For the second time in my life I write a review of a film. Why not? Because the third day after watching, I can't let him go.
And I will say briefly and immediately the main thing: in this film there is life and there is passion. This is what is lacking in our sluggish, apathetic, or rather asthenic post-Soviet art, which (in Chekhov’s words about the Russian person) “loves to remember, but does not like to live.” “Lady Peak” – of course, no thriller, but a real Greek tragedy, only the hero goes crazy not on Greek, and not even on Danish, but quite on Russian soil. Another paradox: the chic theatrical production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, with its powerful expressive scenography, which responds to the events of the film, seems no less real than the lives of the heroes and spectators. I hope she finds her own destiny.
The best Soviet films had this message – love to death. And it does not matter so much that - the idea, the homeland, the person, the virulent thought, the low passion. That Tsvetaev “heat in the chest fossa”, because the doll’s eyes are “passionate”. ("And then they shoot - that the doll is not passionate!) All poets, and Pushkin is the first. And this passion makes a work of art universal. There is no longer a Greek, no Dane, no Russian. There is no antiquity, no golden age, no decline of empire. These feelings and this energy are beyond time and place. Great production and extraordinary work of the director and actors!
PS. Well, to return from heaven to earth, a little criticism under the curtain. The final shots didn't seem as strong as they could have been. The national song in the nightly urban landscape was lost, unexpressive. It would have sounded stronger (sicker, or hopeful, or angry—no matter what) had it been supported by a visual “natural” response (this motif could have arisen before, like shots of falling under the ice).
From the first minutes, “Lady Peak” makes it clear that Lungin shot a commercial hack, in which there is no development of characters, the characters appear one-dimensional and flat, the wooden play of most actors makes the viewer doubt the director’s artistic taste and professional flair. But the main failure of the picture is its inept editing, which reduces the scenes to the duration of the clip, making them incomprehensible. Moving away in his last three films ("Island", "Tsar", "Conductor") from the festival conjuncture, creating a kind of soteriological and eschatological trilogy about the ways to save humanity in a rapidly depreciating world, in "Dame Peak" Lungin returned to the conjuncture, this time a blockbuster type.
In the reviews devoted to the film, the opinion about the extraordinary collection of the picture is most surprising, although the montage cutting the scenes into noodles does not leave the viewer anything resembling a distinct dramaturgy, filling the narrative with kitschy symbols camouflaging under the baroque, it floods with false significance the episodes in which there is not only the second, but also the first bottom, and all because the director took up the adaptation of not only Pushkin’s “Lady of Spades”, but also the Kitschy symbolism, camouflagesing under the name of which is only the opera in the Faropolier’s genre.
Apparently, Lungin put the interpenetration of art and life, the moral unprincipledness of some artists who for the sake of an aesthetic result overstep ethical norms. But he put, like Herman, on the wrong map: one of the main miscalculations of the picture was the wooden game of Ivan Yankovsky, playing the role with the same facial expression, blatant intonations and brazen eyes, there is nothing in it from the refined aristocracy of Herman, a poor intellectual who dreams of taking a place in society.
Pushkin wrote his tragic novel about the fight with fate, the impossibility of overcoming it, the mysticism of coincidences, the impossibility of becoming someone you are not. Tchaikovsky (especially in the arias of Herman and Countess) was able to decipher this mysterious story as a story of betrayal, destruction of the personality due to career considerations. Lungin made a farce about how art invades life and remakes it according to its own standards. It must be admitted that the only strong scenes in the film are the episodes of the premiere of the opera, in which visual and acoustic effectivity makes you forget about the one-dimensionality of the film, its operational character, parasitism on Pushkin and Tchaikovsky.
The farce character of the picture is given by the most vulgar scenes of a love affair between Andrei and Sofia Mayer and the criminal plot line, turning this already multi-genre vinaigrette into a kind of gangster series, only the dramatic color of Rappoport does not allow the film to slide into low-grade thrash. It seems that Lungin makes all the possible mistakes of a novice director creating a multi-genre, intermental work, using a clip montage, one-dimensional acting, kitsch script, everywhere replacing the style with vulgarity, so that one of his gangster criminal paintings of the 90s “Life Line”, one of the most failed of his career, is recalled.
