One of the most shocking premieres of 2015 was the Russian tape “Orleans”. Reviews of the film come in so controversial that it is even intriguing. What did director Andrei Proshkin show in his film that it is so actively discussed by the public?
“Orleans” (film, 2015): reviews, creators, short story
Orleans is, of course, the film is not for the masses, although it was shown in cinemas in Russia, Poland, France and Argentina. This creation of Andrei Proshkin was not well- collected by the cashier: with a budget of 2.5 million dollars, only 304 thousand dollars were managed to gain.
The action of the tape takes place in the scenery of the county town - Orleans. The viewer does not fully understand what years are displayed on the screen: either Soviet, or the 90s, or modernity. But this is not important, because people were the same at all times, and in any century you can find unscrupulous sinners. So the native population of Orleans is simply immersed in vices until an executor arrives in the city. So he begins to punish sinners according to the “eternal” law. Actually, the Orleans picture was shot about this in the phantasmagoric genre.
The film received reviews from critics mostly positive. They call director Andrei Proshkin a worthy successor to the work of his father, Alexander Proshkin, who once shot such films as Olga Sergeevna, Dangerous Age, Mikhailo Lomonosov and Doctor Zhivago with Oleg Menshikov in the title role. Andrei is known only to a narrow circle of intellectual viewers who could see his following films: “Moth Games” with Oksana Akinshina, “Minnesota” with Sergey Gorobchenko, and “Horde” with Maxim Sukhanov.
Who played the main roles in Andrei Proshkin’s unreal tragicomedy Orleans?
Elena Lyadova as a slutty hairdresser
“Orleans” is a film (2015), reviews of which in a positive way were left by fans of the actress, Elena Lyadova. In this tape, she got a very colorful role: the dissolute hairdresser Lidka with a terrible hairstyle, numerous random connections and unpaid electricity bills.
According to the plot, Lidka slept with almost half of the capable male population of the city. The executor finds the sinner in the hospital, where she plans to have more than the first abortion. He says that Lidka has exceeded all possible limits of immoral behavior, for which he will be punished by death.
Elena Lyadova is a good actress, and it is unlikely that anyone will argue with this. But recently, she has been stubbornly stuck in the image of a woman walking: at first there was the TV series Treason, then Orleans immediately appeared on the screens. Soon, Lyadova will become the main "libertine" of Russian cinema. And so already on the forums, an extra letter is added to her last name.
But there were more recently the “Brothers Karamazov” and the image of Grushenka, “Ashes” and the role of Rita, “Leviathan” and the image of Lily. It is hoped that Lyadova will not continue to build her career in the spirit of Orleans.
Viktor Sukhorukov as an executor
Viktor Sukhorukov is an actor who has always occupied a special place in Russian cinema. It seems that the directors did not indulge in its main roles, however, appearing in the frame for even a couple of minutes, he managed to draw the maximum attention of the viewer.
So, in what films does Sukhorukov shine on the screen? In the films "Brother" and "Brother-2" by Alexei Balabanov, he plays the reckless brother of Danila Bagrov. In “The High Security Comedy,” Victor got the role of a prisoner participating in amateur performances and playing on prison scaffolds. In the series "Furtseva", the actor plays the brisk and cunning Khrushchev. In 2014, the actor was offered the role of an executor in the tragicomedy Orleans.
The acting skills of Sukhorukov always received the most enthusiastic reviews. So this time it is difficult to imagine someone else in the ironic role of the punisher of all sinners. Viktor Sukhorukov really coped well with his difficult task.
Other role performers
The tape “Orleans” (the phantasmagoria of sin), reviews of which are becoming the subject of fierce debate, is in itself a very ironic film. Some critics even try to compare this creation with Bulgakov's “Master and Margarita,” only in a more rigid interpretation.
In order to reflect the sinful life of a provincial town, the directors needed only twelve actors. Only four of them play the main roles: Elena Lyadova, Viktor Sukhorukov, Vitaliy Khaev, who got the role of an unscrupulous investigator, and Oleg Yagodin, who is good in the image of a cruel and cynical surgeon.
Vitaly Khaev has acted a lot in films, but most often it is about television films such as Orlova and Aleksandrov, How I Became Russian, and Temptation.
Oleg Yagodin is also a low-flying bird: he starred in only six films, in Orleans for the first time received the main role.
Also lit in the frame: Pavel Tabakov (“Star”), Julia Polyn (“Maltese Cross”) and Irina Cho (“LJ”).
Orleans (Phantasmagoria): Criticism
The film by Andrey Proshkin is controversial. The label "for an amateur" is more suitable for him. Nevertheless, critics tend to positively evaluate the tape "Orleans."
Reviews and reviews written by journalists of periodicals state that the director nevertheless managed to provoke catharsis and a feeling of purification in the viewer through a demonstration of disgusting scenes. Laudatory odes are addressed to the entire cast and screenwriter Yuri Arabov.
What film "Orleans" received negative reviews? Some critics did not appreciate the director’s “thin” game with the ugly and considered that it was not phantasmagoria, but simply “chernukha,” which is often confused in Russia with an art house.
Viewers reviews
Amazing agreement prevails between critics and viewers about the opinions about the tragicomedy “Orleans”: reviews of the film, left by an ordinary audience, have much in common with professional reviews. Someone sees a new Bulgakov in Proshkin, and someone believes that the director simply does not have a taste and a banal sense of aesthetics, since he “pulled” all this “dirt” onto the screen. Outrageous is, of course, good. But a sense of proportion today is welcomed as never before.
It remains only to add that on the IMDb website the film has a rating of 6.20 with a margin all the same in a positive direction. So, it's definitely worth a look.