“Foreign” direction. Ivan Sosnin
Where and when to watch: “October”, 24 April 19:00 / “Moskino Molodezhny”, 25 April 21:00
It seems that the most interesting film of the Moscow International Film Festival’s traditionally dark main competition is Ivan Sosnin’s third feature. (“Distant Relatives”), gentle humanist cinema expert from Yekaterinburg. “Alien” is the only film for which two theaters were allocated for press screenings; It was about half full, which meant it was a full house by local standards. In fact, so far Sosnin’s film looks like the main candidate for the winner. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
“Alien” apparently had a difficult fate (three cameramen in the credits, let’s say, a red flag), but it’s ultimately well put together and resembles a Ural version of “Gagarin,” a teen drama about a lonely boy. He transformed a crumbling Paris building into a spaceship home (tape Brought to MIFF in 2020). The film begins with the touching story of an eccentric hearing-impaired man living in a small village. (magnificent role of Maxim Stoyanov)He tries to communicate with the aliens until one of them comes to his garden disguised as a schoolgirl. (Alena Miroshnikova). And it ends with the heartbreaking tragedy of a man who has done nothing wrong to anyone and yet finds himself under the roller.
Ultimately, “Stranger” leaves a bitter and sorrowful impression (“So, do you have to be cruel and strong to live among humans?”) and is a painful reminder that the choice to “leave or stay” is also important. A privilege in its own right. Many are deprived of this.
A frame from the movie “Alien”
MIFF
Premiere date: April 24, 2024
Duration: 73 minutes
Manager: Ivan Sosnin
Casting: Maxim Stoyanov, Alena Miroshnikova, Tatyana Golubeva
“We need to make films about love” direction. Roman Mikhailov
Where and when to watch: “Artistic”, 25 April 19:00 / “Illusion”, 26 April 20:00
By a strange coincidence, the MIFF 2024 program included another film by a Russian film industry favorite with a running time of 73 minutes and a humanistic (presumably) message: “We should make films about love.” Roman Mikhailov is perhaps the most interesting plot in Russian cinema of the last decade. In two years, he released seven films (“We need to shoot …” – the sixth, the seventh “Firebird” is preparing for release), won over almost everyone (infuriated the rest to the point of gnashing their teeth) and at the same time did not receive a penny from the Ministry of Culture. Perhaps Mikhailov can already be called a cult director, and literally: a sect is forming around him before our eyes – not only fans, but also comrades-in-arms.
A still from the movie “We should make movies about love”
MIFF
“We need to shoot…” – a meta-cinema (or mockumentary, if you prefer) featuring a group of young actors led by Mark Eidelstein (“One Hundred Years Forward”) Flying to Varanasi, the ancient city of India. There, director Roman Mikhailov is preparing to shoot a long-planned art film (as well as a video for rapper Husky). At first everything goes well, but then the production falls apart: the leading actor loses his head due to an affair with a random acquaintance, one of the leading actors begins to have inappropriate epiphanies – etc. The producer and the team try to save the day, but ultimately they have to accept the fact that the film was written and shot by him.
It probably all sounds a bit boring and pretentious, but the picture is truly worth trusting. In the end, most likely, it will prevail with absurd humor, with charming tenderness, with the colors of an ancient city, where every shot is clearly successful. It is generally difficult to argue with Mikhailov here: we actually need to make films about love.
A still from the movie “We should make movies about love”
MIFF
Premiere date: April 25, 2024
Duration: 73 minutes
Manager: Roman Mikhailov
Casting: Mark Eidelstein, Daria Bryukhanova, Roman Mikhailov, Dmitry Kuznetsov
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.