.
The whole idea is obvious from the beginning and how the events unfold by the end of the film is not even interesting. The script suffers, there are no serious dialogues, no scenes that would reflect the inner world of the characters, nothing. From the first minutes, the main character, Andrei, behaves like a zombified paranoid, that at the beginning and at the end - the facial expression does not change in principle. There’s no psychological transformation (and the movie is really about it), a flood of crazy inappropriate scenes and fake play. Returning to the comparison with the Black Swan & #39, I would like to note that just foreign authors tried to show the audience the heroine and fully reveal the character, even in such a psychedelic format. And in 'Lady of Peak' we probably deliberately show the hero-dummy to make it easier to perceive.
The acting game leaves much to be desired. I have already spoken about the main character performed by Ivan Yankovsky, there is actually nothing to discuss. But Ksenia Rappoport is an ambiguous figure. I saw her in a similar genre in the film ' Double Hour' and I really enjoyed it. Probably because, again, Italian filmmakers make such films more competently. In 'Lady Peak' she tries, and it's obvious ... and the viewer should not be able to see it. The undisclosed image, the absence of a backstory of the heroine very spoils the overall impression. Sofia Meyer is not just an opera bitch, it is a state of mind, a way of life and a way of thinking. But not in this movie. Makeup in style 'smoky ice' and crazy laughter is not enough to become a Lady of Peak.
Alas, gentlemen, once again compatriots sadden the audience with their nightmarish work. Too bad.
I watched P. Lungin’s new movie, the impression is good. The film is pleasant: a lot from life, behind the scenes, fantasies of bohemian; there are oddities, but in life itself there are many obstacles and irregularities.
Ksenia Rappoport struck by the similarity with our polyphony teacher: damn charm, brilliant professionalism, impeccable taste, vulgarity and endless hints.
Herman was beautiful; the singing is wonderful, the music chosen (it is these fragments of the opera by P. Tchaikovsky & #39; The Queen of Spades & #39; from the part of Herman), as if in his performance (more than 80 people of the Bolshoi Theater recorded), leads away and does not let go. The young beautiful body in the frame looked very convincing: naked Yankovsky, in the role of tenor Andrei in strangers ' beads', looking at himself in the mirror as ' self-love', Narcissus - the moment clearly represents his type. I don’t think this is an extra frame of the film (read reviews and reviews: this scene is a stumbling block).
Lisa is a rather contrasting character, it turned out to be funny: there are no such modest singers, of course (in my lifetime, at least), but among musicians in general, such an image takes place.
In the role of ' oddities' are angry Asians who enthusiastically play in ' Russian roulette' with a stretch, a friend patron is possible, as is ' Caucasian mafia'.
The film is a parallel ' Black Swan' where the artist with his whole being tries to follow the path of the plot, realizing a dream, living in the role: the character's living, up to physiology, emotions, thinking, following the path of Raskolnikov', a desperate and desperate criminal.
At the end, you begin to doubt why, why and how Herman puts himself in such an uncomfortable position, then you start digging into your head, remember the plot of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky (and the plots are very different, motives and outcomes), and you remember your personal attitude to Herman, you think, ' so you need' and the hero of the film, in the meantime, begins to irritate and surprise; you say to yourself: ' Stop, boy!' but Andrei the singer carries. The very process of thinking about Herman, Andrey, yourself, comparing - this is a high. Romanticism is in the film.
Aria Dalila from Samson, with whom the film begins, and periodically occurs for a long time, still continues to sound in my head, which is very cool.
Thank you! It's not a bad domestic movie.
Everything would be fine if it weren’t so sad. If this film was directed by a young, aspiring director, then a lot would be fine. But since it's Pavel Lungin, it's not okay. A lot of questions about the script. Something does not fit, but the plot is interesting in itself.
The hero wanted to become Hermann, knowing that he lost everything in the original. If the hero did not lose, he would not be the real Herrmann, and to lose is to condemn himself to disaster, which he did not want. I didn’t know the story of this drama, but I did. What he wanted was not clear.
