The film "The End of a Beautiful Era", reviews of which we will consider in our article, was released on wide screens in 2015. She was very awaited by the fans of the famous writer Sergei Dovlatov, since one of the collections of his short stories formed the basis of the script for the tape, and this was the first screen version of the writer's work.
"The End of a Beautiful Era": critics' reviews, the idea of creating a film
Fans of Soviet cinema will have no difficulty remembering who is the person who shot such cult Russian films as “Voroshilovsky Shooter” and “The meeting place cannot be changed.” Of course, this is the recognized master of directing - Stanislav Govorukhin. “The End of a Beautiful Era”, which is commented on by both professional critics and ordinary movie buffs, has become one of the great director ’s last works . It is worth noting that at the time of work on the film, the artist was already 80 years old, but this did not stop him from actively engaged in directing work and take a full part in the filming.
The author, whose collection of short stories "Compromise" formed the basis of the script for the film, became the notorious Sergei Dovlatov. "The End of a Beautiful Era", reviews of which often come down to comparing the tape with previously published short stories, did not become a complete adaptation of the stories.
"Compromise", taken as the basis of the film
At one time, Dovlatov managed to win a crowd of ardent admirers of his talent due to the fact that he wrote in a very specific, inherent only to him one way. This man lived in the Soviet Union and wrote about what surrounds him: about the Soviet government, ordinary people, about politics and censorship. He wrote very accurately, accurately, and in all his works there is an invariable subtle humor and irony, and sometimes even sarcasm. Over time, for this kind of work, Dovlatov was persecuted by the power of the Soviets, and the author was forced to emigrate to the United States. There he was quite successfully published, published in very authoritative American publications, and also led his own author’s program on Radio Liberty.
The story of Compromise
A few years before emigration, Dovlatov’s biography was a period when he lived in Estonia. Initially, Dovlatov worked as a freelance correspondent in the editorial office of Sovetskaya Estonia, and in 1972 he was accepted by the journalist into the information department of this newspaper.
Own experience in publishing and formed the basis for writing stories collected in the "Compromise".
The collection consists of 12 stories that are interconnected by a single plot: they talk about the work of a talented and young writer in the editorial office of a local newspaper. Despite the fact that the book was clearly autobiographical, many, including the well-known Russian screenwriter and writer Valery Popov, do not quite understand the Dovlatian irony and sarcasm about the editorial mores of that time. According to Popov, the period of Sergei Donatovich’s work in “Soviet Estonia” was very fruitful for the author, and the editors respected and appreciated him as a brilliant journalist and talented author.
Unusual beginning
The film “The End of a Beautiful Era”, reviews of which often praise a particular beginning in the form of chronicles from the time of the Soviet Union, begins with a series of black and white documentary plots. They show a real shot of Yuri Gagarin after his legendary flight into space. The game at the piano of the ingenious Van Cliburn is shown, the arrival of the charming Elizabeth Taylor in the Union. Documentary shooting very accurately and realistically conveys the atmosphere in Soviet halls when Okudzhava and Akhmadulin read their poems from the stage, as well as the mood of the audience when Vysotsky sang their songs . Nikita Khrushchev says on the staff that everyone who does not agree with the Union’s policy is no longer being held in the Union, which causes full support and a flurry of emotions for everyone who agrees with this policy.
These moments, very clearly and realistically showing the mood that prevailed in the Union in the middle and end of the 60s, were successfully selected, mounted and shown at the very beginning of the film “The End of a Beautiful Era”. Reviews of the film of those people who witnessed the events show that such a successful decision by Govorukhin gave them the opportunity to really remember their youth, youth, childhood. Viewing these frames for many causes a slight sense of nostalgia about that time.
Short story
“The End of a Beautiful Era” (reviews of which often criticize a weak storyline) tells about the young writer Andrei Lentulov. His novels, as, indeed, of many young authors, are not published in publications, and therefore he finds another use for his talent, which is able to feed him. The young man works as a journalist for the newspaper, but because of his ambitions and censorship, he cannot hold out for long.
Once, quite by accident, he was offered to go to Tallinn and work in a local newspaper, which Andrey agrees, without hesitation for a long time. But, having moved to Estonia, he realizes that local propaganda and censorship are in no way inferior to the central ones, from which he tried to escape.
Coincidences and differences in the plots of books and films
“The End of a Beautiful Era” (reviews of the film are not very pleasant, as a rule, leave ardent admirers of Dovlatov’s creativity) shows only a few episodes from the “Compromise”. Stanislav Sergeyevich shifted the events described in the collection, several years in advance, and also quite professionally placed his ideological accents in the plot. Most film critics accepted this quite normally, since each director has every right to interpret the work of the author in his own way.
