On the widescreen fields of the global film industry, melodrama has long ceased to be a sought-after product. In the new millennium, thrillers, blockbusters and films about vampires and other antiheroes took the lead. Russian hire was no exception. Nevertheless, the director Stanislav Govorukhin in 2002 decided to make a film about love, fidelity and humility with the original title “Bless the Woman”. Actors, selected for the main roles, with full dedication took up the project and brought to life an amazing story dedicated to our mothers and grandmothers.
“Bless the woman”: how it all began
In film success, except for the film crew, no one really believed. Critics also did not lay special hopes on the tearful melodrama. And yet, after reading this touching story, Govorukhin decided to take a vacation in the State Duma and again move to the director's chair. An interesting fact: only after the film was released on television and the audience was stunned, did the journalists begin to find out the facts about the script and background of the film “Bless the Woman”. It turned out that the actors and roles presented to the public are not mythical characters, but real people, about whom the novel was written in the 70s of the last century.
Real story
Indeed, this picture is not just another brainchild of scriptwriters about the difficult share of a Russian woman. The film was preceded by a real story. The famous Soviet writer Irina Grekova outlined it on the pages of her book. From the pen of this woman came out more than 10 short stories that became popular in the Soviet era. It turned out that under this pseudonym, the famous scientist Elena Sergeyevna Wentzel wrote her novels. “Mistress of the hotel” - that’s the title of the work, which formed the basis of the film “Bless the Woman”, and the actors transferred the history of the Kiryushin family to the screens. Vera, performed by Svetlana Khodchenkova, became the embodiment of Olga Semenovna, and commander Larichev, who won millions of women's hearts, thanks to the masterful play of Alexander Baluev - her husband Konstantin Vasilyevich.
Once, having arrived with her family on vacation in Odessa, Elena Sergeyevna settled in the guest house of the Kiryushins. Since then, a strong friendship has been established between the women, and having learned Olya’s amazing life story, she decided to transfer it to the pages of her novel, which was published in 1976. Unfortunately, neither the author nor the main characters of the novel survived to its adaptation. Nevertheless, the director tried to convey the image of a Russian woman described in the book as realistically as possible.
Bless the Woman: Actors and Roles
Before the start of filming, there were only a few months, and the cast was not yet selected. Stanislav Govorukhin began casting to participate in the film. Actors were immediately approved for supporting roles. The role of the eccentric actress Kunina, who lived in the Larins' house, went to Inna Churikova. Anna, the mother of Verochka, was supposed to play Irina Kupchenko. Alexander Mikhailov was supposed to embody Yurlov, the second husband of the main character. Vitaly Khanin was chosen for the role of Colonel Ryabinin. The director Govorukhin saw his film “Bless the Woman” as diverse and stellar. Actors and supporting roles were thought out to the smallest detail and were not in doubt. But the main characters were never found. As a result, on the last day of auditions, Govorukhin decided to approve Vladimir Guskov and Masha Mironova for leading roles.
But the case changed all the director’s plans. The disheveled and terrified Sveta Khodchenkova, a first-year student at a theater school, rushed into the room, and, out of breath, informed that she had come to try on the role of Vera's sister. Glancing at the frightened and worried girl and talking with her for several minutes, Govorukhin immediately realized that he had found the main character for his new film. In connection with these changes, the male image was given to Alexander Baluev, who also tried on the role of commander of the Soviet Army.
Plot of the film
Ode to a Soviet woman - the film crew “Bless the Woman” was so secretly called by the film crew. The actors, reading the script, understood: to recreate the spirit of the past era, you would need a complete immersion in their own characters. What is this picture about?
The film begins in the distant 1935. A young seventeen-year-old girl Vera meets a military man on the seashore. An easy conversation ensues between people. A fleeting meeting turns Vera's life upside down. A man twice her age offers to become his wife and leave with him from her native village. And so begins the wanderings and ups and downs of life of Verochka as the wife of the commander Alexander Ivanovich Larichev. The constant nomadic life in connection with her husband’s appointments, the lack of a family nest, Shunechka’s reluctance to have children, war, the death of loved ones - many troubles fell on this steadfast woman who was ready to submit to fate, but not lose hope and faith.
The main idea of ​​“Bless the Woman”, which the actors magnificently embodied in the on-screen life of their heroes, remains the feeling of love and devotion that Russian women carried throughout their difficult lives in the heart.
Reviews on the film "Bless the Woman"
At the box office, as critics predicted, the film failed. Cash collection turned out to be scanty. But the television version as a 4-episode film captivated the viewer. Such a flurry of positive emotions and responses to the picture "Bless the Woman" the actors and the film crew did not expect. It was a success! The audience loved this film, and it was to the taste not only of the older generation, but also of youth.
Recognition of critics and awards
Everyone who watched this picture admits that the actors and the roles of the film “Bless the Woman” from the first minutes of viewing transfer the viewer to the atmosphere of those years. That is why, despite the negative forecasts that drove the film industry, the film received positive feedback from the audience and the jury of many festivals.
The painting was nominated for the Nika Prize in 2003. Svetlana Khodchenkova became the nominee of the same film festival for the main female role in the film "Bless the Woman." Inna Churikova received "Nick" for a supporting role in this picture. At the festival in Gatchina, the picture was awarded a special prize for the embodiment of the lyrical theme, and Khodchenkova received a figurine for the best female role.