In a word, Lungin got a vulgar, kitschy modernization of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky, devoid of even the slightest manifestation of taste, tact and style. It should be noted that, as in any commercial product, there is no social background in the film, not only the background of the characters, the development of their characters, it is impossible to understand at what time the film takes place. If Lungin wanted to make a movie about the way up, about the desire to break through, then it was necessary to do it not so clumsy and without clip editing, with great attention to the psychological characteristics of the characters, and so “Lady of Peak” turned out to be only a kitsch vignette, a return to the already abandoned and scrapped principles of barbaric, anti-artistic cinema of the 90s – a shameful page not only of Russian but also of world cinema.
There is a category of directors who always attract attention with their work and are not afraid to risk their name and reputation. The newest work of Pavel Lungin ' Dame Peak' is placed at an impressive distance from such high-profile works of the director as the sensational ' Island' and ' Tsar'. The film is a postmodern paraphrase of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky with the transfer of classical themes to the new interiors of modern Moscow and the creation of a well-visualized kitsch. The theme of the game, the theme of bringing a new life and a new breath to conservative opera art, the desire to add even more mysticism to the supporting original - ' Queen of Spades' - and, most importantly, let the main character in the fatal way Hermann - the main vectors of the tape. Life in opera and/or opera in life are the two ruts along which development moves ' Ladies of Peak' with varying success as a near-bohemian-criminal thriller.
The four-angle of the main characters - Andrei (Ivan Yankovsky), Sophia Mayer (Ksenia Rappoport), her niece (Maria Kurdenevich) and some semi-criminal oligarch (Igor Mirkurbanov) - by definition is not a rigid figure and does not create a solid framework for the script. Actors of varying degrees of skill, they in the film Lungin and did not form anything even remotely similar to a well-coordinated ensemble. The power and potential of the infrequently removed Mirkurbanov are reduced to short phrases of tired Mephistopheles, who lives in a vulgar pseudo-antique house and watches life in his own casino with lazy irony. The heroine of Maria Kurdenevich, the opera Lisa on the plot, in 'Dame Peak' and remained an actress of the revived scenery, singing, plot necessary and without an explicit purpose. Ksenia Rappoport - a clear extremum of the cast of the tape, which ultimately reduces all attention to itself, represents the opera diva in a wide range of vice covering her and, nevertheless, cold and clearly walking on her heads for the sake of updated opera content ' The Queen of Spades', which she represents. The main male beginning of the film - Ivan Yankovsky - is such only nominally and tries to shake off the mothballs from the image of a young hero-lover as if he came from a silent movie, which lacks the tragedy and madness of the future opera genius.
Lungin in 'Dame Peak' successfully embodies the story of the Oedipus complex of Andrew to his mother in the art of Mrs. Mayer, turning it into a thriller. Starting from a miraculous rescue from the icy wormwood in adolescence and finding a voice destined for fate and ending with a predictable, seemingly love triangle, maternally carefully built by Sophia. The persuasiveness of Valery Pecheykin, who worked on the script for the film, is obvious. For Andrey, the diva director becomes an emotional manipulator, a mistress, and the strange fate that prompts and pushes Andrei to fully get used to the role of Hermann. Meyer expects too much from this production, too much is laid down in the textbook ' Three-Seven-Ace' too driven by her desire for success of her ' Queen of Spades' and no matter how many times it happens.
With all the theatricality and hypertrophied predictability of Andrew’s magical voice (well, not Caruso, however), breaking the power of the light bulb’s voice and the moon itself, and the sacredness of Sophia’s cold calculation as a director, Lungin fails to do in ' Dame Peak' the main thing is to clearly place accents on the characters and highlight someone on whose side the viewer will be the heart. Someone who can be forgiven and obsession with his beloved with wax dolls and collectible Rolls-Royce, and passion for their own importance and self-made Armenian cognacs. All the good ideas ' Black Swans' and ' Neon demons' are in the air and quickly materialize on screen. Maestro Lungin does not quite keep up with this and hastily reinterprets the history of Pushkin. Fully read 'Dame Peak' like damp powder - with smoke and shaming and almost completely without fire.
The lofty idea of filming Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades, I thought, shouldn’t be a bad idea. The Film Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, what else is needed to guarantee quality, but in fact everything is not so smooth.
