In 2003, Stanislav Govorukhin's picture "Bless the Woman" was released on Russian screens. According to film critics, the next melodrama was supposed to fail at the box office. But the talent of the director, combined with the delightful acting of the actors, made it possible to create a story that captivated the audience.
Young Vera leads a leisurely life in a small seaside village. On the seashore, she meets the military Larichev, whom she soon marries. She is in love with him with all the dedication that only a naive girl who dreams of a family, children and a cozy home is capable of. But already an adult man with a son and an unsuccessful marriage behind him puts his debt to the Motherland above all else.
As soon as Vera finds out that a child should appear in the family, Larichev forces her to have an abortion. He believes that he will not be able to protect his family from possible troubles. After all, the country is on the brink of war. The man even sends his son from his first marriage to a boarding school, although he sees how strongly Vera is attached to the boy.
War soon begins. She separates them for many years. Vera works in a hospital, waits for her husband and helps her friend with two small children. Larichev is at the front. Returning home, he cannot cope with the consequences of the war and dies of heart failure. Vera has no idea how to live on. But fate gives a second chance for happiness.
The process of selecting actors for filming in this film was not easy for Stanislav Govorukhin. There were several months before the planned start date of filming, and the director did not know who would appear in the image of the main character Vera. Although inclined to the candidacy of Maria Mironova. There was no certainty about another key character, the military Larichev. In the end, Govorukhin approved Masha Mironova and Vladimir Guskov for these main roles. But the acting duo was not destined to be realized in this picture. By chance, at the last moment, the freshman of the theater school Svetlana Khodchenkova managed to offer her candidacy for the role of Vera. The embarrassed, out of breath aspiring actress with a blond braid and curvaceous forms was immediately approved by the director for the main role.
It is known that this work in cinema for Svetlana Khodchenkova was the debut and, which is rare, immediately brought a nomination for the prestigious Russian film award "Nika". In addition, Stanislav Govorukhin invited the young actress to continue cooperation in his other films. The only condition was the need to preserve the external data that attracted the director from the very beginning. But Khodchenkov was not attracted by the possibility of creating a single image of a Russian beauty in the cinema. In 2005, she successfully graduated from the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute and continued to act in films. There were more than enough offers. After her debut work, the actress appeared in more than five dozen films. Among them are "Stalin's Wife" (2006), "Quiet Family Life" (2008), "Love in the Big City" (2009), "Office Romance. Our Time”(2011),“A Short Course in a Happy Life”(2011) and others. In 2011, Thomas Alfredson's picture "Spy, Get Out!" Was presented, which became the actress's debut Hollywood work. In 2013, she appeared as Dr. Victoria Green in the action movie Wolverine: The Immortal.
Another key character in the painting, the military Larichev, appeared in the image of Alexander Baluev, given that Svetlana Khodchenkova will play the role of Vera.
For him, work in this film was far from the first. By that time, he already had experience in theater and cinema. For several years he performed on the stage of the Central Theater of the Soviet Army, which later replaced the Moscow Drama Theater named after M. N. Ermolova. However, the actor gained wide popularity in 1995 after filming the movie "Muslim", where he appeared as the brother of the protagonist. Also on account of Alexander Baluev's work in such films as "Peacemaker" (1997), "Antikiller" (2002), "Turkish Gambit" (2005), "Kandahar" (2010) and others.
Unlike the main characters, the actors for the secondary roles were approved by the director immediately. The role of Anna Stepanovna, the mother of the main character, was played by theater and film actress Irina Kupchenko. From 1970 to the present day, the actress has served at the State Academic Theater named after E. B. Vakhtangov in Moscow. Her roles in the films "Noble's Nest" (1969), "An Ordinary Miracle" (1978), "Forgotten Melody for Flute" (1987), "Come See Me" (2001) and many others. She is the embodiment of the actress who is able to perfectly recreate the image of her character in the most diverse genres of paintings.
Other supporting roles were also played by outstanding actors of Soviet and Russian cinema, such as Alexander Mikhailov, Inna Churikova, Nina Maslova and others.
The film "Bless the Woman" was the adaptation of the story "The Hostess of the Hotel". Stanislav Govorukhin was impressed by the story of a Russian woman's selfless love for her husband, whose life was dedicated to serving the Motherland. The work was not an artistic invention of the author. This is the real story of a simple Russian woman who inspired Elena Wentzel to write a novel.
Elena Wentzel, professor, doctor of technical sciences, in addition to scientific works, also created literary works. She worked under the pseudonym of I. Grekov, which has a funny reading of “igrukov”. And in 1976, Wentzel presented to the readers the story "The Hostess of the Hotel". As it turned out, the inspiration was the real story of Olga Kiryushina, the owner of the house, which Elena Wentzel rented during her family vacation in Odessa. She was so imbued with the guest that during one of the conversations she told a difficult story of her life.
Subsequently, this chance meeting for two women turned into a strong friendship that lasted for many years. Neither the main characters of Kiryushin, nor the author of the story, survived to the moment of the adaptation of such a familiar story for them. But the director took great care in presenting his version of the work. He managed to transfer the printed lines of the story to the movie screen, conveying all the love and pain of the main characters.
The story of a simple Russian girl, presented in 2003, caused mixed emotions among the audience. The images of the main characters in Stanislav Govorukhin's film turned out to be too contradictory. On the one hand, critics admire the main character, who embodies the image of a Russian woman who knows how to be infinitely loyal to her man, compassionate, obedient and forgiving. On the other hand, the reviews are full of indignation: "who needs this and why?" After all, Vera denies herself even the most primordial desires to be a mother, to be close to loved ones, putting her duty to her husband above everything and everyone. Moreover, her only right is “to be loved”. But even here the audience is perplexed. Larichev implements it in a very peculiar way.
But could the main characters be different? It must be remembered that the main action of the film takes place against the background of difficult war years. Perhaps Larichev could not have been different.
Stern, devoted to his duty and homeland, he loved his woman as best he could. His whole being is so imbued with the communist ideology of duty and honor that, faced with the imperfection of the system in the post-war period, he falls ill and, in the end, dies. Vera, on the other hand, is a collective image of the ideal Russian woman. It seems that she is fragile and vulnerable, and sometimes weak-willed and even stupid. But it is in her that incredible strength of mind is contained that cannot be broken.
The wonderful play of the actors, very subtly conveying the character of each of the characters, made the audience love and hate, compassion and bewilderment. And after watching the film, feel a slight sadness and a desire to revisit this story about the life of two ordinary people.
