2005 was a year in which the revival of the Russian
film industry continued to gather steam.
It's
been a year in which Russian film has moved from strength to strength. Indeed,
2005 has proved that last year's «Night Watch» – the homegrown blockbuster
that broke the mold of Blockbuster
of the Year: Happiest
among Russian players must be Fyodor Bondarchuk,
whose Afghan war drama «Company 9» was the top grosser of 2005, taking in
more than $23 million to date. With excellent ensemble playing from its
youthful cast and impressive visual effects, «Company 9» won extensive
plaudits from critics as well as viewers (itself
something of a rare combination) and proved to be a genuinely national film,
in the best sense. Its producers will deservedly crack open the end-of-year
champagne – not least because they risked a great deal in development, as
costs jumped in shooting. A happy end indeed, at least at the box office: The
film itself was a thoughtful reflection on the end of the Soviet era, and a
military adventure that didn't hold back in showing the human consequences of
war. Art-House
Film of the Year:
The producers behind Alexander Sokurov's «The Sun»
may be feeling less happy. Though the film bowed at February's Berlin
International Film Festival, it came away without a prize, and the results of
its Russian release were distinctly muted. True, international juries can
prove fickle, and prophets are often without honor in their homelands, but
even so, the outcome was more than disappointing – for «The Sun» is among Sokurov's most nuanced works to date, drawing a
remarkable central performance from the actor playing Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II, and showing that a
Russian director can direct a Japanese cast with mesmerizing skill. More than
impressive. Dynamic
Duo: Writer
Boris Akunin and actor-director Nikita Mikhalkov. Adaptations of Akunin's
detective yarns «Turkish Gambit» and «The State Counselor» were among the
top-ranking films of the year. The former, though it won on the box-office
front, ultimately looked less impressive than «Counselor,»
which captured dark moments of intrigue in pre-revolutionary Intercinema
Most
Promising News: Young
directors coming through strongly can only be a good sign. Alexei German Jr.
followed up on his debut, «The Last Train» with the Venice-screened «Garpastum», which looked more than respectable, if not
quite brilliant. His friend and contemporary Ilya Khrzhanovsky's «4» saw limited release at long last this
month, after winning plenty of international critical acclaim over the 15
months since it too played on the Venice Lido. Some local viewers will like
it, many may hate it – but that's more a reflection on its subject matter
than on the director's skill. Look out next year for Larisa
Sadilova's third feature, «Needing a Nanny.» Finally, it is encouraging that Andrei Zvyagintsev, director of 2003's art-house trendsetter «The
Return» is busy shooting his second feature. Delivery date: so far unknown. Saddest
News: If that
sounds a happy end to a good year, then spare a parting thought for |