The story.Pushkin was not involved. It's much easier. The story of the actors of the theater and opera with a lot of extravaganzas, everything is as usual. Ideas covered with a copper pelvis it would seem, but we can thank the screenwriters of films for inserting images from the work. At the same time, about the life and life of the actors did not shoot. Sorry. But it's full of footage from the life of a philanthropist. Why? The incomprehensible shots at the beginning of the film are about nothing at all, no one bothered to explain the ending. Not a sequel. Don't, Pushkin can't take it. A little advice: when shooting a flashback, change the entourage, or somehow you can not believe that it is not modernity that is being removed, new buildings in the district.
Actors It’s just a nightmare, well, they don’t try (although they could try for such a budget). What about the main character's facial expressions? Especially when he's pretending to be dead: his eyes are open, his eyes are closed, he's struck on the left and he's left in the middle. Miracles. His passion is characterized by exceptional dryness of acting. And only the main character is trying. Well, why touch the heroes of Pushkin, especially where they use the word "Bitch" about and without. The rating is 16+. Poor Alexander Sergeevich, his works deserve much more. Replacement of voice in opera inserts is felt.
It is a pity that such an idea was ruined. I expected and hoped for much more for this kind of money. All the filmmakers lack the idea and desire to create masterpieces for little money, to the detriment of themselves. My score is three points only for giving me the opportunity to remember the great work of a great writer.
The story first. What's the movie about? About an aging operatic "diva" trying her hand at directing and wanting to make her niece primate, before whom she feels guilty because she once became a more successful singer than her mother? For this, she comes up with a “cunning” plan and implements it throughout the film. Maybe, but the plan is somewhat strange, to put it mildly, and the finale of this plan will be strongly attracted by the will of the writer and director. Well, it is impossible to calculate to such a degree the actions of a person whose role is played by the son of F. Iankovsky.
Maybe this is a film about a young man who miraculously got the “voice” and who since childhood is a fan of the opera diva Sophia Mayer and in order to get the main role in her production starts a relationship again with her niece and is ready to do anything to get the role of Herman? Stanislavsky would have applauded him, because in order to get used to the role, this young man goes to play in the casino, betrays his girlfriend, in general, goes into all seriousness. Also some too "cunning" plan and in many ways pulled by the ears.
Or maybe it’s a film about a young aspiring opera singer who has a talented and influential aunt who she hates because she blames her aunt for not becoming a recognized singer. For the sake of fame, this young maiden is ready to forgive her aunt and go on heads, because secretly envious of the talent of her older relative?
Or maybe this is a film about an aging rich man who carried through his life love for the opera diva Sophia Meyer, tolerating her whims and vices, forgiving her for her “talent”? But this line in the film is generally very weak.
Thus, it turns out that not a single line in the film is revealed to the end. A lot of inconsistencies and a lack of logic. The finale of the film as such is missing. What the filmmakers wanted to say can only be guessed. This is the story of the three.
Now the actors. Ksenia Rappoport in the role of Sofia Mayer with his role coped poorly, apparently it is not given to her to play the role of vicious, calculating women, driven by passions. Her character turned out to be miserable and suffering. Such a woman is not able to control the fate of people. Well, she wasn't able to play a game that evoked the mixture of disgust and admiration you get when you're dealing with vicious people. But her character is deeply vicious. But in the performance of K. Rappoport, Sofia herself wants to regret, warm and feed.
Young Jankowski did well with the role, it is a pity that his character is so stupid. This is the fault of the writer and director.
Maria Kudrenevych, there is nothing to say. Both the role and the actress were very pale.
Igor Mirkurbanov very well played the role of a man rich, vicious and tired. It is a pity that there was very little. And by and large, only he graced this film. He wanted to explain his character.
In general, the picture is not that disappointed, but certainly the second time the desire will not be reconsidered. Therefore, my review is negative. Because this film could have been made better by working out the script and selecting the appropriate actresses.
'Troika of seven, ace' this phrase is familiar to everyone, it is the main leitmotif in the new film by Pavel Lungin 'Dame of Peak'! The story of the unfortunate man who for the sake of art went into all seriousness and even sold his soul to the devil. The incredible performance of Ivan Janovsky is fascinating. Before us is a hero who loves the theater most in life. With the eyes of a madman, he goes to his goal, sweeping away everything in his path. Impressed by the acting tandem of Ivan, along with Ksenia Rapoport, you want to scream, tear and throw, wringing your hands, whining ' What did you do with him!' The story of one role, a single performance and a woman unique in every sense, who burst into the life of an ordinary actor like a whirlwind. And taking away everything he lived for, leaving only his voice and memory. Incredibly shocked the moment when the theater removed the poster of the play. From a huge height, it falls in just a second, remaining as a result only a crumpled sheet of paper. Like the life and future of the hero.
