Quite recently, a light comedy melodrama about a couple came out, which spent several unforgettable days in California Los Angeles, from the artisan who never ceases to amaze, and in every sense. The release date for “Love in the City of Angels” is September 29, 2017, the budget is $ 100,000, and the current rating is 4.2. On most thematic sites, the director of the project is Evgeny Vikharev, although in fact the scandalously famous Sarik Andreasyan shot the movie.
The "substitution" trick
There is an opinion among filmmakers that cinema should be shot so that only from mentioning the name in the credits of film critics starts a nervous tick, foes tighten in enemies, and the viewer has an irresistible desire to see what awaits them this time. There are very few domestic directors with such characteristics, among them Sarik Andreasyan, a visionary, screenwriter and producer who boasts the most controversial filmography in the Russian Federation. Each of his projects traditionally provokes heated discussion in Runet. This is to some extent a success, many domestic directors do not even dream about it, but the shade of such popularity does not always please the "hero of the occasion". However, Andreasyan ignores the attacks of haters, is not particularly upset by the avalanche of criticism, because most of his projects are commercially successful, and his love of art constantly pushes the visionary to experiment. This time he presented the film “Love in the City of Angels” (2017) to the audience.
"A dark horse"
Sarik Andreasyan is indeed the author of the script and director of the melodrama Love in the City of Angels. Reviews published by film critics emphasize this fact as one, ignoring the information indicated in promo materials with dummies. At the same time, most reviewers note that this move of the creators is not explained by fear, but with the goal of “disconnecting” those who look from any associations and possible prejudices. In our Fatherland, they like to blame films and arrange boycotts for the premiere, even without completely understanding the material and the situation. The creators wanted to avoid this, but fell into another trap. The picture, on the one hand, came out without too much hype, but on the other, for the majority it remained a "dark horse", therefore reviews and reviews on "Love in the City of Angels" are characterized by a small number.
Arthouse project
“Love in the city of angels” reviews of domestic film experts are positioned as yet another bold attempt to realize Andreasyan’s creative ideas. This is an experiment, but not a genre one, not exploiting the heroic pages of the past of Russian history and not aimed at high profits. Rather, it is a cinema-novel-reflection, a film-statement, a tape-emotion, that is, a natural arthouse project, more characteristic of directors of a different creative spectrum. Therefore, the trick accompanying the premiere of the tape with the "substitution" of the names of the authors fits into its concept.
Ups and downs of production
The very modest budget of the film “Love in the City of Angels” (2017) prompted the creators to show their inventiveness and the wonders of ingenuity. For example, the shooting process on the busy streets of the American metropolis was conducted under the guise of shooting a wedding video and the work of film students, which does not require payment. Before the start of the production process, the director invited all those who wanted to visit the set, having previously agreed that they would say a few words about love in an interview. These fragmentary statements pass through the narrative with a red thread.
Many viewers in the reviews expressed regret that in the melodrama “Love in the City of Angels,” little-known actors are involved, because well-known stars invited by everyone could attract a large mass of inhabitants.
The main female role was played by the Russian theater and film actress Natalya Rudova, the most famous for a wide audience in the image of Tatyana Barinova in the television series Tatyana’s Day. Her screen partner was Mikael Aramyan, a Russian artist, a native of Armenia. The performer was remembered by the viewer for his work in the melodrama Ladder to Heaven, and now he has seriously declared himself in the movie Love in the City of Angels. Actors-performers of key roles composed a harmonious duet.
Plot plot
In the center of the story are two young people who accidentally met while walking along the ocean coast. Interested in each other, the characters decide to continue communication during a sightseeing in Los Angeles. Through countless dialogues, they draw closer together, learning more and more about each other. However, something is holding them back, not allowing them to rush into the sensual whirlpool with their heads, to let a random acquaintance into their inner world. So briefly and vaguely you can describe the plot of "Love in the city of angels."
The fact is that in the picture the basic principles of the plot narrative are almost completely absent. There are key characters, but they do not change, they add nothing and do not take away in the development of the plot. In cinema, there is almost no action as such. Sometimes there is a feeling that the authors themselves did not fully understand what they want to tell, what they want to show. Despite the fact that the film is declared as a comedy, reviews on “Love in the City of Angels” claim that humor is not a strong point of the film. And not because the jokes are flat or sore, the invisible, dramatic note present on the periphery prevents you from indulging in fun. By the way, the ending of the picture is not at all predictable.
Verdict
Of course, the film cannot be ranked among the significant achievements of the domestic film industry; a lot of complaints can be made against it. Among the shortcomings of the film “Love in the City of Angels”, critics' reviews indicate: a crumpled minimalist scenario, a trembling camera, losing focus, theatricality of dialogs and the stereotypical central characters. But in the spirit of understanding of Sarik Andreasyan as a creative person and a visionary, the project provides an enormous reason for reflection.