The film "Stories", reviews of which can be found in this article, is a comedy drama by Mikhail Segal. The picture was released in 2012. It consists of four short stories shot in different genres. All of them are devoted to the modern life of Russian society, reflect one or another of its cultural or ethical problems. The film consists of short stories âThe World of Fastenersâ, âEnergy Crisisâ, âCircular Movementâ and âFlames Will Burn.â It is interesting that the novel "The World of Fasteners" was presented separately at the Kinotavr festival, where it won among short films.
The plot of the picture
Reviews for the film "Stories" are mostly positive from both viewers and critics. At the very beginning of the picture, the manuscript of a novice writer is in the publishing house. It somehow inexplicably affects all employees who read at least one page. The stories described in the manuscript begin to happen in reality with the heroes of the tape. The film consists of four short stories that illustrate the stories from this manuscript. They are all shot in different genres - social satire, melodrama, absurd comedy and even thriller.
All of them are united by the image of a young writer, whose role was played by Vladislav Leshkevich, better known as rapper Vladi. This is a member of the hip-hop group "Casta". Filming in the film "Stories" in 2012 remains his only experience in the movie.
Family happiness
The first short story sets the tone for the whole picture, immediately surprising the audience with unexpected plot twists, a magnificent play of the actors.
The tape "The World of Fasteners" ("Stories") is becoming one of the most vivid and memorable parts of the film. According to the plot, the newlyweds in the restaurant meet with the organizer of the wedding. He offers as much as possible to describe how the celebration will take place, so that later there would be no surprises.
Mitya and Olya love each other, they dream of an original wedding, which will not be like everyone else. Most of all they are afraid of the prospect of gray reality and everyday life.
The host reassures them, convincing that, if the future is poorly predicted, then everything can be planned right now. A true professional hurries to their aid, painting options down to the smallest detail, future lovers and mistresses, paying attention even to the inevitable future death.
Cast
Among the actors of the film "Stories" in 2012 there are many beginning artists for whom participation in this tape was the first experience in large cinema. So, the roles of the bride and groom were performed by Andrei Petrov and Daria Nosik, who have not yet been seen in other projects.
Also in this short story are Singer (Polina Kasyanova) and the Waitress (Olga Porubleva).
The only star is the wedding planner, played by Andrei Merzlikin. This is an honored artist of the Russian Federation, who was born in 1973 in Kaliningrad in the Moscow region. After several short films, he starred in the small role of a werewolf policeman in the action-packed social cinema novel Yevgeny Matveev "Love in Russian-3: Governor".
Popularity came to him in 2003 after one of the main roles in the dramatic action movie of Pyotr Buslov "Boomer". Currently, Andrei is considered one of the most sought-after actors, especially often appears in television projects and series. He played in "Soldiers", "Isaev", "Doctor Tyrsa", "Youth", "Homeland", "Drunk Firm".
You to me - I to you
This straightforward formula can describe the second short story in the film "Stories". The Circular Movement is a social satire on our modern life, literally riddled with corruption schemes at all levels.
It all starts with the fact that the deputy editor âthanksâ for the inspection of the masterâs car. He goes to get a foreign passport, pays the adventurer in the OVIR. OVIR employee arranges his daughter in a higher educational institution. At the same time, he has to pay the rector.
The rector arranges his mother in the hospital, pays the doctor who carries the same money to the military enlistment office, and the military commissar gives a bribe to get an apartment in the house under construction earlier. The developer carries the money to the head of the region, so that he signs all the necessary documents. The governor is at a meeting with the president, who makes a report on the fight against corruption in the country.
This performance is broadcast on TV in a car repair shop, where the deputy editor-in-chief just hands the money for the inspection to the mechanic.
Ugolnikov and Golub
In this novel of the film "Stories" 2012, there are also many beginning actors. Among them, Sergei Fetisov, Vasily Michkov, Nikolai Prilutsky, Maxim Gromov, Gennady Churikov, Diana Ryzhkov, Victor Manaev, Pavel Remnev, Vyacheslav Shakalido, Arthur Fedorovich should be noted.
Among the famous actors should be called Anatoly Golub, who embodies on the screen the image of an officer in the OVIR. He is a graduate of the Belarusian Theater and Art Institute. He works at the Rox-M radio station and at the Theater of the Ark theater of modern drama.
He made his film debut back in 1989 in Leonid Nechaevâs musical tale "Do Not Leave ...". Among his other roles, one can note the military picture of Vladimir Fatyanov, âThe Last Battle of Major Pugachev,â the drama by Yuri Moroz, âThe Pointâ, the adventure movie by Sergey Ginzburg âThe Wolf's Sunâ.
The President of Russia is played by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Ugolnikov. He came to popularity in the 1990s when he led the comic projects âOba-na!â, âDoctor Ugolâ, âGood evening with Igor Ugolnikovâ.
