WRITERS, PRIESTS, COSSACKS ASK THAT DIRECTOR WHO PLAYS BISHOP IN "LEVIATHAN" NOT BE PAID FROM STATE BUDGET
Portal-credo.ru, 19 January 2015
A group of citizens consisting of writers, Orthodox clergymen, cossacks, leaders in the arts, deputies, politicians, and a former boxing champion of Europe and the world, in an "Open Letter," demand of a provincial minister of culture that Valery Grishko, the head director of the Samara Drama Theatre who plays the role of a bishop in Andrei Zviagintsev's Oscar-nominated film "Leviathan," not be paid a salary from the state budget nor be allocated money for staging, the Zasekin news agency reports.
The open letter addressed to Olga Rybakova, the provincial minister of culture, was published in full on the portal samara.ru and repeats all the basic arguments of the appeal by St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Vitaly Milonov to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, but with a local, Samarian, accent. The blatant indignation of the letter writers is evoked not only by the "shoddy defamatory opus" (as they think) of Mr. Zviagintsev but also by the participation in it by the chief director of Samarian drama, Valery Grishko, as an actor performing a "cynical and slimy parody of the Russian Orthodox episcopate" (as they express it). The authors of the letter pose the rhetorical question: "how is it possible to live on the account of budgetary finances and to receive every preference from the authorities and at the same time participate in an elaborate vilification of the Russian government and the Orthodox Church?" Therefore they insistently demand that "our Ministry of Culture resolve this strange and unhealthy situation, which confuses an absolute majority of our fellow Samarians who sincerely love their motherland and respect its centuries-old historic traditions."
This letter is signed, in particular, by the chairman of the administration of the Samara provincial writers' organization, A.V. Gromov; deputies of the Samara provincial duma, V.I. Dutsev and D.V. Svirkin; co-chairman of the Samara division of the All-Russian Society of Orthodox Physicians, V.A. Solianov; Archimandrite Georgy; three archpriests; and a confidante of Russian President V.V. Putin and member of the Union of Journalists, A.V. Fedorov. In all, 16 persons signed the letter.
The art film "Leviathan" was awarded the prize
for best screenplay at the International Film Festival at Cannes
and the "Golden Globe" prize as best foreign film. Previously this
prize was awarded to only one Russian film, "War and Peace" by
Sergei Bondarchuk. In the opinion of many European, American and
Russian film critics, after the death of Aleksei German and
Aleksei Balabanov, Andrei Zviagintsev, along with Alexander
Sokurov and Kira Muratova, is now the greatest film director in
Russia. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 January 2015)
DEPUTY MILONOV UPSET BY FILM "LEVIATHAN" AND DEMANDS RETURN TO BUDGET OF MONEY SPENT ON IT
Interfax-Religiia, 19 January 2015
Vitaly Milonov, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, addressed to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev a request that he initiate the process for return of budgetary finances allocated to film director Andrei Zviagintsev for making the film "Leviathan."
"The director portrays Russian reality in the blackest of tones, creates an atmosphere of profound spiritual crisis, and distorts reality to a phantasmagoric Rabelaisian caricature. It is sad that such pictures as 'Leviathan' are filmed at taxpayers' expense, who expect from film makers entirely different productions and movies," the deputy's press service quotes Milonov's appeal.
A. Zviagintsev's film "Leviathan" became this year the winner of the "Golden Globe" prize in the category "best film in a foreign language." "Leviathan" also has been nominated for an Oscar in the category "best film in a foreign language."
The St. Petersburg legislator thinks that A. Zviagintsev's film represents "a collection of russophobic stereotypes aimed at the creation of a negative image of Russian society and state."
"On the people's money, the director filmed a false antipopular picture which is directly discordant with traditional Russian culture, contradicts the classical school of Russian cinematography, and incites hatred within society," V. Milonov writes.
The deputy asks D. Medvedev to prepare an order to the Russian Ministry of Culture with the aim of initiating a return of all budgetary finances that were allocated for filming.
The film "Leviathan" is a cinematic interpretation of the story of the biblical personage Job set in conditions of modern Russia. The filming of the movie took place in the city of Kirovsk and village of Teriberka in Murmansk province. The movie shows a family living on the shore of the Barents Sea from which the local government tries to take all property in order to use the parcel for its own needs. The film is based on real events occurring in America. The picture will officially be distributed on 5 February. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 January 2015)
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