Not so long ago, a film was shown on Channel One, the events of which unfolded in the Great Patriotic War. The film was called "Commissioner." This is a story about a woman, a police officer who, after being wounded, returned to her hometown.
The series "Commissioner" 2017
The picture is based on real collective events of the forties. The author skillfully shows the war-torn fate of fathers and children, the outlook of bandits that affects the fragile souls of adolescents and youth.
The director, screenwriter, actors of the series “Commissar” and everyone who worked on the picture tried to reflect the spirit of that time as truthfully as possible. The film did not use computer graphics, in-kind shooting was carried out in St. Petersburg, Krondstat and the region. The cinema group was among the abandoned factories and estates. The most difficult thing was to shoot at night, when mosquitoes attacked the artists.
Director's findings
Director Elena Nikolaeva shared with journalists ideas for which they had to build the scenery, then burn them (scene with an explosion). I even had to turn to the local authorities with promises that not a single window or door would suffer in the process of filming. And they kept promises.
In addition, every little thing in the picture was discussed. At the flea market they purchased real banknotes of the forties. The leading woman, Irina Pegova, in search of rarities at a flea market, found an original lighter built from cartridges and a glass on which the date 1943 was engraved.
Elena Nikolaeva herself once, having come to the flea market, acquired a toy of that time and beads. A scene immediately lined up in the director’s head in which a young man, leaving for the front, gives these beads to the girl he loves ...
Commissioner Irina Pegova
Initially, the film was written under Irina Pegova, the director Elena Nikolaeva told. For the actress herself, playing a similar role was not easy. The image of a woman rather tough and severe she had to realize for the first time.
Her heroine is at a crossroads. On the one hand, she must fulfill the duty of serving the Motherland. On the other hand, on the other side of the barricade stands none other than the son of Commissioner Galina Semenova, who accidentally fell into the gang. The script was written for three years. Elena Nikolaeva believed that even the face of Irina Pegova from that era. Therefore, both the director and the actress were impatiently waiting for the scriptwriter to finish the plot.
An ideological, strong-willed, principled and even dry by nature woman Galina Semenova (commissioner) is faced with a choice. And the audience eagerly awaits each series, not knowing what will be more important for her - Fatherland or son.
Other actors and roles
Actors of the TV series “Commissar” were specially selected for Irina Pegova. The role of Ilya, the son of the main character, went to Maxim Emelyanov, already known for the series “Fartsa,” “And In Our Yard,” “Kitchen”. The actor skillfully played a young man offended by his mother, as he believed that she had abandoned him. But inside, this Ilya is not rotten and even dies for his homeland, thereby rehabilitating his communion with the gang.
Other actors of the series “Commissar” were also well chosen. Tatiana Kalganova in the role of Nina was especially surprised. Her heroine is an ordinary woman, not devoid of coquetry and longing for love, despite the war.
Another actor of the series “Commissar” Oleg Fomin, known from the paintings “Admiral”, “Election Day”, “Next” and so on, played the head of the criminal investigation department Suprun. At first, the role seemed incomprehensible to the actor. The script did not indicate where the wife, the children of Suprun, and why he was in the rear. Only once he brings a statement about leaving the front, and then in a drunken state. However, the answer came to him in a dream. The actor, for whom it was not the first time to put on a military tunic, realized that the family of the head of the criminal investigation department had died from enemy hands, and he himself was seriously wounded at the front. Oleg Fomin specially grew a mustache for his hero, imitating his grandfather, who served in the police during the war.
Another, no less popular actor of recent years, Aleksey Shevchenkov, starring in the films “Judas”, “Once upon a time there was a woman”, “Voroshilovsky shooter” and so on, in the TV series “Commissar” in 2017 played a difficult role as the leader of the gang. From the very beginning, the viewer does not even understand who this person is and how he influences the son of the commissioner. But at the very end the mask breaks down and the rotten man Egor Matveev, who served the Germans, is shown by the actor in all its glory.
Episodic roles
I must say a few words about the other actors of the series “Commissar”. These are young, but already known from other films and series, actors Ivan Shibanov, known as a performer of a negative role in the film "On the Other Side of the Moon" and Tatyana Kolganova in the role of Nina Vinogradova. The actress played in the films "Black Raven", "Black Blood", "Divorce and Maiden Name" and in other series.
A small but memorable role went to Anna Tsukanova-Kot, a popular performer of the children's comedy magazine Yeralash. In the film "Commissar" she played a gang member.
The young actor of the series Alexander Bulatov, who embodied the role of a homeless boy, also quite fit into the film, reviving it with a direct children's game. Igor Lepikhin, Natalia Varfolomeeva, Ivan Rudakov, Vadim Skvirsky and other actors also starred in the series.
Viewer Feedback
Reviews about the series "Commissar" were mixed. We can say that the audience was divided into two groups: those who liked the picture, and those who took it with hostility from the first minutes. The latter did not accept the series rather for technical reasons.
Some viewers were too scrupulous about every detail of the film, not realizing that the main idea of the picture is the mother theme. The director shows how a real woman is born out of a commissioner, a harsh woman who has passed not only through the war, but also through all circles of hell, who finally begins to pay attention to the men around her and really take care of her granddaughter.
Many admirers of the talent of actress Irina Pegova remained dissatisfied with her work in this project. Some believed that she was replaying both with her word “work” and the fact that the White Sea constantly smokes. Particularly surprised by their hairstyle actress - too neat and well-groomed.
But all these questions and perplexities are debatable. There really are a lot of mistakes in the film. A homeless boy also looks too well-groomed and well-fed. It is also surprising how quickly the heroes are transferred from the city to the forest and back.
However, the film is rather successful. And for less picky viewers, this is an interesting picture about courage, dedication and love, both for a person and for the Fatherland.