#10 - JRL 7300
RIA Novosti
August 25, 2003
COMMENTARY: RUSSIAN CINEMA MORE THAN READY FOR ACTION
By Olga Sobolevskaya, RIA NOVOSTI analyst
In the run-up to Russian Cinema Day on August 27, one can note with satisfaction that the country's film industry is very much alive and kicking. The economically merciless 1990s failed to crush it, though the pain is still felt and society is constantly looking for way to cure it once and for all.
"There are obvious positive trends," says director Valery Todorovsky, a representative of middle-aged filmmakers, whose movies have been acclaimed in Russia and abroad since the early nineties. "Firstly, Russian movies can be seen running at our cinemas today. Secondly, new film directors, including very talented ones, have made their debuts. Thirdly, there is a certain political and economic stability in the country that is allowing the film industry to develop as a business. The level of television films has soared over the past three years from cheap duds to such masterly works as Vladimir Bortko's adaptation of Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot.' And, judging by the ratings, Russians prefer to watch domestically made films."
In the past two years Russian cinema has taken revenge on the previous decade known for the very few pictures that were then produced. New Russian films are becoming popular not only in Russia, but abroad. Moreover, many movies stand out for being made with top professional skills and low budgets compared with Europe and, even more so, the USA. A Russian director spends on a film from $1.5 million to $5 million compared with $10 million in Europe and $100 million in the USA.
However, the most important thing here is that Russian cinema is again meeting the expectations of its audiences who are tired of the last decade's productions -- a distorting mirror depicting Russian life as an endless criminal turf war, featuring gangsters, drunkards, tramps and prostitutes. The screen has regained its old habit of fostering such messages as honour, love, friendship and patriotism, of reflecting and analysing without any detriment to visualisation; it has stopped copying Western samples thoughtlessly, improved its technological level and thereby endeared itself to its nation's cinema-goers.
"The Cuckoo" ("Kukushka"), Alexander Rogozhkin's lyrical anti-war fable that won several Nika and Golden Eagle prizes, has attracted full houses both in Russia and abroad. Last year's biggest box office success was Nikolai Lebedev's award-winning "Zvezda"(Star), the story of a heroic reconnaissance unit which fought and perished behind German lines. A prize-winner at last year's San Sebastian festival, Valery Todorovsky's movie "The Lover," which is about an intellectual whose composure is crushed by the instant awareness of his dead wife's unfaithfulness, is in great demand at Moscow's largest video market, "Gorbushka". Another acclaimed movie is "The War" by Alexei Balabanov, a director for forty-somethings, who is known for the movies " Brother" and "Brother-2", which were hits with 20 and 30-year-olds. Alexei Uchitel's "The Stroll," which won a whole host of awards, follows a simple love story of young St. Petersburg residents.
Advocates of "art" films were as usual impressed by the movies of "Andrei Tarkovsky's heir" Alexander Sokurov, an invariable participant in the Cannes festival. His "Russian Arc", a fable about three centuries of Russian history, filmed in The Hermitage, has earned $3 million in the USA and Canada alone. The Time magazine hailed the piece as unprecedented, while The Washington Post commented on its cinematic magic. Sokurov's "Father and Son," which described the psychological affinity of representatives of two generations, won this year the Fipresci prize of international criticism at Cannes.
All these are certainly inspiring factors. Russian cinemas have again started showing movies rather than trading merchandise, furniture and vouchers to Cyprus as was the case in the 1990s. Out of the country's 1,700 cinema centres, 300 can boast the most sophisticated equipment - as against merely 70 such cinemas a year ago. Multiplexes are mushrooming in the capital and other major cities. And although tickets cost quite a lot, up to 700 roubles ($1 equals 30 roubles), young and middle-aged people go to the cinema two-to-three times a month. Film distributors earned $115 million last year as against merely $7 million in 1998.
So not bad, is it? But filmmakers are showing some signs of anxiety. Why?
They are concerned because the distribution system is overwhelmingly dominated by American duds with the most destructive psychological message, i.e. attack this world rather than live in peace with it. The share of Russia-made movies in our distribution system is hardly 16 percent. So, why are Russian movies not yet in a position to compete with American ones?
Firstly, only 50 movies a year are made in this country due to a lack of investment. TV films fare better in this respect because channels order and finance the pictures themselves. Besides, advertising is also well adjusted and therefore the share of national movies shown by the leading channels averages a dignified 55 percent.
Secondly, distributors prefer overseas partners. "The American distributors use more civilised methods," said Deputy Culture Minister Alexander Golutva. "They plan beforehand what they will distribute and know the exact date of a production's release. Here everything's different. With film directors forced to make long intermissions in shoots due to financial difficulties and therefore not knowing when they will end the shooting, the distributors can hardly plan their work. We need representative distributors operating with large movie packages in order to be able to agree with cinemas and replace a film whose release is postponed with another one," said Alexander Golutva.
Film directors themselves are pinning great hopes on the state in the question of film distribution. And the government is helpful: $47 million has been allocated this year for filmmaking and distribution, which is not bad for Russia. But this measure is not all what is needed. "The state should above all think about shaping a cinema market. It simply does not exist in Russia today," said Karen Shakhnazarov, director general of Mosfilm, Europe's biggest cinema concern, in a RIA Novosti interview. "Film directors can not work at full strength when there is no market and no chance to sell one's movie and earn money."
In the opinion of Shakhnazarov, the state should resolve two immediate tasks: "The illicit video product sector amounts to 70%-80%, so piracy obviously has to be eliminated. The distributors should be bound by law to give at least 20 percent of screen time to Russian pictures, that is to introduce quotas as is the case in many other countries. Otherwise Russian pictures will never be able to penetrate the distribution system." Many other cinematographers share this viewpoint.
The Culture Ministry has invariably frowned upon the quota method. "If Russia is preparing to join the World Trade Organisation, which lifts all restrictions on the freedom of goods and services movement, what quotas can you speak about?" says Alexander Golutva. The ministry sees a solution to the problem in investing distribution profits in film production.
Another possible measure to support the film industry - the resumption of state orders - has led to virtually no dispute. Government and film-makers' interests coincide here. The film community is appalled by the prospect of a return to the 1990s, when its almost complete separation from the state ended with the cinema slipping into a coma. Having experienced loneliness and a lack of demand, directors have decided to resume their romance with the state...expecting a certain reward. "Cinema is a very important ideological weapon that can be used both for good and for bad purposes, killing or rescuing the country and the whole generation," concludes popular film director Stanislav Govorukhin, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee for culture and tourism.
Surveys indicate that most Russians complain about there being too few comedies, musicals, historical sagas and movies for children. These are the productions to be supported above all. The government has set the target of releasing 100 feature films a year by 2006. To this end, cinematographers, distributors and the government must unite their efforts. Only then will Russian cinema again dominate the domestic market.
Moscow, August 21.
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