ZVIAGINTSEV'S "LEVIATHAN" NOMINATED FOR OSCAR
Interfax-Religiia, 15 January 2015
Andrei Zviagintsev's film "Leviathan" was nominated for an Oscar award in the category "best film in a foreign language," the website of the American Academy of Motion Pictures on Thursday.
The presentation of the Oscar will be held on 2 March in Beverly Hills.
The film "Leviathan" is a cinematic interpretation of the story of the biblical figure Job, set in conditions of modern Russia. The filming took place in the city of Kirovsk and the village of Teriberka in Murmansk province. The film shows a family, living on the shores of the Barents Sea from whom the local government tries to take all their property in order to use the parcel of land for its own needs. The film is based on real events that occurred in America.
The film received the prestigious cinema award
"Golden globe" in the category "best film in a foreign language."
The film will officially be released for Russian distribution on 5
February. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 January 2015)
ACTIVISTS ASK FOR CREATION OF "ORTHODOX HOLLYWOOD"
Association of Orthodox Experts intends to ask Ministry of Culture to prohibit the distribution of the film "Leviathan," which received a Golden Globe
by Oleg Karmunin, Maria Ivanova
Izvestiia, 15 January 2015
The Association of Orthodox Experts is preparing an appeal to Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinskii, requesting the creation of an "Orthodox Hollywood." The occasion is Andrei Zviagintsev's film "Leviathan," which the activists want to deprive of authorization for distribution. In their opinion, the film denigrates the Russian Orthodox church and openly criticizes the Russian government and for these reasons should not appear on the wide screen. The head of the association, Kirill Frolov, told Izvestiia about this.
"I would stop being ashamed that our organization is accused of trampling freedoms. We do not have to justify ourselves to anybody. 'Leviathan' is evil, and there is no place for evil in distribution," Kirill Frolov is sure. "We will ask the Ministry of Culture not to permit the release of the film for the screen and to start creating an "Orthodox Hollywood."
Kirill Frolov said that the leaders of "Orthodox Hollywood" should include Nikita Mikhalkov, Ivan Okhlobystin, and Archimandrite Tikhon. The activist declared that the appeal to the minister is also supported by representatives of the Union of Orthodox Citizens, the Union of Orthodox Action, and members of the youth movement Forty Forties.
The chairman of the Union of Orthodox Citizens, Valentin Lebedev, thinks that legal bases for removing the film "Leviathan" from distribution do not exist. "We have a free country and it is not necessary to prohibit this film from distribution. But we should find out on what basis a major portion of the budget of an anti-Russian film was financed by the government. We will pose this question to Medinskii," Valentin Lebedev said. "In my view, the film was shot in the genre of perestroika naturalism, that is, black humor. It was for this that they hastened to give it various international prizes in view of the tense relations between the West and Russia.
The Russian Orthodox Church itself treated the activists' initiatives neutrally. The chairman of the synod's Department for Relations of Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, noted that Orthodox citizens have the right to appeal to agencies of the state without the sanction of the clergy.
"I have not seen the film myself; I only know it from reviews, but it is obvious that it was made with an eye to a western audience, or more precisely, western elites, since it consciously replays run-of-the-mill myths about Russia and helps these myths to take root. On the whole, I like the policy of the Ministry of Culture in the area of motion pictures, but it is obvious that many films that are more in accordance with the wishes of our people are not awarded governmental attention. For example, it does not find the finances for a film on the stunning scenario of Yury Arabov's 'The Monk and the Demon,' which Nikolai Dostal should shoot," Chaplin explained.
The archpriest also commented on one of the important episodes of "Leviathan," the vodka-drinking scene with the bishop and the mayor. "The Orthodox person cannot help knowing that the cooperation of the church and the state is not only normal but is completely correct. The sin is not the communication of the bishop and mayor but the attempt to portray it as something unworthy of Christians. It is possible to conduct such discussions and it is possible to criticize a priest or a layman, but when someone tries to denigrate the church, he is denigrating Christ," Chaplin declared.
The archpriest added that he will view the film and await the reaction of viewers to it.
The famous blogger Deacon Andrei Kuraev told Izvestiia that "Leviathan" is an anti-clerical film, but this does not make it anti-church or anti-Orthodox.
"When the clergy interferes in the affairs of state administration, that is called clericalism. Clericalism is prohibited by the Russian constitution, and anti-clerical expression falls within the bounds of the law and is even in the interests of the church. Of course, like any parable, 'Leviathan' distorts, and it shifts the focus in order to assemble a bunch of thought in one rather surprising point. There is a certain risk in this: namely we are seen from the side and it is necessary to make certain efforts so that this mask doesn't stick to us for good." (tr. by PDS, posted 15 January 2015)
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