In 1981, in the small town of Novomichurinsk, the Russian actor, director, composer and screenwriter Yuri Bykov was born. Today, he has studied at VGIK, worked at the Moscow Art Theater and many roles and shots played. In the West, Russian cinema is valued for the brilliantly transmitted atmosphere of everyday depression, which is exactly what Yuri Bykov's films are filled with. The list of his paintings, though not impressive, but still deserves attention.
"Live"
The film entitled "Live" was the first full-length work in the heading "Films of Yuri Bykov." His filmography as a director was previously limited to the short film "Head". The film was shot in the native region of Bykov - Ryazan.
The abandoned countryside of central Russia gave a special atmosphere, against the background of which the local hunter Mikhail was faced with running away from the chase Andrei performed by Denis Shvedov. The banal criminal showdown, in which Mikhail was bound by the will of fate, radically changed his life. Now he will have to choose what is more expensive for him: his own life or his own moral principles. There are few dialogs in the picture, and those that are are filled with complex philosophical meaning. However, all the films of Yuri Bykov are distinguished by this. The list was continued by a no less dramatic picture.
Major
The film "Major" has a more developed plot and the play of the actors compared to the previous picture. The main role was played by the same Denis Shvedov, and Yuri Bykov himself became his partner. Films, the list of which is provided by the director, are usually shown at closed screenings due to the presence of prohibited scenes. In the picture, one can observe scenes of cruelty and violence. Major, an employee of the internal affairs bodies, hurrying to the maternity hospital to his wife, knocks down a boy in his foreign car. The whole scene takes place in front of the mother’s eyes of a child who instantly dies. In complete confusion, he calls his colleagues and they help him hide the crime.
Everything would have ended on this, had not the Major begun to torment his conscience. It would seem that everything is simple, it’s enough to go and surrender, only the colleagues who helped him cover his tracks do not want to go to prison with him. Again, the heroes face a choice, a key detail that makes Yuri Bykov's films unusual. The list of the most instructive films "Major" may not have been filled, but some viewers still appreciated the harsh reality.
"Fool"
Later, the world saw a new film director called "The Fool." Denis Shvedov was not watched by the viewer, but a new actor appeared - Artyom Bystrov. An ordinary plumber, honest and conscientious, a real Russian fool. On another regular working day, he notices that the old hostel on the outskirts of the city is no longer just decrepit, it is ready to fall at any second. Officials do not want to notice the problem, so you have to save everyone alone.
The picture doesn’t end with anything good, having evacuated everyone to the street on their own, the plumber sees that the house did not collapse in the end. And again, the sad end, furious residents beat their savior. He likes to end films like this Yuri Bykov. His complete filmography as an independent director ends today in this movie. After he participated in other paintings, but not alone.
As an actor
In addition to the role of a policeman in his own film, Bykov played several more. Films of Yuri Bykov, the list of which is not small, are in different genre categories. For example, in 2015, he played a detective story in the TV series "Method". A detective named Thin, though not the main character, was remembered for several vivid scenes.
But this concerns the last works of Bykov. He began with a game of criminal elements. In 2007, in the series "Sea Soul" he was a bandit with a psychopathy, in 2008 he was a drug dealer in Ranetki, and a murderer in SSD. In 2009, without changing the classics of his genre, he played a bandit in the second part of the film “Two Sisters”. Probably the directors, once they see him in action, understand that there is no better negative character than Yuri Bykov. Films, the list of which he still replenished with his acting, were mostly not remembered because of him, since he got only a few episodic scenes.
Currently, the director is working on the film "Time of the First" together with Dmitry Kiselyov. Will the new film be full of Bykov’s same depression, the viewer will be able to find out only by the end of 2016. It is hoped that his characteristic style will not be erased by the work of his colleague.