The historical picture of the eminent director Alexei Uchitel was able to make a lot of noise long before it was released on the big screen. The film about the relationship between the future Russian Emperor Nicholas II and the brilliant ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Matilda Kshesinskaya can rightfully be considered one of the scandalous premieres of 2017.
What is the film "Matilda" about
The creators of the picture showed a little-known, but real love story of the Tsarevich and the Polish ballerina. However, historians question the credibility of this "love story".
Kshesinskaya was remembered primarily for her obstinate character and numerous novels. The heir to the throne noticed a bright dancer at the ballet, where she performed the main role. Nikolai was fascinated by the Polish woman, and they began an affair. Their relationship is trying to interfere with a fan of the ballerina - Lieutenant Vorontsov. As a result, the love story grows overgrown with palace gossip, and the lovers find themselves on the verge of breaking … The plot is quite harmless, but the film caused a storm of indignation and split Russian society.
Struggle for cultural values, or Dance on the bones for your own good
The protest movement against Oleksiy Uchitel and his latest creation, led by the former Crimean prosecutor and now a State Duma deputy, was outraged by the intimate scenes in the film. Poklonskaya considers it blasphemy to reveal the personal life of Nicholas II, who in 2000 was canonized. The deputy believes that the sex scenes of Nikolai and Matilda should not be shown, since this would infringe on the interests of believers. In her opinion, the film is, so it should be banned from showing.
Poklonskaya, known for her close attention to the person of the last Russian emperor, even initiated an examination of the script for The Teacher's film. The results were 40 pages long. The experts concluded that the film does not contain scenes that can offend someone's feelings. However, the dispute between the director and the deputy Poklonskaya did not end there. The latter continues to create obstacles to ensure that the film is not released. At the moment, Poklonskaya only manages to make the picture the most anticipated premiere of 2017 in Russia, and the former Crimean prosecutor, thanks to the scandal, also fueled interest in his person.
Meanwhile,. Poklonskaya's supporters threaten to set fire to cinemas, in which Matilda will appear.
Film "Matilda": the opinion of the church, the creative elite and ordinary Russians
The Russian Orthodox Church decided to keep neutrality, stepping back from official comments. However, Metropolitan Hilarion, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, named the Teacher's film.
The creative elite of Russia is concerned about the prospect of returning to Soviet times and surviving the censorship of that period, which crippled people's lives and hindered the development of art.
Ordinary Russians also did not stand aside. It is known that Poklonskaya managed to collect 20 thousand signatures from caring citizens demanding a ban on the showing of the picture. The film's budget is $ 25 million, and people are indignant that a third of the funds were invested by the state.
Film "Matilda" (2017): actors
Alexey Uchitel entrusted the main roles to foreign actors. So, the image of Nicholas II was embodied by a German. The role of Matilda was played, also a Polish by birth, like the ballerina herself.
The Tsarevich's mother played. In the role of Lieutenant Vorontsov he acted. Also starred in "Matilda"