The Caucasian bandits are a separate topic. How can a guy who sings in an opera house ever cross paths with them, he doesn't even have a car! A childhood friend, even who allegedly saved him, well, it is very unreliable, these are completely different people from different circles, and in adult life, especially with such a character as the hero, they would not meet. It is also not clear about love, whether Lisa loved the hero is completely unclear, only in the end she wanted to save, but somehow unconvincing.
Ksenia Rappoport, although beautiful, but very young looks for a diva who returned after so many years, she should be at least fifty, or even more. And the bed scenes are very strange, nothing foreshadowed at all. No one wanted or seduced anyone, and suddenly in the same bed.
And finally, the big question. What happened to the actor cast as Herman in the beginning? How did he get so sick? Did you just accidentally get sick? Is this the case in light of the importance of all this?
And the end. How Sophia took the money, and what happened there is unclear.
Beautiful scenery on stage, and the patron's house, although strange, but another would not fit into the picture as a whole. And the music, of course, is magnificent, and excerpts from the arias.
But Lisa does not look like a singer, voice and facial expressions do not coincide. The voice is separate and Lisa is on her own.
One last question. Since nothing is known about the story of the hero, except that he fell through the ice, it is certainly interesting how you can save 47 thousand dollars without playing the main roles. Do you want to break the lights in the workshop?
In general, it seems that Pavel Lungin did not like this film and did not want to make it. Unless he was forced or paid...
Pushkin also has scenes of violence.
This is true, in Russian classics you can find many plots that Hollywood screenwriters did not dream of. And the idea of transferring Pushkin’s Queen of Spades to modern realities is very interesting. Could be a great thriller with elements of drama and even horror.
You could. But he didn't.
But in order. Opera diva Sofia Mayer returns to Moscow from abroad. She returns to stage the legendary opera The Queen of Spades. Sophia is very eccentric and egocentric, lives in a country house of a lover, where she collects wax images of herself. She also has a skeleton in her closet – Sofia loves gambling and spends all her money in the casino. In Russia, the singer meets her niece Lisa. A long time ago, Sophia ruined her mother’s career, as Lisa reminds us every five minutes. Lisa has a lover – opera singer Andrei, who is catastrophically unlucky in life. He has an amazing voice, but he brings neither fame nor money to the owner. And for the role of Hermann in the “Lady of Spades”, Andrei decides to sell his soul. Like the Pushkin hero, he puts his entire future on three cherished cards - a three, seven, an ace.
It must be admitted that the action of the film is growing, according to all the laws of the genre. After a boring start, from which I wanted to yawn, the ending turned out to be interesting, even exciting. Ksenia Rappoport as always great, Ivan Yankovsky looked very pale at first, but then kind of played out. The actress is not a Lisa. Maybe that’s what it was designed to be.
All the intrigue is killed by terrible, indistinct dialogue. Not at all Pushkin. And a very stretched action. Packed in an hour and a little, it could be dynamic. And so, the first half of the film wanted to sleep, and only closer to the final picture becomes really interesting.
The most booby-boobed classic sometimes desperately needs flies to snatch it from its wrinkled face, wipe its blush from it, remove its cap with fire ribbons from its balding head, and from an old-fashioned crooked body - figma, robe and corset of later respectful readings - and look at it naked in all its time-processed anatomy. So that under the nostalgic grace of the prophesy of times, in which ' there were no railways, no highways, no gas, no stearin light, no disappointed young men with glass, no sweet Camellia ladies, naive times of Masonic lodges, Martinists, Tugendbund Miloradovich, Davydov, Pushkins' pulsating, sweaty, porous flesh of living and recognizable by us according to the physiological logic of life. So that we can try on those passions and those movements of the soul and give them our hormonal-emotional response, and not fake squeaks in the stuffy air of greenhouses, smelling of morbid spirits of frivolous book pages. Since the same ' Queen of Spades' not frivolous once. This is a story about the Russian thirst for determinism in everything, up to the purely pro-Babilistic sphere of excitement, and the Russian naive belief in its dexterity, turnover, charm in attracting volatility and random quantities to its side. About the Russian family and all its chthonic derivatives history. And about passion, the most powerful, sexual, demanding and ruthless of all passions - chrysomania, greed, that is, for money and the power associated with it.