The picture, stunning to the core, makes you think about the greed and madness of modern society. One tip: when viewing should not draw any parallels with the original, because it is his own vision and good modern readings and Pavel Lungin.
I want to see “The Queen of Spades” in the production of Sophia Meyer
I don't know why the movie is classified as a mystery thriller. There's nothing mystical about it. Greed for everything, thirst for success... According to psychologists, Shakespeare described about 35 types of human behavior and relationships (love, greed, envy, jealousy). So everything that ' hurt ' the characters of the picture - a long time known.
The main character performed by the stunning Ksenia Rappoport is a thirst to stay on the once achieved operatic peaks, the desire for something bright, sharp, original. And it's an underlying thirst for love, something simple, human. But what - tss! - 'star' not allowed to talk.
The main character is a furious desire ' to play ' - both in life and on stage. It is interesting to watch the transformation of a talented but ambitious boy who dreams of a leading role, but clings to the opportunity to take the stage at least in the second line-up, into a tough and cruel (although failed) murderer and suicide.
Unfortunately, the development of events is somewhat delayed. And the situation is saved by Xenia Rappoport, the brightest & #39; the core & #39; of this film, his nerve and pulse. But when all the strings are collected in one knot, the climax is coming - the premiere of the opera in the production of the main character - the opera prima Sophia Mayer.
What is her passionate duet with a rival during rehearsal? It seems that she teaches a young actress, giving her the necessary bar, the level, reaching which she will become a star. And at the same time, self-assertion again. But, perhaps, this was required by her directorial idea, and professionalism did not allow to miss the vocal ' defect'.
Interesting scenery on stage, wonderful Ivan Yankovsky in the role of Andrei singing the part of Herman, his colleagues in the troupe - card players, old Countess ... Passion, fear, an explosion of emotions - everything that the director demanded from him, everything was splashed out on stage. And no wonder.
'What is our life? Game!'. For our hero, playing on stage and playing in life merged. Where is he, Andrei, and where is Herman? Everything about him, so eager to play. He plays with his own and someone else’s life, not understanding where life is and where the theater is. The ending, alas, is also ' thriller'. Unfortunately, there are more criminalities in the film, which makes it protracted and slightly boring. And I think the film would benefit from more dynamics and less timekeeping of communication between the hero and his criminal acquaintances.
But, again, the scene of the episode from the premiere performance, scenery, scenography are so spectacular that you involuntarily catch yourself thinking: it would be good to see ' Queen of Spades' in the production of Sophia Meyer.
We watched with our son at the cinema. In general, the feeling is complicated. An intricate and interesting scenario. Bright and catchy, the theater will probably like it. We, who prefer the art of cinema, did not like the camera work very much. And acting is not outstanding, in my opinion, sometimes redundant, ' theatrical', not for Antonioni fans, not to mention Bresson.
I think it will be difficult for some of our current youth to understand some of the details of the plot of this picture. But now it has a network.
I think some of the effect is going to be lost on the video, so if you want to watch it, go to the theater. In the soundtrack to the film – the voices of the soloists of the Bolshoi Theater.
Actually, it's pretty tough. The point is not even in the two scenes of suicides shot close-up, but in the fact that Lungin does not have a single positive character in this film: (All are players, all are captive of their passions.)
But there are important ideas in this peculiar picture. So, the main character, the opera diva, in our language, is a cog of the diabolical system (the same with the ASP!). Some methods of operation of this system are shown. For example, how this opera star puts on a performance: for her the end justifies the means. The heroine of Xenia Rapoport is a diabolical director, ready to influence people in any way to extract the sound necessary for the performance. Here, of course, I remembered the legendary 'Truck', director, in a brilliant performance by Peter O'Toole. And in Lungin, the director, seeing a candidate for the role of Herman in his opera, immediately begins dangerous games with him, in order to introduce him to the state she needs.
