The first official biography of Yuri Gagarin is a real patriotic biopic about the famous Soviet cosmonaut, created according to the Hollywood patterns, but almost from the first minutes of time-lapse revealing its Soviet essence. By the way, the timing of the film “Gagarin. First in space ”(front-end actors: Y. Zhalnin, M. Filippov, V. Steklov, O. Ivanova, V. Michman) is exactly 108 minutes. The flight of Yuri Gagarin lasted as much.
History of creation
Film production started back in 2009. The creators of the film were screenwriter Andrei Dmitriev and director Pavel Parkhomenko. Not the last place in the production of cinema was played by producer Oleg Kapanets. Not only did he become a co-author of the script, so in the film “Gagarin. First in Space ”actors and roles were matched to each other under his direct control. The tape was shot over six years, several hundred people were involved in the shooting, and the rocket was built in Ukraine.
Pavel Parkhomenko is known to the national cinema community as an art director of many famous paintings: “Cargo 200”, “Zhmurki”, “Morphine”, “It Doesn’t Hurt”, “War”. He has tremendous experience in cooperation with leading Russian directors: Kirill Serebrennikov, Yuri Mamin, Yuri Grymov and Alexei Balabanov. His debut picture is the film “Everybody Dance!” In which the director practiced creating an idealized Soviet myth. Therefore, the choice of director by the producers is clear: Parkhomenko is one of the few contemporary directors who are able not to vulgarize historical events, to reveal their ins and outs in the right way. Also competently selected for the movie “Gagarin. The first in space "actors.
Short storyline
The creators of the movie really did a good job and made the human legend Yuri Gagarin a living, full-fledged character with a personal life, past, and some secrets. The plot shows not only the preparation for the flight and the unforgettable feat of Gagarin. The narrative is interrupted by countless flashbacks, in which the very young protagonist, performed by actor Maxim Saprykin, talks about his dream of conquering space. The character’s life during the fascist occupation is also shown, the first awkward attempts to courtship the matured cadet Yuri for the love of his life.
For those ignorant of the movie, there are details of lengthy training for applicants for the title of first astronaut; the emotions of chief designer Sergei Korolev (actor Mikhail Filippov) are revealed. Khrushchev (actor Vladimir Chuprikov) is present in the picture in his recognizable shirt embroidered with embroidered patterns, preparing Gagarin the rank of major and a reception in the Kremlin.
Such a new reading of the biography of the legendary personality of the USSR was presented to the audience in the dramatic film “Gagarin. First in Space ”actors whose photos adorn the official movie poster.
Lead actor
The selection of all, without exception, role performers (primary and secondary) leaves the most pleasant impression. In the dramaturgy of the picture, Hollywood intonations are felt - all the characters are represented cheerfully and clearly. A separate success of the project is the performer of the role of the main character - the beginning charismatic actor Yaroslav Zhalnin, whose face did not have time to become familiar and become boring to the audience. In fact, the role of Gagarin is considered the debut of the performer in the title role. Outwardly, Zhalnin very much resembles an astronaut in texture - he has a modest but pleasant appearance, a charming smile. Yaroslav plays the role of his character, who survived the horrors of the Second World War and was able to live on with faith in a dream and a happy future. In fairness, it is worth noting that the role of the main character was played throughout the entire narration of the film “Gagarin. The first in space ”actors: Yaroslav Zhalnin - an adult, Maxim Saprykin - as a teenager, Christopher Yakovtsev - in childhood, Lev Yakovtsev - in early childhood.
No less significant
Of course, the radiant image of Yuri Gagarin, created by Zhalnin, pushes into the background the character of Academician Korolev and other “fighters of the invisible front”, without whom the “East” could hardly break into space.
Mikhail Filippov perfectly got used to the role of the Queen. The actor of theater and cinema has countless government awards, is a laureate of many film awards. Known to a wide audience for roles in the paintings: “Children of the Arbat”, “Silver Lily of the Valley”, “Capercaillie”, “Spy”, etc.
Actors of the film “Gagarin. First in Space ”created a series of distinctive images, among which the remarkable artist Victor Proskurin, who played the role of the father of the central character, stands out from time to time. The actor took part in 100 films produced by the USSR and the Russian Federation, the most famous of which are considered: “And the dawns here are quiet ...”, “A guy from our city”, “A military romance”, “A cruel romance”, “Afghan break” and many others.
Friend and rival Gagarin German Titov on the screen embodied Vadim Michman. The Russian actor, before participating in the project, did not have impressive experience, he only had one film - “Step by Step” and minor roles in musicals. In fact, for Michman, there was a debut role in the biographical film “Gagarin. The first in space. ” Actors, colleagues in the workshop, more sophisticated in experience and sophisticated in the art of reincarnation, strongly supported novice performers.
Through the prism of achievement
The creators of the project followed the only right way, showing the personality of Yuri Gagarin through the prism of his outstanding feat and memory of his contemporaries. In addition to the moral message, the film has all the canonical signs of Hollywood suspense - the increasing pace of events, truly epic scope, a lot of exciting, disturbing moments and the struggle of man with cosmic accidents.