The deck of cards is very transparent, very philosophically symbolic: it simultaneously establishes a rigid, bureaucratically boring and inexorable card about the ranks of all figures, in which the poor jackpot, although raised above the faceless, despicable sixes, is always, always below her lady, and the lady always, always lies under the ace - and serves as an instrument for the implementation of everything random, that is, shuffling the social hierarchy through the arbitrariness of card winnings and losses. Moreover, used in divination, the card deck becomes a tool that allows you to peek into the keyhole of your own fate, to intercept fraudulently the information that we are not supposed to know, and sabotage the purity of the case. 'The Queen of Spades means secret ill-will,' - warns Hermann 'The New Physiology of Maps' but he does not listen to warnings, proudly, with truly Russian heterogeneous conceit, confident that he will be able to turn this secret ill-will to his advantage, making in his monolith an exception for himself - and will win and jump over the dreary hierarchy of officials, in which he languishes, through the light of the sky, green-palled, cold and granite, inacces, inacces, inaccessible to all pharmacies.
In general, spilled according to Pushkin’s story ' secret ill will ' the peak lady is, in fact, the element of the external environment that makes the lives of small, the determinism of traditional virtues counting people finally unbearable. ' Horror, told in a secular tone' called Akhmatova ' Queen of Spades' And Russian horror, Russian horror, its archetype is always against all decency a long-healed old woman sitting aimlessly and maliciously on a bag of money and her senile selfishness eating young lives, servilely or intentionally, out of defiance of fate, found herself in her orbit. And there is no other way out of this orbit than to endure and please, and submissively expose the neck under the vampire old woman's teeth, passionately waiting for her death - and waiting, turn with the inexorability of being bitten by a vampire into the same old woman. Because with the one who dared to challenge her, with the one who tries to rub her cheating glasses with the brazen charm, the old woman will do even more ruthlessly, having drunk not blood, but reason, pushing under her arm to kill, to stumble, to twitch.
The Russian exposure of the old woman over the stage culture, in the pop segment is quite literal, with musks and pupils at his feet and short-lived Germans succeeding each other, - it could not be better to fall on the Pushkin's canvas of young anger to the older generation, who does not give life, air, freedom, and money, money, money, anger, after Pushkin gradually tabooed, but Pushkin completely sympathetically sanctioned - both in ' and in Dubrovsk, 39; ' ' '#39;#39;##39;#'####39;''#########39;##########39;###########&#########39&&##### However, the script team Lungin was embittered most of all against not according to the order of the desired Hermann, dangerous for tightly seated in their comfortable and available current places, and therefore subject to as soon as possible neutralization, sterilization, utilization and removal of the voice sting, or else what is sought - the moon he breaks with his tenor. The secret ill-will towards the young parvenu from the sleeping areas becomes completely justified, completely legitimate, completely shared by all respected people, therefore the old woman is stylish, curly and smoky eyes, and the toilets of her ala and satin, and her dwelling is antique, fountainy, frescosten, and her dolls come to life if she needs it. These old men are not going to give up their seats. No ' today you, tomorrow me!' It'll always be just them.
Watched ' Dame of spades' Lungina, who mirrored the answer ' Black Swan'. I absolutely did not understand why such a deliberate follow-up to the plot ' Queen of Spades' in the film about the production of the play. Perfect uroboros. Formal adherence to the plot entails completely speculative turns, the absence of any psychological motivation (well, like 300,000 currency give the guy without security). A monstrous scenario, with all the undoubted merits of the component parts. Young Yankovsky is very textured, technically very good in her role Rappoport, and in the background, the casino owner in a discreet manner reminded me of either the old Rourke, or the old Chelobanov. There is no question of lighting and make-up, respectively, the music of Peter Ilyich is immortal and slightly ennobling. Why did Lungin not look back and did not remember how freely, brilliantly and uninhibitedly he improvised on Gogol themes in 'The Case of Dead Souls'?
