On February 27, Yegor Konchalovsky’s film “On the Moon” is released in Russian distribution. The plot of the picture is built around the history of Major Gleb Sorokin (Ivan Arkhangelsky). His life consists of parties, sex, alcohol and expensive cars. But one night a drunk hero, leaving the traffic police on the Sparrow Hills, knocks down a pedestrian.
As it turns out, the injured pensioner was a legend of the MUR, a mentor to the police, to whom the young man gets. But soon Gleb is rescued from the department by his father (Vitaliy Kishchenko) - an influential official.
However, this time Sorokin Sr. decides that the offspring must be saved not so much from justice as from himself. Therefore, father and son go to the moon - that’s the name of the place in the forests of Karelia, where the nameless hermit grandfather lives (Alexander Baluev).
He is Sorokin and leaves Gleb to re-education. Grandfather hardly speaks with the guest, wakes him up with cold water, cuts down the only pine tree with which you can access the Internet, and in principle does not show a tendency to sentimentality. But with his example, he teaches Gleb responsibility, compassion and perseverance, and also shows the difference between transient and eternal values.
The film “On the Moon” turned out to be very harmonious. A leisurely narration is conducted against the backdrop of the harsh landscapes of spring Karelia. The nature in the frame is truly wild: rapids on the river, dangerous fogs, swamps and even suddenly snowed. From the faded visual range, only Gleb's bright clothes are knocked out, which at first does not belong to these places at all.
The props and decorations were worked out in detail: a manly rude interior of a hermit's house with lighting from a tractor generator and a hack with rotten boards, unbent nails and stew supplies.
The creators of the picture even tried to add taste and smell to the film: Ivan Arkhangelsky painstakingly conveys the emotions of a collision with salted porridge or grease smeared with feces.
In the course of the film, Gleb’s behavior changes several times: a young man tries to distance himself from the situation, provokes the old man to conflict, insists on his truth in life, but gradually comes to work with his grandfather. The rapid loss of authority among Moscow friends is important for his transformation - they forgot about his dubious exploits in a week, which was an unpleasant surprise for the hero.
Interestingly, the meeting between Gleb and grandfather affects both of them. Hero Baluyeva shares with the ward memories of the joys and mistakes of his youth and even for a moment yields to the carefree mood inherent in youth.
- Egor Konchalovsky and Ivan Arkhangelsky about the film "On the Moon"
Behind the scenes
The film was produced by the film studio "Vertical". Previously, her artistic director was Stanislav Govorukhin, who personally began the development of this project as a producer, but did not manage to start filming until his death in 2018.
The work continued with the participation of producer Ekaterina Maskina. By the way, “On the Moon” will be the last film of “Verticals” - having realized the projects that Govorukhin was involved in, the company will continue its activities under a different name.
The main role in the film could play rapper PHARAOH. According to Konchalovsky, his candidacy was quite appropriate, but for some reason the cooperation did not take place. A traditional casting was carried out in several stages, while all of its finalists performed episodic roles in the film.
Yegor Konchalovsky stressed that the main role was required for an actor who would look young enough - so the director did not rely on famous artists.
“The difference between me and the generation of Ivan (Arkhangelsk. - RT ) is probably much greater than the difference between me and the generation of my father, because we were brought up on the same thing with the generation of fathers. And these children, who are now 18-20 years old, are already the children of our generation, from whom everything has broken: values have broken, truth has broken, meaning has broken for many, ”the director said.
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A fire is burning. Grandfather sits in the fork of an old stump, as in an armchair. He smiles tiredly.
Publication by Na Lune (@nalunefilm) Oct 11, 2019 at 7:55 am PDT
Konchalovsky emphasized that the generation to which the protagonist of the film belongs grew without parental attention: they “bought off” children due to complete (or even excessive) material support.
Ivan Arkhangelsky, in turn, noted that he had to thoroughly prepare for the role. In particular, he specially went to clubs and listened to the speech of peers. “The character is basically not close to me. I am not a major. But as a human being, I understand him ... His search, the fact that he cannot find a goal for himself, ”the actor shared.
In addition to Russian cinemas, the tape will also be shown in Belarus and Kazakhstan; it is possible that it will be released on the screens of the Baltic countries.