The film "I will not be back" reviews of domestic film critics dubbed an extraordinary international project in the genre of road movie. Going unnoticed by all major Russian film festivals, but at the same time worthy of the awards of any of them, the film directed by Ilmar Raag passed at the box office almost unappreciated by anyone.
Creators
âI will not be backâ (2014) is not only the debut of the Estonian director Ilmar Raag (creator of the thundered âClassâ) in Russian cinema, this is the brainchild of Sergei Selyanovâs studio, which is one of the signs of quality. For the latter, this project was a kind of return to impeccable form after previous unsuccessful âDialoguesâ.
The brainchild of Raaga - the film âI Will Not Returnâ the reviews of experts dubbed a rare case of good film production in the domestic film industry. The talent of the director, for the first time after the social drama âClassâ (a harsh chronicle of a school crime), which collected all kinds of prizes, received recognition from even the most skeptical movie lovers. The script for the film was written by the playwrights Yaroslav Pulinovich and Oleg Gaze. The undoubted advantage of the project was its genre affiliation, the road movie genre is extremely rare in Russian cinema. But the most indisputable sign of quality and originality was the choice of film for the main festival of independent films Tribeca.
Domestic road movie
âI Will Not Returnâ (2014) - an international project. Some episodes of the picture were shot in Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, while others, mainly on the road, were shot in Kazakhstan and Belarus. Finnish and Estonian manufacturing companies took a direct part in the production of the painting. Shooting a story, the director now and then turns to metaphysical and metamorphic devices - an integral part of the narrative is the road in all its manifestations, desirable and not very companions, fantasies and parables.
In general, the film âI Will Not Returnâ was called the reviews of professional filmmakers based on contrasts. Sometimes the story became as close as possible to reality - red-hot, contrasting, and from time to time it blurred like a fantasy haze. The director seems to be leading the viewer through strange paths, demonstrating all the vicissitudes of life - from bright, piercing moments of happiness to the most base manifestations of feelings.
Broad my native country
The film âI Will Not Returnâ, the actors and roles of which were selected by producer Selyanov, allows a foreign audience to fully experience the scope of Russia - geographical and social. Cozy apartments are quickly replaced by an unsightly picture of littered St. Petersburg entrances, branded red leather boots ruthlessly rhyme with rubber hundredoruby from the department store.
Critics, analyzing the film âI Will Not Returnâ, left various reviews, but they were united by one thing: they all as one noted an innovative approach to structuring the narrative. The main story (the hitchhiking odyssey) in the movie does not start right away, part of the timing goes to the eyeballs. In short, the plot of the movie is the following story. The main character Anna (Polina Pushkaruk), an unsociable graduate student who is already in her incomplete 23 already giving lectures on the work of Byron at the university, is involved in a deliberately hopeless relationship with one of the teachers, will be forced to go on the run. She is mistakenly accused of possession and sale of narcotic drugs. The girl, pretending to be an orphanage along with an occasional patron, 13-year-old Kristina (Vika Lobacheva), rushes to Kazakhstan, where the teenage girlâs grandmother allegedly lives.
Women's movie
The work of Ilmar Raag ideally matches the trend of female cinema, which has dominated the last two years in the Russian film industry. The script is co-written by Yaroslav Pulinovich, a 27-year-old native of Yekaterinburg. In the frame, for the most part, two debutantes - performers of the main roles. Actresses, especially Vika Lobacheva, who does not have a professional education, adequately respond to all the life ups and downs of her heroines, stay naturally and very straightforward. Therefore, they can be safely called the main advantage of the picture, which captivates the viewer with the organic and charming actresses. Polina Pushkaruk plays deeper and smarter than the material offered to her, she is prophesied by a prompt film career similar to the take-off of Oksana Akinshina from Sergei Bodrov's Sisters.
By the way, in addition to producer Sergei Selyanov, Raagâs brainchild has a lot in common with âSistersâ, but there are many differences. The Estonian director, by virtue of his non-Russian origin and mentality, perceives the surrounding reality too spiritually, against which the events of the picture unfold. His Russian contemporary reality looks sobering and frightening at the same time. Arthouse from Raaga nevertheless pleasantly surprises the domestic audience with the complete absence of fierce hopelessness and gloom.
Supporting Actors
The role of Dima Morozov in the film was played by Sergey Yatsenyuk. Russian film and theater actor from Kazakhstan. He already has experience in big cinema, although his debut took place relatively recently - in 2010. Sergey Yatsenyuk - winner of the highest theater prize "Golden Spotlights", fame brought the actor the films: "I will not return," "Prohibition" and "Young Guard".
The role of the director of the orphanage was performed by an actress deeply out of date, unspoiled by various "mass media", "industries", not affected by the diseases of modern acting. Actress Olga Belinskaya perfectly embodied the role of her character Natalia Ivanovna, her look is always tired and sad. Even when she smiles. Their melancholy expression seems to go over the whole face, the actress easily and accurately conveys changes in the internal state of her heroine.
Homeless Drama
The film "I will not return" reviews of filmmakers of all stripes identified delicate in relation to the themes of orphanages and orphans. The creators during the casting, realizing moral responsibility, did not specifically consider applicants from orphanages for the role of Christina. But still, the test by V. Lobacheva turned out to be beyond any competition. Later it became clear that the girl lived in an orphanage for several years, although at the time of filming, she moved to a foster family. But relations with the guardians did not work out, and Vika again found herself in the orphanage. Maybe that's why the filmmakers fundamentally avoided âpressure on the tearâ, did not use forbidden tricks at the end of the picture and left a tiny ray of hope. Nevertheless, in the minor tale of the tape, there are now and then intersperses of slang words and details of the existence of orphans.
Important components
Undoubtedly, the movie is copyright. This is evidenced by the work of the operator Tuomo Khutri and installation of Tambet Tasuya. However, itâs impossible to call the work of the operator the work, itâs rather an art painting by a camera, which is not just harmonious in the framework of the concept of the film, it seems to live its own life, by itself, led by a talented master.
No less sophisticated visual component and musical accompaniment of the picture. The unhurried, gentle melody of the Finnish composer Pan Aaltio is impossible to forget. There are no disturbing notes in musical compositions, the melody does not carry a load of sad events. The title theme of the film is associated with the astringency of the autumn delight, the hope and the light of true love.
Different meanings
The drama âI Will Not Returnâ can be attributed to a variety of meanings, subtexts. One of the most common options can be considered a metaphor for human life, in which the road chooses us, not we the way. You can equate the main character Anna with a whole generation of children of the 90s - abandoned by the state, forgotten by parents, who in their adult lives remain embittered wolf cubs, not adapted to the big world, not able to express their feelings and emotions. Others recognize in the heroine of Polina Pushkaruk Russia, at first cornered, deceived, but able to find its way, despite the fact that I had to start everything from scratch, surrounded by enemies.