Popular opera singer Sophia Mayer, upon arrival in Russia, considers putting Tchaikovsky’s “Lady of Spades” on stage. Along the way, she meets her niece, who will actually play her role in the play. She also has a boyfriend, Andrei, who just craves the role of Herman in this play. Around them three will be an unprecedented whirlwind, where will be tested and reason, passion and love.
This is the plot of the new film by Pavel Lungin “Lady of Peak”. The film combines an interesting drama about the pursuit of a dream, a thriller about the obsession with this very dream, and of course about the power of love. Viewing unwittingly recall the film Darren Aranofsky “Black Swan”, where black oppressive colors literally ripped off the main character of her cover. The same thing happens with Yankovsky’s hero, Andrei. His obsession with acting on Herman's stage simply turns into a crazy game between life and death, where only he should be the winner, because, as you know, Herman lost for the third time. But having plunged into the role of Herman, Andrei ceases to see where the line between reality and rationality, madness and common sense lies. Continuing to absorb everything Herman, Andrew loses himself. And now his main goal is to play this Herman on stage in order to conquer the whole world. And there is money and fame.
The opera singer Sophia Mayer will help him in this, for whom Andrei is just a toy. And mockingly, with a little slyness, she will show him the beauty of this world. Will Andrey see in all this a trick and a cruel joke – no, he is Herman, no longer Andrew. And the mind will return to him only after he realizes that there is a real life before him, but it will be too late. Russian roulette doesn't wait. One bullet, two people, and death are all the ingredients of sudden chance. Will he be lucky this time?
I must say, before you another good Russian film, which is pleasant to watch. His whirlwind pitch, excellent acting, memorable plot and catchy drama do not let you take your eyes off throughout the viewing. Drowning deeply in a movie is easy. Most of all, of course, Iankovsky's game is impressive. The verified image of a psychologically confused person is shown very well. Scenes with an abundance of insecurity, recklessness and unbalanced Andrew the most relish of the whole film. Clear images, magnificent scenery, an atmosphere of despair and pressure on the viewer - there are all components of a good thriller. You just have to start watching, and I guarantee, to break away in the future will not be so easy.
It has been about 25 years since the release of Taxi Blues, the directorial debut of Pavel Lungin, and the master continues to methodically explore the theme of the bottom, digging each time in a new direction. While Taxi Blues focused exclusively on the lower class, Lady Peak also has glamour. The plot in the plot, allusions to Pushkin’s “Dame of Spades” and the famous opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, which in turn takes its origins from the literary work of the great Russian classic – these are the main components of this mysterious tape about raging passions and ambitions, talent, treachery and excitement, filmed under the “mad”, as Lungin himself described it, the music of Peter Ilyich.
The theme of the “little man”, often touched upon in classical Russian prose, in the current age of competition and opportunity has been pushed far into the back shelf of literature and cinema, and even when it comes from there, it is considered at a 180-degree angle due to a massive change in mentality. If Gogol in “Overcoats”, Dostoevsky, Chekhov once embodied in their “little” heroes the collective image of an average Russian person, today such people are called in the American manner losers, and in our opinion losers. The phenomenon ceased to be interesting in itself, but only in the context of the problem of self-realization. If the story of Akakiy Akakievich was written in our days, the latter would certainly have to get up from his knees and prove to himself and the world that he was not a mistake either. In this regard, Pavel Lungin, who transferred the action of the famous Tchaikovsky opera to the present, managed to combine the classical old with new realities. In his German, there is at the same time something from Raskolnikov and other “pygmies” born by the authors of previous centuries, and quite typical features for today. Enterprising and sometimes arrogant, he, unlike the main character of the "Overcoat", sets himself big goals.
Always inspiring Lungin contrast between brilliance and poverty, which reached its climax in the “Oligarch”, in “Dame Peak” played with new colors. Heroes can be divided into representatives of the bottom and the elite, whose path to success is of interest to the director. Fair play against unscrupulousness is the key antithesis around which all action revolves. Bright, deeply revealed characters (except, perhaps, the patron-favorite of the opera diva Oleg, needed more as a live scenery than in any other) interact with each other on two parallel levels - in real life and inside the opera staged by Sophia Mayer, where each of them grotesquely embodies himself. Theatrical opera is the culmination, which has an associative reference not only to Pushkin, but also to the biblical story about Adam, Eve and the snake, where the participants of the triangle have the same roles, but not gender. Inside a full orgy of thoughtful, large-scale scenery, whipping up the drama of music and professional singing, the main female character (Sophia Mayer) under a layer of white makeup suddenly, as once Dorian Gray, shows the viewer his true face.