And yet, for me, there's too much action and not enough research into the causes of heroic behavior.
Another drawback of the picture is a somewhat slurred end.
Previous film Lungin ' Conductor ' I liked it more.
Empty room. Not in proud, but rather in somewhat confused loneliness, I take a place in the center of the hall, sighing along the way about the difficult share of Russian cinema. It is interesting what is the reason for the lack of attention to the creations of Pavel Semenovich (4.5 years ago in the company of empty chairs I watched “Director”). What scares our viewers so much? Lack of faith in Russian cinema? Habit of watching rides? Or maybe mercilessly hung on Lungin the label of a traitor to the motherland (although he lived and worked abroad for a long time)? Or another label, “arthouse” (or worse, “special viewer’s movie”)? And who even invented this division into art house and mainstream? It's got to be snobs. Even if you accept that separation, it's obvious that Lungin is shooting for everyone. The problem (or rather, the dignity, the peculiarity) of his films is that he is desperately trying to make the Russian audience think. But it is not easy to knock out laziness from us.
From the very first shots it becomes clear that the task of filming “The Queen of Spades” by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin clearly none of the filmmakers set themselves. The story of the great Russian genius rather served only as the basis for the main storyline "Lady of Peak" and then with significant changes. Therefore, the claims against the authors of the series “How So? Poor Pushkin!” are simply stupid. This is not a film adaptation of the story, this is a film based on it! In addition to the “Lady of Spades” during the movie, the work of Dostoevsky and Gogol is constantly seen. And not just the players and the players. In memory are gradually resurrected: “Crime and punishment”, “Demons”, “Brothers Karamazov”, “overcoat”, “Notes of a madman”... Without the Second Commandment (God’s Law) and the Parable of Talents (Matthew’s Gospel) there was also not enough. The list goes on and on. Lungin, unlike most of his colleagues, loves and knows how to read.
An interesting feature is that Andrei, unlike Hermann, is not obsessed with money and he does not start playing from the desire for material gain. Even in those scenes where he wakes up thirst for money, they are just a way for him to realize his talent, to gain fame and love, not to lose his freedom. In addition, during the film there is a feeling that the main character with great persistence constantly proves something to someone – again, pride. But he is a very strong personality, even his remark that as a child he was persecuted by classmates for weakness is wrong (child cruelty is never directed against the weak, always persecuted by the strong, they are potential competitors). The conclusion is obvious: the sin that killed Andrew is not greed, the film is about vanity. What is the reason for the substitution of sin? Maybe it's about modern realities? Or is the main character of the film creative? Is it possible that Andrew, unlike his Pushkin predecessor, is Russian?
The story is conducted on behalf of the main character and in some ways resembles a confession. Has Andrew’s attitude towards himself and his actions changed? There is no answer to that question. Confession is the first step to purification, the opportunity to know yourself and your shortcomings. After it, only two options are possible: either he repents or remains the same, accepting his shortcomings (in fact, this is already humility, the opposite of vanity). And the behavior of the main character in the last scenes clearly indicates his humility.
From the positive: the successfully chosen form and the corresponding operator work. In general, the film is very harmonious, although it was shot like all Lungin’s films on the verge of vulgarity. I am always surprised by his ability (talent) to get as close to it as possible, but never fail ("Island" with its rather vulgar script, but miraculously lost even a hint of it in the film itself; "Tsar" with a vulgarly flat and one-sided look at the main character, which at the same time looks absolutely harmonious and real character). This talent is akin to the genius of Dostoevsky.
But in my opinion, the acting work almost did not reach the level of the director. Especially spoil the impression of the film scenes in which they sing.
Sadly, I personally missed Lungin’s main pill. Whatever happened in his films, the central force of his creations was all-consuming love (in the broad meaning of the word).
"Director", the main leitmotif of which "Stand according to Matthew", referring to the greatest love of Christ suffering for our sins. “Tsar” – “Where is my people?” asks the Terrible ruler, but the people did not come. Only the director’s greatest love for his own people could have allowed him not to come. We have never shown such courage. Even in The Lilac Branch, in my opinion the most unsuccessful work of Lungin, this love is present, albeit in the simplest form.
Unfortunately, in this film, I didn’t feel that power. Maybe it's a call to the audience. What are you capable of? Will you be able to forgive and love the hero whose two-hour confession he watched on the screen?
