In 2009, the debut screening of the drama directed by Vasily Sigarev, “The Top”, took place at the Moscow Premiere Film Festival. The film reviews of Russian filmmakers and festival participants called the "special event."
Confession
In the same year, the picture was marked by an impressive number of Kinotavr prizes (the main prize and prizes for the best screenplay, female role, film critics of the Russian Federation and the film guild) and was selected to participate in the competition held in Karlovy Vary. Despite the misunderstanding of ordinary inhabitants, the film “Spinning Top” received critical reviews, its rating was IMDb: 7.20. Filmmakers appreciated the new level of Sigarev’s cinema extremism.
Household tale
Nothing excites the hearts of compatriots like national films. Volchok received good reviews, among other things, because it showed the harsh Russian reality without embellishment.
The story begins with a scene of persecution. Law enforcement officers are chasing a pregnant heroine in a clean field drowning in snowdrifts. Due to the crime she committed, the heroine is sentenced to prison, and the child born is transferred to her grandmother. The daughter will see a dissolute mother after seven years. Buying off the child, the woman gives the baby a couple of cans of condensed milk, a hedgehog, hematogen and a wooden top. After hurriedly leaving with unknown men in an unknown direction.
The girl has a lot of reasons to turn into a bristling wolf cub, but an unrequited and selfless feeling of love for her mother helps her socialize. And perceive the surrounding reality as a spinning top. The film reviews are diametrically opposed. Individual moral scholars express their protest at demonstrating indecent scenes involving a child in the narrative.
Children's Narration
The film “The Top”, reviews and reviews are a confirmation of this, the structure of the story is similar to the “Mermaid” by Anna Melikyan, in which the abominations on the screen are described by a child. But Sigarev presents "children's narration" without flirting with the achievements of civilization and glamor. In addition, the girl’s voice-over voice actually belongs to the leading woman, part-time wife of the director Yana Troyanova. What can not but prompt the lover of intellectual cinema to the idea of being closed, in which children, out of hopelessness, are forced to repeat the fate of their parents.
Despite the love of his characters, the director does not idealize them, so it’s very difficult to watch and perceive his production. Spectators who are going to see the brainchild of Sigarev should be prepared for the perception of a rather gloomy plot and the presence in it of an impressive amount of profanity.
main character
Despite the fact that the narration is conducted on behalf of the child, the protagonist of the drama is the prodigal (in all senses) mother. This characteristic role was a real gift for the brilliant actress Yana Troyanova. The performer made the heroine the embodiment of spiritual meanness and weakness, the character turned out to be truly repulsive, disgusting and righteous anger. The actress managed to demonstrate to the audience not only the character of her heroine, but also his transformation. Just awesome acting!
The visual solution and direction of the drama "The Top"
The film received rave reviews not only thanks to the efforts of the actors invited to the production of the tape. Experts called the pictorial solution of the picture magnificent, in which the direct merit of the operator-debutant Aleksey Arsentyev. Thanks to his skill, the wretched provincial house looks like a strange, even mystical place, as the little heroine perceives her home. The artist’s work is also remarkable: the brightness of the outside world is contrasted with the grayness of the interior of her grandmother’s house, and the catchy tones in the clothes of the character of Troyanova are contrasted with the restrained robes of her sister and mother. However, the success of the visual system cannot smooth out the unpleasant aftertaste from the moral ambiguity of the drama “The Top”.
The film is praised by moviegoers of all stripes for the fact that what is happening is not without dynamics, although most of the events take place indoors. And when the need arises, the action is transferred to the vastness, which is more than enough. To achieve this effect on the first try, not all directors who previously engaged in theatrical productions succeed.
About the disadvantages
Like most adaptations of plays, the “Top” has one drawback - an overabundance of monologues and dialogues. Since the theatrical performance is limited to the stage, its main driver is the actors. Even the most ordinary text in their performance sounds different, each time changing depending on the mood of the audience. Cinema is many times more dynamic, and can express a lot with the help of a visual series of images, not text.