“Lady Peak” is a movie where the main character is neither “good” nor “bad”; where the finale is known at the beginning, which in no way detracts from intrigue; and which, for all its allusive external surroundings, is inherently an absolutely vital and prosaic story about human weaknesses and shortcomings.
I'm trying to understand the state of our cinema when our critics, even Anton Dolin, are seriously praising it. Awarding him with epithets - genre cinema, a deep psychological thriller, a famously twisted plot. And most importantly, the film skillfully balances on the verge of mass and elite cinema. So the fees are less than $500,000, with almost four spent? He's a good balancer. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Opera diva Sophia Meyer returns to Russia after many years of emigration. The singer intends to put “The Queen of Spades” Tchaikovsky on the stage, where she once made her debut. The performance will no doubt be the event of the season, and all the actors of the production will wake up famous. The young singer of the opera troupe Andrei dreams of fame and money, and the Queen of Spades for him is a chance to achieve what he wants. He is ready to do anything to get the role of Hermann, and this is guessed by Sophia, who left the role of Countess for herself. The opera diva begins a cruel game in which all participants of the play will be involved.
Already from the scene of Sophia Meyer’s arrival in Moscow, I realized that a very bad film was waiting for me. An opera singer walks out of the airport and is waiting for hundreds of fans chanting her name? Are you serious? Her 1936 Rolls Royce is taken by train to Moscow, after the owner? Are you serious? The main character exactly stupidly repeats the actions of Herman from the Pushkin novel and it should look sane in modern Moscow? Are you serious? Whether Lungin is far from mass culture, or far from modern life, but everything in his film is completely artificial.
A completely artificial underground casino, they do not look like this for 30 years, a completely foreign text in the lips of the heroes, when Maria Kurdenevich (I am sad, but this is a very weak role) and Ivan Yankovsky repeated the word to Ksenia Rappoport - ' bitch', I wanted to laugh, completely caricatured bandits - Armenians. Pavel Semenovich, what is this? Can only Caucasians be bandits in Russia? And if they are, are they so bad? Have you forgotten how brilliantly you painted them in the Oligarch? This is a stupid tracing from Balabanovsky ' black-asses' in the tram does not do you honor.
But the most incredible thing is that the film is almost a complete copy of the Black Swan. Exactly the same obsession with the role. There's ballet, there's opera. Exactly the same erotic connection of the sufferer with the giver, exactly the same line of mental disorder and the most absurd, which is exactly the same ending in essence. But where Darren Aronofsky has a sense of proportion to finish the picture, Lungin lacks it. Black Swan frightened, shocked, horrified (please do not write anything to those to whom he is not close. we have long been judged fees, awards, the place of the film in history, and millions of viewers), Lady Peak leaves in complete perplexity.
Of the pluses - music, costumes, enchanting game Ksenia Rappoport. she confirmed her status, even in a weak picture. The moment near the end of the film, where she's in the makeup of an old Countess, is Hollywood. Lev Dodin once said, I think Russian cinema is too small for artists like Petr Semak. So that's small for Xenia. In our country, they do not make films of her level, so her Italian career is marked by the whole world, and here she is forced to correspond to the general average level. Igor Mikurbanov is a king. At the moment - my favorite theater artist of Russia, absolutely sinister, dark, convincing, charismatic, and he is here in his place. But how tight he is in a flat scenario! How much could you get out of such a hero? Ivan Yankovsky is handsome! Real handsome. That's who can and should be the sex symbol of the country. Shame on him. But the pressure that comes out, the references to the father, and of course, the grandfather, are playing a disservice. He's very good in places. But the whole movie, alas, does not pull. A lot of self-repeats. But the potential is great.
