The series "Children of the Arbat", whose actors and roles in 2004 stirred the hearts of viewers, was shot based on the eponymous novel by Anatoly Rybakov. The shooting was attended by prominent artists of Russian cinema. What is the film adaptation of the director Andrei Eshpay talking about?
"Children of the Arbat": actors and roles, a short story
The plot of the television film begins with an acquaintance with a company of young people who live on the Moscow Arbat, enjoy life, fall in love, plan the future. They still do not know that soon a wave of repression will swept through the country, and then the Great Patriotic War will break out.
Alexander Pankratov (E. Tsyganov) is convicted of anti-Soviet and exiled to Siberia. He goes through a difficult path before he gets the opportunity to return from the camps to his native Arbat. However, life with such a spot in the biography is not raspberry. Therefore, a young man consciously refuses to have a relationship with his beloved girl Varya, so as not to compromise her. Then Alexander tries to establish life, but the Great Patriotic War begins, and he goes to the front. The fate of Sasha Pankratov is constantly in the spotlight. In fact, he is the protagonist of the series "Children of the Arbat."
Actors and roles of key importance are also Varenka performed by Ch. Khamatova, Lena performed by I. Leonova, Daniil Strakhov and his character Yura Sharok, Inga Oboldina and her heroine Nina Ivanova. The lives of the characters are intertwined in a tight ball, which is gradually untied closer to the ending of the film.
Film crew
Director Andrei Eshpay became the leader and ideological inspirer of the television project “Children of the Arbat”. Actors and roles, script, filming process - all key issues were resolved under his leadership.
Eshpai is also the director of several other interesting projects. For example, in 1991, he shot the film “Humiliated and Offended” with Nastasya Kinski in the title role. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival. In 2006, the director released the film "The Dots" with Evgenia Simonova, who received the award of the international festival in Locarno.
The script for the series "Children of the Arbat" was written in collaboration with Valentin Chernykh (Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears) and Julia Damsker (Airport). The basis was taken on the trilogy of the same name by Anatoly Rybakov, published in 1987 and made a lot of noise both in the USSR and abroad.
The music for the film was written by Andrei Ledenyov, who also worked on dubbing the films “Free Woman”, “Ellipsis” and “Guide”.
"Children of the Arbat" (television series): actors and roles. Evgeny Tsyganov as Pankratov
For Yevgeny Tsyganov, the main role in the series “Children of the Arbat” became something like a happy “ticket” to the world of cinema. Prior to this, a young graduate of the Shchukin school starred in less visible projects.
The hero of Tsyganov, Sasha Pankratov, is a principled young man who has his own point of view and does not deviate from it, even if you have to pay for it. In the most difficult situations, Pankratov always maintained a sense of dignity and acted only according to his own principles. In the finale of the picture, unfortunately, Alexander and his lover were shot by the Germans in the midst of the Great Patriotic War.
After the premiere of the series A. Eshpay Tsyganova was waiting for success. For a long time he played in films exclusively leading roles: “Space as a Premonition”, “Fart”, “Hunter”, “Peter FM”, “Lilac Branch”. But over time, the hype around the actor’s person has subsided.
Chulpan Khamatova as Varenka
The film "Children of the Arbat", whose actors and roles are remembered for their penetration and drama, for Chulpan Khamatova was another milestone in her career. She came to the set already as a star, since behind her shoulders were the main roles in the films “Country of the Deaf”, “Moon Papa”, “Tuvalu”.
Although, after participating in the series “Children of the Arbat”, the actress allegedly strengthened her position in the cinema, since from 2004 to 2006 Khamatova played the most prominent roles in her career: Sylvia in the German drama “Son of a Son”, Anitsa in the Russian drama “Garpastum” ”, Olga Nesterovskaya in“ Death of the Empire ”, Lara in“ Doctor Zhivago ”and Katya in“ Swordsman ”.
Now the actress is removed not so often, since she is closely involved in theatrical productions and charity.
Other artists
The series "Children of the Arbat", whose actors and roles instantly gained popularity, gave impetus to the development of Irina Leonova's career. After the project, Eshpaya, the actress played the main roles in the action movie "Starship" and the comedy "Dreaming is not harmful." However, then Irina gave birth to 7 children and disappeared from the screens for almost 10 years.
The Soviet actress Evgenia Simonova, known for her role as a princess in “Ordinary Miracle”, was assigned the role of Sasha Pankratov's mother in the project. St. Petersburg actor Maxim Sukhanov ("The Country of the Deaf") played Joseph Stalin.
The famous actor Daniil Strakhov got the role of Yuri - a hero who betrayed his friends and beloved girl for the sake of a career in the NKVD. Vladimir Korenev (Amphibian Man) and Tatyana Kravchenko (Matchmakers) acted as parents of Yura Sharok.