The cancellation of Russian culture has reached unprecedented heights: an American film with a half-Russian cast and Russian conversations constantly entering the frame first wins the world’s main film festival, and then moves confidently towards awards season. Such a partial victory can be achieved in Russia – but also partially: between the premiere of Anora in Cannes and the release of the film in Russia, the penalty for drug propaganda was aggravated (in case of conditionality of the genre and artistic intent), which, it seems, is still possible, but apparently no one expects a pleasant outcome in case of trouble). So, simply put, all footage featuring banned substances was cut from the tape; in the language of distributors it is called “the most original version possible in the Russian Federation.”
And truly original; But there are times when, probably, thanks for that – after all, Sean Baker’s film does not revolve on the pole of traditional values. In Anora, the director, nobly determined to dismantle the stigma against sex workers, turns his lens on them for the fifth consecutive year (a sixth is reportedly on the way). The film begins like a dirty version of Pretty Woman: New York stripper Anora, who prefers to be called “Ani.” (Mikey Madison) and they speak Russian, they are sent to Vanya, who flies to the club (Mark Eidelstein) – son of Russian oligarch Zakharov (Alexey Serebryakov). In a special hedonistic wave that tends to turn into a tsunami, the young man first inquires about escort services from Ani, then offers to spend a week with her for 15 thousand dollars and we set off.
And soon it gets cold outside, the sweet fairy tale begins to burst at the seams – and in the second half the film turns into a slight Tarantinoid; At one point, there’s even a passage about meaningless American names, as if inspired by Bruce Willis’ growl in “Pulp Fiction.” In fact, “Anora” owes a lot to Quentin Tarantino – leading actor Mikey Madison is one of the young artists who made their debut in the film. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”and then they rose to great fame (Margaret Qualley, Sydney Sweeney, Austin Butler, etc.). there and also Legacy sequel to the great slasher movie “Scream” Baker saw Maddison and, fascinated, actually wrote the hero for her.
Tarantino is known to never miss a beat, and Madison’s shoulders truly carry the weight of the feature film named after her character. However, on this side of the ocean, the eye inevitably lingers on faces with more familiar-sounding surnames. It is difficult to say whether this has more to do with Baker’s outstanding direction or the positive light of a different linguistic environment, but Borisov and Eidelstein, essentially playing their usual roles here, surprise with a more extensive palette, if not with fundamentally new colors. . Serebryakov is allowed to frown and laugh a little, Daria Ekamasova is allowed to act; In general, nothing more is needed. After all, who else, if not Russian passport holders, should star in a movie about deteriorating trade relations?
A still from the movie “Anora” (2024)
FilmNation Entertainment
Baker was potentially lucky with the Russians; Not only are the artists good, but the audience has long and firmly tied the knot of love with Tarantino; This isn’t a flash marriage in Las Vegas; a man visited Pasternak’s grave. Separately, the call of Roman Mikhailov, the owner of Eidelstein, is also pleasant. He ran through the streets hand in hand with a sex worker “We should make movies about love,” it seems.
Even if “Anora” doesn’t reach the heights of “The Florida Project” in terms of either poignancy, beauty, or comedy (though it comes pretty close there, thanks to Armenians Karen Karagulyan and Vache Tovmasyan), perhaps the producer (again in Tarantino style) Simon Rex There may be a more convincing work than Baker’s “Red Rocket,” in which he revives his career as a washed-up porn actor who has an affair with a seventeen-year-old boy. year-old girl (a type of “American redhead”). It seems like the much-needed edginess is never released here – after all, it’s striptease, not porn. Be that as it may, the director still knows how to construct endings that force the viewer to live inside his pictures by inertia for a while, thus leaving some kind of trace behind them; Isn’t that the point? There will definitely be something to discuss in Anora as the closing credits roll; After googling the term “chichiryaka” of course. But the question is always in the air: what can you find on Brighton Beach? As we remember from the great movie “Madagascar,” the answer is brutally simple: “Hemorrhoids.”
A still from the movie “Anora” (2024)
FilmNation Entertainment
Original title: “Anora”
Premiere date: May 21, 2024
Release date in Russia: 17 October 2024
Duration: 139 minutes
Manager: Sean Baker
Casting: Mikey Madison, Mark Eidelstein, Yura Borisov, Alexey Serebryakov, Daria Ekamasova, Karen Karagulyan, Vache Tovmasyan
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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.