"Intergirl" (actors: E. Yakovleva, T. Laustiola, A. Nemolyaeva, I. Rozanova, V. Khromushkin and others) blew up a domestic film distribution in 1989, refuting the aphorism of the early perestroika era, saying: "There is no sex in the USSR!"
Ideological breakthrough
The literary original, according to which the script for the painting "Intergirl" was written (the actors were obliged to read it before participating in the filming), was the story of Vladimir Kunin published in the Aurora magazine under the eloquent title of "Prostitute." Such an open name seemed too provocative to one of the censors, who was a member of the Politburo, so an urgent, new, more veiled “Interdevochka” appeared. This term instantly entered the colloquial vocabulary of every Soviet citizen. Despite the beginning of all kinds of “glasnost” and “perestroika,” moral values and ideals that have been grafted over the decades to an ordinary Soviet citizen continued to hold their ground, so the movie “Intergirl” can be called a breakthrough. Moreover, the breakthrough took place not even in the cinematic, but in the ideological plan.
Plot
The film "Intergirl" had a specific plot. The main character Tatyana Zaitseva (Elena Yakovleva) lives with her mother and teacher and works as a nurse in the district hospital. But in her spare time from hospital duty, she entertains wealthy foreigners in hotel rooms. The girl dreams of breaking out of poverty, a wretched environment, for this, earning in this way, hopes to meet a foreigner, get married and emigrate abroad. And then she met the Swede Larsen, who not only became her regular customer, but also fell in love with Tanya, made her an offer. It seems that all the dreams and aspirations of the main character have come true, but for everything in life you have to pay, even for a short well-being, not like sins. After reading the script for the Interdevochka movie, the actors focused on the personalities of their characters.
The creators and specifics of the plot
The creators of the picture acted very competently, avoiding a heap of piquant bed scenes. At present, given the obvious specifics of the storyline, they would have filled half the timing of the picture. But when after controversial reviews the Party Central Committee nevertheless gave permission to shoot the film on a provocative story, the director Pyotr Todorovsky and screenwriter Vladimir Kunin focused on the social aspect of such an ambiguous phenomenon as prostitution, taking as a basis the story of a prostitute. The tragedy of the main character was not particularly specific, but could only happen in Soviet society. Vladimir Kunin wrote a film adaptation for a certain performer - Tatyana Dogileva, but Todorovsky did not consider Dogileva as a prostitute quite convincing. However, as well as many others: Natalya Andreichenko and even the Polish sexy-vivid movie star Katarzyna Figure.
Starring
As a result, Elena Yakovleva became the performer of the main role of the film "Interdevochka". The actor Vsevolod Shilovsky, who was already approved in the film for the role of Tatyana's father, suggested the director to try the actress for the main role. But when Petr Todorovsky saw the actress, he was dumbfounded and seriously angry. After all, the girl was a little thin, without expressive forms. Yakovleva was upset, but still took part in the samples. After which the director realized that Elena is a wonderful actress, and immediately approved the girl for the main role.
Actors and supporting roles
All the performers involved in the cinema formed a strong cast, in which there are a lot of famous names and familiar faces: Zinovy Gerdt, Anna Frolovtseva, Valery Khromushkin, Larisa Malevannaya, Thomas Laustiola, Vsevolod Shilovsky, Martins Wilsons. Actors who performed supporting roles, the authors picked up much faster than the performer of the role of the central character. Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Kisulya), Irina Rozanova (Sima-Gulliver), Anastasia Nemolyaeva (Lyalka) and Lyubov Polishchuk (Zina Meleiko) were approved for the role on the first try. With all the professionalism of the actresses, they refused to star in erotic scenes. But the picture was all about prostitution, so shooting bed and revealing scenes became one of the most difficult tasks of the film group of the movie "Intergirl". The actors remembered the ban on censorship officials: “No pornography!” - but the director repeatedly used tricky tricks and editing.
Success without a Strawberry
Immediately after the release of the rental picture made a lot of noise. But behind the angry and revealing speeches of adherents of harsh morality, the audience was able to discern the artistic merits of the film, the idea that the director put into it. "Intergirl" was also noted by professional film critics: starring Elena Yakovleva received the prize of the Constellation film festival, the Nika award and the Tokyo Film Festival special prize for best actress. Simple moviegoers, despite the limited number of coveted “strawberries,” stormed theaters. The success of the motion picture was tremendous. The film collected at the box office an unprecedented amount for that period - 41 million rubles. He is still someone outraged, someone admires.