In 2010, Balabanov’s picture "The Fireman" was released. The film, whose actors were unknown to the audience, won many positive reviews. The tape was well received by critics. The plot and actors of the film "Fireman" - the topic of the article.
Stoker writer
The film "The Fireman" takes place in the Northern capital of Russia in the era of perestroika, unemployment, poverty and crime. The protagonist is the hero of the Soviet Union, a retired major with heavy shell shock nicknamed Yakut. Such a nickname is given to him because of his nationality.
Having become useless to anyone in the war or in the police, Yakut settles in a boiler room, where he has been living and working for the following years. In his free time, he prints a story on an old typewriter. A prerequisite for this kind of hobby was vivid impressions of the work of ethnographer Vaclav Seroshevsky “Hailach”. So called the criminals left after serving in the villages of Yakutia.
Many guests come to the stoker room, among them little girls Lena and Vera and former colleagues of Yakut, who had long since laid dust on the shelf of the order from Afghanistan and who became unprincipled bloodthirsty bandits. Despite many years of friendship, not all visitors turned out to be good people. Some of them are very evil. And the major’s quiet, measured life ends when his brothers in arms bring the body of his daughter to the stoker. Now he realized that for cruelty and lawlessness one had to pay with the same coin.
Premiere
The full-length film "The Fireman" was shot in 2010 by the famous contemporary director Alexei Balabanov. The debut screening took place in August of the same year in Vyborg during the “Window to Europe” film festival. The film won the prize in the category of "High Professional Excellence" and received the award of the Guild of Film Critics and Film Critics of Russia.
At the international hire "Kochegar" appeared on January 29, 2011. Crime drama came to the cinema screens of our country much earlier, in mid-October 2010. The premiere turned out to be a failure, but the box office of five and a half million rubles covered all the money spent on the film.
Film crew
Russian critics appreciated Balabanov’s film much later. Special attention was paid to the director's work and the play of the actors. Not stars, but, on the contrary, hitherto unknown to the general public people were involved in the film "Kochegar".
Movie: actors
The photo above is an episode with the participation of Yuri Matveev. On the set, he was in 2010 for the first time. The participation of actors known to the audience, according to the director, would destroy the unique atmosphere present in the film. In the picture, Balabanova was played by Yuri Matveev, Alexander Mosin, Aida Tumutova and Anna Karataeva. Unprofessional actors of the film "Fireman" unexpectedly showed excellent artistic abilities and filled the film with a whole range of feelings.
The main role was played by Mikhail Scriabin. Previously, he had already starred in the movie Balabanov. The actor played one of the roles in the infamous film “Cargo 200”. Peter Semak, before the release of the film "The Fireman", played in the movie more than thirty roles. Professional actors of the movie "Fireman" agreed to play for free. The film was not funded by anyone and was created mostly on the extraordinary creative potential of the film crew. Other actors of the film "Fireman" - Sayan Mognush, Irina Osnovina, Philip Dyachkov, Oleg Korytin.
Main character
Mikhail Scriabin was awarded the White Elephant Award for his role in Balabanov’s film. The image of the protagonist in the film reminds the director himself. Like the fireman, Balabanov went through the Afghan war. The Yakut major is laconic. So was the director in life.
But there are features in the hero of Scriabin, which served as the reason for comparing him with the "little man" that is so often found in Russian classics. He is naive, honest, somewhat weak. The hero of the picture belongs to a national minority, which is also symbolic. But the "little man" at some point always becomes big and scary. After the murder of his daughter, he wears a military uniform. The stoker kills those who are responsible for the girl's death, and then commits suicide. His story remains incomplete.
Not only the script is the popularity that received in 2011 the film "Fireman". Actors and roles of the director were selected according to a special principle. Only those who felt and understood him worked with Balabanov.