He did not play movies often. One of the most striking roles is the policeman Jean-Paul Nikolayevich Piskunov in the farcical comedy of Vladimir Menshov âShirley-myrliâ.
In the genre of thriller
A variety of genres of the film "Stories" 2012 is amazing. So, the short story "Energy Crisis" is a classic thriller. Law enforcement officers knocked down, looking for the missing girl. Desperate, they turn to the librarian Anna Petrovna for help. She works in a non-standard way - she recites poems that bring the police to the right track.
A thunderstorm begins, but the search for the child does not stop. At this time, a frozen girl in the forest, trying to keep warm, burns a volume of Pushkin's poems. At the same moment, Anna Petrovna loses her unique ability, her powers decay along with the book of the great poet.
Novice artists
And in the short story âEnergy Crisisâ (âStoriesâ), the director remains true to his method - to use as many little-known artists as possible.
The only actor who has repeatedly appeared in popular projects before is Roman Dervoed. He is a graduate of the Mogilev College of Arts. In 2010 he made his debut in the drama series by Alexander Efremov "Attempt". He can also be seen in the mystical detective film by Alexander Kott "The Other Side of the Moon", the drama by Konstantin Lopushansky "Role", and the dramatic television series Yegor Baranov's "Fartsa".
"The flame will ignite"
The short story âIgnite the Flameâ completes the film âStoriesâ (2012). Its plot is as follows: the chief editor of one of the major publishing houses falls in love with a young and charming girl. They feel great together, passionately have sex.
Suddenly, the protagonist discovers a huge gap in his beloved education. It all started with nothing, it turned out that the girl does not know what handball is. Following are the problems in her ideas about history, biology, and other areas of knowledge. Max is keen on trying to find out if she knows anything. With each new "discovery" he becomes more and more bored next to the girl.
Once he leaves her for the sake of his peer, who brings him a photograph with an ice ax as a gift from Altai.
Konstantin Yushkevich
One of the most recognizable actors in the 2012 Stories film is Konstantin Yushkevich. He is a graduate of GITIS, the creative workshop of Mark Zakharov. He played at Lenkom, the Mossovet Theater.
He made his film debut in 1990 in the little-known film "I wish you good health or Frantic demobilization" in a cameo role. His first notable work was the image of the driver and pilot Bogachev - Sergei Timofeev - in the detective series of Mikhail Tumanishvili "March of Turetsky".
You can also recall him from the historical drama by Alexander Proshkin âRussian Revoltâ, the philosophical comedy by Viktor Shamirov âSavagesâ, the comedy of the same director âExercises in the Beautifulâ, the comedy drama by Shamirov âThe Truthâ, and the medical series by Andrey Selivanov âSklifosovskyâ.
Michael Segal
Segal - director of the film "Stories" (2012). He was born in Orel in 1974. As a young man he composed plays. He shot his first short films on an amateur video camera. In 1994, he graduated from the directing department of the Oryol Institute of Culture.
He became famous in the mid-1990s by filming music videos. His first successful work was a collaboration with the SergA group. Then he worked with Joseph Kobzon, Lolita, Vladimir Kuzmin, the groups âSpleenâ, âKeep Your Leg Down!â, âNight Snipersâ, âCastaâ, âTime Machineâ, âMeaning Hallucinationsâ, âMasha and the Bearsâ.
The debut in cinema for Segal was a military drama about love called "Franz + Polina", which was released in 2006. After the success of the film "Stories", the director released in 2014 the lyrical tragicomedy "Cinema about Alekseev", in which Alexey Zbruev starred after a long break. In 2018, Segal directed the drama Elephants Can Play Football.
Reviews
In the reviews of the film "Stories", both viewers and critics note that the director brilliantly coped with his task. They claim that everyone who closely follows the development of modern cinema will watch the picture with pleasure. The main thing to understand is that the picture is not a single whole, but a collection, an almanac, consisting of several short stories, practically unconnected by the plot.
True, in their reviews of the film "Stories", some viewers reproach Segal for excessive "literature", because he actually came to the cinema from literature. Perhaps that is why the original storylines he found can strongly resemble the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin.
And yet, "Stories" is a smart and high-quality Russian cinema, in which urgent problems of modern society are raised, such as the loss of moral guidelines, widespread corruption. Everything was filmed hard, with a minimum of embellishment. In their reviews, many viewers note that, in general, the film is more like a tragicomedy, after watching which it is a little sad, there is a desire to begin to change something in your life and the world around us.
Those who do not like the film write that in terms of directing, it looks more like the work of a graduate of VGIK than the work of a forty-year-old director who has been making films for a long time. Also, many Russian viewers note that all the short stories are united by the malicious ridicule of the vices of modern society. In addition, many did not like the fact that the director in his tape too flaunts knowledge of Russian history and literature. Moreover, some critics emphasized the excessive lengthiness of most short films, the unprofessional play of actors, among whom there were many beginning artists. But what opinion should be held about this film, each viewer must decide for himself.