I enjoyed the whole movie for 15 minutes. A scene from the opera itself, and a scene with Russian roulette. Where two Russian guys shoot in front of a crowd of Chinese. Tense. Smooth. True. It will be in 30-40-50 years. BUT. And it's a replay. Vladimir Sorokin closed this topic forever. First in the Day of the Oprichnik, then in the Sugar Kremlin, well, in the brilliant story of the Blizzard, he left no chance to at least anyone, at least somehow to speak out on this score. I have to admit that it was the most boring film in years. I guess a lot of people will disagree with me. Your right. I am as disappointed as I can be with expectations.
Only the lazy did not compare the new tape of Pavel Lungin ' Dame of the Peak' with ' Black Swan' Darren Aronofsky, however, with ' Black Swan' the picture is connected only by the powerful legendary material underlying the plot and the plot, stated in the trailer.
The trailer made a much bigger impression on me than the movie itself. On the other hand, disappointed expectations turned into pleasant surprises!
In fact, the story doesn’t boil down to the only unfortunate actor who lost his head in pursuit of his dream role. There are many characters in the film and everyone is given due attention. They are multifaceted, they can not be divided into black and white, their existence in real life is very easy to believe, which gives the film a huge plus in karma.
I am very sorry that in the acting work of Ivan Iankovsky worthy of attention film ' Dame of spades' now will always be adjacent to low-grade ' Night guards', thanks to which it was difficult for me to take seriously his playing a good part of the film. . .
The movie room was half empty, and it was a weekend. However, while the bulk of the audience stormed the box office of cinemas in the queue for tickets to ' Fantastic Beasts', and the site of the cinema could not cope with online booking, for a film session by Pavel Lungin ' Dame of Peak' an exceptional audience gathered!
All the spectators were just for the selection: age couples, intelligent people, not a single glass of popcorn, not a single mobile phone not turned off... People queuing up to watch not a box office blockbuster, but a new movie by their favorite director on the big screen. A look! This is a very expensive audience!
And again, once again, I cannot help but address people complaining about Russian cinema, saying how bad everything is.
Dear ones, go and vote in rubles for high-quality, smart cinema and there will be more of it. I sincerely advise everyone not to miss the opportunity to watch ' Dame of spades' on the big screen, plunge into the atmosphere of greed, passion and madness, get aesthetic pleasure and, in the end, listen to chic music and beautifully performed arias. . .
PS: ..and then come home and see 'Stranger' with the magical Xenia Rappoport.. .
What do we pay attention to before watching the movie? Synopsis and trailer. The first was interesting and the second was fascinating, but remember, never trust trailers because they can play a very cruel joke on you. From the trailer we understand that we are waiting for a really interesting story, but alas and ah. And in those moments when the actors began to sing, it is clearly noticeable that they do not sing at all, but simply open their mouths to the words, it was unpleasant to watch. Remember at least such foreign musicals as Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber from Fleet Street, in which the actors sang themselves, and the pictures were very interesting.
As for the actors, everything is not smooth either. Yes, you can give an example with the recent "Orlean" Andrey Proshkin, where all the characters somehow behaved immorally, but if in "Orlean" it is clear that there is some kind of atmosphere, then in our case it is not clear why and why to do so. I will not describe all, I will tell only about one actor on whom I pinned my hopes - this is Ivan Yankovsky. After "The Night Guards", where he played the main role, I realized that the actor from him "so-so", but decided to give him a chance in "Lady of Peak". He partially justified himself if the plot and other actors were good. Yankovsky played a guy obsessed with the role HermanAndrey, who is ready to do anything to get the coveted role. Andrey is a very unpleasant type, and the way he behaves with his girlfriend sometimes even puzzles how much a person can be obsessed with his dream.
The end of the film also leaves a vague feeling, so it is better not to even watch it at all. I hope that Russia will still be able to surprise something.
Before talking directly about the film, I want to specify three points, in fact, preceding the very campaign in the cinema and formed the initial impression of the production.
1. A good film adaptation of the classics was not for a long time. In the 21st century, perhaps, there was none that deserved any serious assessment. This concerns both inexpensive films by young directors and masters who ate more than one dog, including in the field of film adaptation. For example, Bortko and Hotinenko. However, what is the undoubted plus of even weak adaptations of the classics is the increase in the popularity of the original source, that is, a literary work. Cinema, as a more accessible art for young people, renders in this case a great service to its elder comrade - literature. And at least for this reason, it is worth appreciating the fact that someone takes on the adaptation of the classics.