Unfortunately, I cannot say anything about the connection with Tchaikovsky’s opera. I haven't heard or seen her.
“You wanted to be Hermann, you became him!” Do you like "The Queen of Spades"? Then hurry to find out who is such a lady of Peak.
Pavel Lungin, a rather interesting and promising director, better known for such projects as 'Island' and 'Tsar' presents to the world a modernized story about the peak lady of his vision, as here he is also the main screenwriter. First of all, I want to say that the film will be easy to look and those who have not read ' Queen of Spades' Pushkin has no idea what will happen on the screen for the next two hours. Your viewing from scratch will add intrigue and charm to the plot. Why would I recommend watching this picture, if you choose between it and the original adaptations of Pushkin’s novel and Tchaikovsky’s opera? First, this film is not about fairy-tale book events, but about the real state of things, about the situation in which anyone can find themselves. It deals with the subject of addiction and obsession. The main character, trying on the image of a literary character, becomes a victim of three aspects of the manifestation of addiction. He gets used to Hermann’s skin with all his being, cannot overcome his passion for cards, is bewitched and obsessed with an opera diva. Think about the question, maybe for a reason the director gave the film the title 'Dame of spades' perhaps this lady, who came off the map and personifies the full force of frenetic excitement and gravitation, is in the life of each of us. It is contradictory and incomprehensible, but nevertheless, it induces us to rash actions, attracts and repels. The picture shifts the boundaries of reality and theatricality, it attracts and captures.
The plot of the film is based on the famous opera by Tchaikovsky 'The Queen of Spades' which in turn is written on the work of the same name by A. Pushkin.
World famous opera singer Sophia Mayer returns to Russia. She is going to put on the big stage the opera ' Lady of Spades' in which she takes the role of the old Countess. Naturally, the play in the production is a direct path to the vocation and glory, which the young singer of the troupe Andrei dreams of, he believes that Hermann is himself, and is ready to do anything to get the desired role. Sophia notices this and begins a psychedelic game that involves everyone, including his niece Lisa. Is Hermann different from Andrew? Sophia - a curse or a chance to find a calling? Theatre and life. And maybe ' our whole life is a game, and the people in it are actors'. But how then to get rid of the entangled role of one hero and take the role of another, more successful?
So, first of all, I want to note the general atmosphere of the film and the originality of the opera soundtracks. There is an alluring surreality here. You will see the modern world, but the image of Sophia, her clothes, the car she drives, will take you back to past centuries, to other eras. At first glance, the usual course of the film, but listening to the musical accompaniment, you find yourself somewhere in the front rows of the stalls in the Bolshoi Theater.
Interesting moment of plot construction. Pushkin’s story is the source, something that all future interpreters start from. Tchaikovsky’s opera follows from the story, but is already considered in a different vein, new features of the plot are added, and, finally, Pavel Lungin takes these two worlds and places it in a capsule of reality, which, dissolving in the organic world, spills out in its own way and gives new features of interpretation. The boundaries between theatre and reality are blurred.
Separately, I want to talk about acting. The role of Andrei was played by a young actor Ivan Yankovsky, grandson of the eminent Oleg Yankovsky, who, by the way, played the role of Metropolitan Philip in ' Tsar' Lungin. Ivan played in a way that really felt his obsession, psychosis, inner hard work, his inadequate look in some moments looked very heartfelt. The role of Sophia Mayer was played by Ksenia Rappoport, who also talentedly portrayed the entire controversial essence of her heroine. She moves the viewer from side to side, then she is a caring aunt for her niece, then a passionate nature, then a greying witch from her own production. It turned out a very mysterious and mysterious image, a real peak lady in the flesh. Also, it is impossible not to mention the play of Maria Kurdenevich in the role of Lisa, it turned out a very ambiguous image, which stores its skeletons in the closet. The development of her character is interesting to watch. Answer yourself at the end of the question: & #39: Who is Lisa the savior or the instigator? What did she do in the final?'
Details play an expressive role in the picture: Andrei falls under the ice as a child (where Andrei has fallen in these days), Andrei shows the map of the peak lady (who is he now, Andrei or Hermann?).
