At the end of 2014, the premiere of the Russian film Leviathan, directed by A. Zvyagintsev, took place in the UK. Despite the fact that the film immediately after the premiere won several prestigious film awards, its appearance caused a serious scandal in Russia, and the screening of the film in cinemas was postponed until February 2015.
Biblical story
The Russian film "Leviathan" is a modern interpretation of the biblical story of Job's struggle with the mythological monster Leviathan. According to the director's idea, in the film this word means the state machine - thoughtless, soulless, destroying any freedom and human nature itself. Drawing a parallel with the biblical plot in "Leviathan", director A. Zvyagintsev tries to show the eternal theme of the relationship between the "little man" and the powerful state apparatus, which must protect, protect, but at any opportunity, with all the mercilessness, strangles in his arms and grinds into dust.
Initially, the director took as a basis the real story of a common man in the United States who became a victim of the state bureaucracy, but later the action of the Leviathan plot was transferred to Russia, on the coast of the cold Barents Sea - the harsh land completely corresponded to the director's idea, which was the basis of the film.
Polar estimates
The Russian film "Leviathan" in the cinemas of old Europe was immediately received by film critics with "Hurray!", And has already won several prestigious film awards ":
- won the American Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film;
- this film was nominated for an Oscar;
- won the Best Director award at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.
At that time in Russia, the movie Leviathan caused a serious scandal and caused a split in society: while some extol the courage and depth of the director's intention, others note gross inconsistencies in the plot and call it difficult to perceive in Russia itself. Critics have noted the rather meaningless content of the film "Leviathan", flavored with an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair, which are expressed here in a variety of artistic ways.
According to most of those who have already watched "Leviathan", in this film Russia appears as a country where amorphous weak-willed creatures live, who do not think of anything better than drowning their melancholy in a sea of vodka, and after watching the film, an unpleasant aftertaste remains. According to some of the film critics, this makes his success in the Russian box office doubtful. In addition, "Leviathan" has not yet been shown in cinemas, since it has not received a rental certificate due to the presence of profanity, which is contrary to Russian law.
Was there an order?
Some statesmen and deputies of the State Duma openly called the Leviathan plot custom-made, harmful, undermining the foundations of statehood and exposing Russian society in an unattractive light. In their opinion, the release of this film at such a difficult moment, when an aggressive information war is being waged against Russia, is the best way to pour water on the mill of spiteful critics, who in every possible way strive to present our country as a kind of monster subordinate to the power of the dictator. The deputies, outraged by the plot line of the film, even proposed to collect from the film company the budgetary funds that were spent on its creation.
In Russia, this film does not yet have a distribution certificate due to profanity, however, the appearance of "Leviathan" in cinemas is still scheduled for February, but with an audience limit of 18+. Only after watching "Leviathan" in Russia will become possible, viewers will have a chance to appreciate the justice of the reproaches, claims and the success of the film with the audience he describes.