2. Pavel Lungin is a director close to becoming a living classic of Russian cinema. Not the level of Tarkovsky, Daneliya, Shukshin and others. Not even the level of Konchalovsky and Sokurov. Lower. But still a classic. Somewhere there is a lack of talent and depth, but its ideological and spiritual orientations are true, good, respected. And then there is Ksenia Rappoport in the lead role. Ksenia Rappoport - that's all it says.
3. Meta-narratives (or metafiction, which sounds a little more true) are always extremely interesting and exciting. A technique that deserves great respect, great interest, but also requires the creator of appropriate efforts, depth of thought. In addition, in this case, the meta-narrative is even more 'meta' - theater in cinema.
Passion is the theme of the whole film. All the characters are obsessed with passion. And that passion is utterly painful. It seems that the source of it is boredom or the vainness of life. And it is unlikely that such an image should be credited to Pavel Lungin.
The global problem of our cinema is (and, however, has already become) the absence of real people on the screen. Normal, if you will. You and me. From the director Lungin it would be worth waiting for these very real people who would live, suffer, experience, change. But...
Sofia Meyer. A brilliant singer, famous all over the world. Powerful, cocky, confident, arrogant, calculating, depraved, crazy. What's driving her? Passion. To money, sex, theater, singing, fame, thrills. Of course, a strong character, strongly executed by a strong actress. But its history looks thrown halfway and does not receive proper development.
Her niece. Also obsessed with passion. K - paradox - apathy. Whether she loves Andrew or not is completely unclear. She seems to hate Sophia, but in this case, her hatred is strange. In the theater, she either wants to or does not want to play, which, incidentally, is repeatedly stated in the film. Why would she agree to play and sing Lisa when she hates Sophia and doesn't want to be a star? In addition, she admits that she can not play this role in this production. He doesn't seem to want to.
Finally, Herrmann. It seems that both the meaning and the idea were to show how the actor Andrei gradually becomes obsessed, goes crazy, increasingly identifying himself with the character of Hermann. And what a talented thought - to show gradually growing paranoia and obsession, the transformation of Andrew into Hermann, taking on his life and fate, and a huge fall-out from this character with the simultaneous collapse of the actor, singer and man Andrew. Powerful!
Instead, we see Andrey, who has already gone mad, whose transformation does not occur mentally, not by character, not internally, but only by the will and word of the writer. Not to mention the rough face of the actor Jankowski, releasing naive and high-flown phrases, mannerically twisting his mouth, which together gives exactly the reaction that Meyer / Rappoport demonstrates - hysterical laughter. Ironically, it seems that the Grandfather of Ivan Iankovsky would cope with the role simply amazing, and the weaknesses of the script would be brightened by the natural charm and charisma of the actor.
As a result, there is a rather mannered attraction behind the ears of a literary work to the plot of the film. Characters are not alive - done. There is no connection with Pushkin’s work. As a result, we get another film-story, of which there are many, of which exactly one time. What makes you want to watch the movie? It is not a story - we remember it the first time, we do not need to repeat it. Exclusively, the play of actors is the combined work of the director, the operator and, in fact, the actors. This is what they call an acting movie. It is when you believe, when you feel, when you understand. This was the cinema of the USSR. Now we shoot only stories, plots, with intrigue, with an unusual (read - banal and boring) ending. There is nothing to play with.
For two hours on the screen dance mannered dolls, like the chosen mannequins from ' coffins' Meyer to throw a masquerade ball. Groteska, I must say, is generally enough in the film. Somewhere he is justified, in most cases not. Absolutely ridiculous mafia - Russian, Caucasian, Asian. Why? Why? For what? Even more ridiculous flashbacks of the main character.
One thing is undeniable – the film is made qualitatively. Some places are excellent work of operators. The scenery of the theater in the production is brilliant. Two hours of thriller. However, it is a weak film, very superficial.