Often even the most talented actors suffer from lack of demand in the cinema. “When the trees were big” is a classic of Soviet cinema. Such drama artists such as Yuri Nikulin, Leonid Kuravlev, Vasily Shukshin played in this drama. For the leading role, the work in the film Kulidzhanova became the only significant in her career. Inna Gulaya had a unique acting talent. But in the movie, she could not realize herself.
The story of the film "When the Trees were Big"
The actors and roles in this picture could be completely different. When making the film, as expected, the director and his assistants spent a lot of time and energy in searching for suitable artists.
Kulidzhanov - the director of the film - did not see a single picture with Nikulin. But when he visited the circus during the artist’s performance, all previous candidates for the role of Iordanov faded. With the advent of Nikulin, the script had to be changed during the filming. This actor was distinguished by extraordinary artistry, tragicomicism.
Could other actors play Kuzma Iordanov? “When the trees were big” is a picture that cannot be imagined without the participation of Nikulin. If another actor played the main role in the film of Kulidzhanov, a completely different story would have come out.
The picture is based on the work of Nikolai Figurovsky. But Kulidzhanov did not like the initial version. Moreover, the director spoke very harshly about Figurovsky’s book and agreed to shoot a film on it only if the author made the necessary corrections. The writer was offended, but redid the text. What was the plot of the book Figurovsky initially, is unknown. But Kulidzhanov was pleased with the result of the author’s revision, and therefore immediately started preparing for the shoot.
What other actors played in this film? “When the trees were big” is a film in which Nikulin played his first dramatic role. Other artists who participated in the filming are listed below.
Plot
The main character - Kuzma - a man lost to society. He served several times for parasitism. He’s a locksmith by profession, but has long forgotten his profession. And then one day an elderly woman turns to him on the street with a request to help transport the washing machine. He helps her. However, at the last moment, the car falls into a flight of stairs.
Kuzma in an attempt to save an item of household appliances is also falling. He comes to his senses already in the hospital. The only person who visits him is that same old woman, deprived of a new washing machine. From her, Kuzma learns that somewhere in the village lives a girl. Her father died at the front. After discharge from the hospital, Iordanov, without thinking twice, goes to an orphan. And there he pretends to be a missing father.
The film crew and the actors of the movie “When the Trees were Big” created a soulful story. The hero of Nikulin does not cause antipathy. Rather, pity. The idea of Kulidzhanov’s film, perhaps, is that even a person like Kuzma Iordanov can change love and understanding for the better.
Actors
“When the trees were big” - a picture in which Lyudmila Chursina made her debut . She got the episodic role. For the rest of the actors, work on this film was not the first. The role of the village naive girl was played by Inna Gulaya. In her filmography by that time there were already two works. Leonid Kuravlev in this film played the next role of a simple positive guy. In the early work of this actor, only such roles were present. Vasily Shukshin created on the screen a classic image of the chairman of the collective farm.
Inna Gulaya
Legends and rumors circulated about the rare talent of the leading woman in the film “When the Trees were Big”. Actors, and especially actresses, are people who suffer from excessive love for their own person. Inna Gulaya suffered only from a love for her profession. She did not care how attractive she looked in the frame. For Ghula, only the veracity of the image that she created on the screen was important. The actress really lived the life of her heroines. And, according to the memoirs of colleagues Inna Guloy, a rare gift did not have the best influence on her character.
In the movie, this actress no longer played a single role that would match her artistic abilities. At the end of her life she suffered from a lack of work. Passed away in 1990. According to one version - as a result of suicide.
Criticism
The shooting took place mostly in one of the villages located near the city of Noginsk near Moscow. But even before the material was ready, the director was confused by officials. The Ministry of Culture did not approve of the film. The main character is a parasite, a scoundrel. Screen images in those years were completely positive. They managed to finish the picture thanks to the deputy minister of culture, who, after reading the script, stated that "such a film cannot be harmful."