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Patriotism leads comeback of Russian filmmaking

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-04 08:01

A gang of black-clad horsemen gallop past a line of gallows, splattering tufts of snow against frozen corpses.

They are the 'oprichniki', loyal henchmen of Russia's sixteenth century tsar, Ivan the Terrible.

The set belongs to a new film, Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Philip, due out next year, which explores the relationship between the tyrant Ivan and his friend and fiercest critic, Philip.

Standing near a white-walled monastery in Suzdal, a town 200 km northeast of Moscow whose buildings resemble the capital in medieval times, director Pavel Lungin said he had a working budget of $17 million for Ivan, high by Russian standards.

The large budget and professional crew, including a US cameraman who works with director Clint Eastwood, are a sign of a revival in Russia's film industry, which is attracting large sums from the government and private investors.

The government expects its production companies to make $900 million in profits in 2011, almost double last year's earnings.

Their films are shown on the new screens popping up across the country, mostly to young audiences with more money to burn than their parents before them.

Like escalating prices on Russian paintings and domestic fashion, Russian film is regaining popularity and financial success as the economy soars for its 10th straight year, fuelled by $1 billion a day in energy exports.

The Irony of Fate: Continuation, a sequel to Soviet-era favorite The Irony of Fate, shocked Russia over the New Year by taking in $50 million at the box office in its opening month.

The story fast forwards the action from 1975 to the present day, tracking the interactions of the children of the protagonists of the original movie.

Meanwhile, post-apocalyptic Inhabited Island, a sci-fi two-part film directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk with a running time of 4.5 hours, has a budget of $36.5 million, possibly the largest-budget movie ever to be made in Russia.

Producer Alexander Rodnyansky said "Inhabited Island," based on a book by Russian sci-fi duo the Strugatsky brothers, will have special effects to rival Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix.

"(We want) to try to make the viewers understand that at least some Russian producers are able to produce the high-quality product, exactly the same quality as all the great international movies," Rodnyansky said.

The film industry was lavished with large state budgets during Soviet era and producers and directors were encouraged by a slew of highly-trained technicians and professional actors then.

One of its early pioneers, Sergei Eisenstein, is largely accredited with creating montage, or modern editing.

But it took a sharp blow during the turbulent 1990s following the break-up of the Soviet Union, when cinemas shut down in waves across the country and studios lost funding.

At the beginning of the 2000s the state kick-started a revival by introducing market conditions.

"Our position was very simple: we will support production but cinemas and production companies will be private," said Mikhail Shvydkoi, head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, which is being absorbed into the culture ministry.

Of around the 200 films made last year, half were given state support, he said, adding that Russia has around $157.3 million allocated for films this year.

Agencies

(China Daily 06/04/2008 page12)