The work of the operator, Levan Kapanadze, deserves a separate mention. After all, in the picture it was necessary to combine the work of a theater operator on a regular stage, to show the peculiarities of the audience’s perception of the theatrical action and cinematography in the film. These are completely different things and look different visually. But the operator managed to immerse the audience in the extraordinary atmosphere of the theater, the production looked simply brilliant, and with the same accuracy to show the events outside the stage, i.e. the course of the film.
At some points, it may seem like the film is a bit drawn out, the scenes move in slow motion, and the dialogue is out of place. But nothing is perfect. And everyone has a subjective perception, someone may, on the contrary, these dialogues appeal. In any case, a small grinding of the picture would still not hurt. Also, there was a little lack of psychologicalism in the development of physical contact between Andrei and Sophia, very quickly their relationship moved from one stage to another.
Summing up all the above, I want to say that the picture as a whole is quite worthy and deserves at least one viewing. There is something to think about, to weigh our actions, to look at the people around us. And the visual side of the film will create an unforgettable feeling of immersion in the magical world of theater, which sometimes breaks out of the legal framework and tries to break into our lives and gain a foothold in it.
8 out of 10
Pavel Lungin’s new mystical thriller “Lady of Peak” is a surreal tragicomedy about obsession. The drama containing the plot in the plot is based on the world-famous opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky “The Queen of Spades”, which in turn is written on the work of the same name by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
Opera diva Sofia Mayer (Ksenia Rappoport) after many years of emigrating triumphantly returns to Russia with the intention to stage Tchaikovsky’s “Lady of Spades” on the stage of the theater where she once made her debut. “Something is rotten in the kingdom of Denmark.” To the baggage of her own wax figures, the fatal beauty is added ghosts of the past and demons of the present. The unfortunate niece Lisa (Maria Kurdenevich) in the first minute of a meeting with a brilliant aunt declares her burning hatred. Chosen by Sophia for the party of Herman, the elderly artist Vsevolod Golovin (Vladimir Simonov) accuses her of turning the opera into a buffoon and kitsch. And then Lisa’s young man, a talented singer Andrey (Ivan Yankovsky) with a ridiculous story of finding a voice, an obsession with Meyer and a mad desire to become Herman. And the opera diva itself is far from sinless. Extravagant Mayer for his genius hides a greedy gambling nature, unscrupulous beast, weaving intrigues and breaking people. “She suppresses and admires me,” says the owner of an underground casino, whether a brother, or a friend, or a former lover of the singer, a kind of Mephistopheles Oleg (Igor Mirkurbanov).
All the heroes of "Lady of Peak" are victims of something. Lisa can not recover from the tragedy that happened to her mother through the fault of treacherous Sophia Meyer. Andrew, who created an idol as a child, seemed to sell his soul to a beautiful devil. And now, possessed by an insane passion, he is ready to put his life on the line. The rotten soul of Meyer, whose genius and talent applaud the whole world, needs only simple human love. But once again getting into the cycle of destructive passions, out of habit destroys in its perverted manner the bright feeling.
Lungin deliberately introduces the film's characters in fantastic, even somewhat grotesque mise-en-en-scene scenes. The viewer seems to get into the Looking Glass, into the distorted world of a certain parallel reality, embodied in the scenery of the opera stage, an underground casino and a huge country mansion with a swimming pool. In the end, the line between reality and fiction is completely erased, and it is no longer possible to understand where the truth is and where the game is. At the same time, the intensity of passions increases, suspense increases, culminating during the premiere of the ill-fated "Lady of Peak".
For Lungin, the set design of the pieces of the opera presented in the film was done by a young and talented theater artist Maria Tregubova. Her unique vision filled the production with a kind of lunar aesthetic, which emphasizes the fantasticity of what is happening and utters the mad obsession of the main character. At the same time, the opera here becomes lively and interesting despite the philistine notion of this art form as boring, stagnant and incomprehensible.
The plot of “Lady of Peak”, allusing to the mystical story of Pushkin, Tchaikovsky’s ode to love, reflections on “creatures trembling” and “lords” Dostoevsky and crowned with the commandment “don’t make yourself an idol”, together with the brilliant acting works of Ksenia Rappoport and Ivan Yankovsky and the surrealism of the visual series create a curious neo-Gothic fairy tale with an interesting and non-banal plan, which is inexpedient to compare with the “Black Swan”, as much as anyone would like.