“The End of a Beautiful Era” is a film by Govorukhin, reviews about which Dovlatov’s fans do not always leave the warmest, will most likely disappoint those who decided to watch it solely because it was shot on the basis of “Compromise”. Most of those who saw this tape say that Dovlatov himself simply disappeared from it. His subtle irony is not visible to everyone, and the protagonist, who became the prototype of the author, simply automatically pronounces the text written by the great Sergey Donatovich, and not only watches what is happening and participates in the plot, but is simply present there.
Actors and roles
The film "The End of a Beautiful Era", reviews on "Imkhonet" about which often come down to a discussion of the acting in it, gathered on the set already known and loved by the audience actors. The shooting was attended by Sergey Garmash, Dmitry Astrakhan, as well as Fedor Dobronravov. In addition to the owners of these famous names, actors who do not yet have much recognition among a wide audience play in the tape. Such can be considered Ivan Kolesnikov, who played the main role of Lentulov in the film "The End of a Beautiful Era." Reviews of film critics about his work are very controversial.
Impressions of the acting work of the leading actor
On the one hand, many note that Kolesnikov was able to successfully convey through the screen Dovlat's ironic restraint and cold stoicism.
But, on the other hand, many critics write that the actor still outplayed: sometimes his hero seems a little lethargic, and it seems that he is not an active participant in the events, but only watches what is happening from the outside.
Assessment of the work of Svetlana Khodchenkova
The role of Marina, the chief editor of the Tallinn newspaper, went to the actress, who plays Govorukhin for the first time, Svetlana Khodchenkova. According to the plot, she has a very strange and incomprehensible relationship with the main character that is difficult to attribute to the format of a standard service novel. The age of the heroine played by Khodchenkova makes her think about her future and the birth of children. But Lentulov is in no hurry to offer her a hand and heart, allows himself to spend time in a bath with a young admirer of his writing talent, but she is not in a hurry to let Marina go.
Reviews of film critics regarding the acting work of Svetlana in this tape are more positive. She managed to flawlessly play the image of the peculiar Snow Queen and show the tragedy of female fate with great restraint.
Sergey Garmash, as always, did an excellent job with his role, it would seem, of the second plan. But in fact, his policeman, who appeared in only a few episodes, succinctly expresses one of the main ideas of the film: all the people around talk a lot about the lack of freedom, but if you give them this freedom, they are unlikely to understand what to do with it .
The audience who watched the picture most often leaves a pleasant impression about the game of this particular actor.
The film "The End of a Beautiful Era": reviews, reviews
First of all, fans of Stanislav Govorukhin, for whom he is an unshakable idol in directing, were waiting for the release of this tape on the screen.
The film “The End of a Beautiful Era”, reviews of ordinary viewers about which we will examine in more detail in our article, was really very expected for them. After watching, many wrote that the movie turned out to be kind in its own way. Despite the fact that the film shows the end of the “beautiful era”, that is, the period of Soviet life that came after the legendary thaw, it realistically shows pictures of the daily drunkenness of Soviet citizens and widespread censorship, which sometimes rereads common sense and reaches the point of absurdity. However, the film does not cause a clear negative.
After watching the majority of older viewers, on the contrary, there was a feeling of nostalgia for the past.
The devoted fans of the director perceive any of his new work as an unquestioning masterpiece. For such ardent fans, the film by Stanislav Govorukhin, considered by us, “The End of a Beautiful Era” could not be an exception. The admirers of the director’s talent, of course, everywhere leave the best reviews of him. But there are also those who disagree with their opinion.
The film "The End of a Beautiful Era" (reviews and reviews of which are sometimes very controversial) is often criticized for distorting some real facts. On the one hand, the movie begins with a series of documentary shots that enhance the effect of realism of everything that happens in the story below. But on the other hand, many eyewitnesses of the events shown in the film say that not everything told in it should be taken on faith. An episode is often discussed in which it was shown how Americans first landed on the moon, and all the Soviet media hid this fact. According to the plot of the film, in order to watch the report about this, the heroes had to catch Finnish channels. Negative reviews about this episode are left by people who remember those times. They say that in fact this information was never hidden by the Soviet authorities, and young people who watch this film and perceive it as truth may have the wrong opinion about that “beautiful era” because of such a distortion of historical facts.
Is it worth the time to browse?
If you have free time, the film is still worth watching, because “The End of a Beautiful Era”, the reviews and reviews of professional critics about which are sometimes diametrically different, teaches its viewers the main thing - despite the fact that in life you often have to make compromises, this is not a reason to change your life principles and change your own point of view under the yoke of prevailing circumstances.