On September 5, on the START platform, the first two episodes of the series “Storm” were premiered - a new project by Boris Khlebnikov (“Arrhythmia”, “Ordinary Woman”).
The action of the tape begins with a tragedy: at a concert in honor of the opening of the palace of creativity, the roof of the newly-built building collapses, children die. The deputy director of the construction company and the chief engineer fall behind the bars. However, the senior investigator of the anti-corruption department Gradov (Alexander Robak) decides to prosecute the head of the construction company Kryukova (Gennady Smirnov). The latter, meanwhile, plans to run for mayor ...
Gradov refuses the bribe offered to him, does not succumb to influential people who stand up for the suspect, and is not afraid to publicly declare that Kryukov, having built a poor building, sponsored the deaths of children. Gradova is supported by his friend, investigator of the slaughter department Osokin (Maxim Lagashkin).
However, the protagonist’s plans change dramatically when he learns that his beloved woman, Marina (Anna Mikhalkova), needs a liver transplant operation and expensive treatment. Gradov agrees not to plant Kryukov and calls the entrepreneur an amount equal to the cost of medical intervention. Osokin guesses who allowed to “hush up” the case, and begins to look for evidence of guilt of his comrade.
The creators of Storm call the drama an eight-hour movie - the action is concentrated, the series are eventful, and already in the first episode you can observe the beginning of the evolution of heroes. The specific aesthetics of the video sequence is also noticeable: many frames are assembled from details in black and red against a white winter background.
In this regard, Boris Khlebnikov separately notes the camera work. The director explained that he had no specific idea regarding the visual side of the issue, but director of photography Alisher Hamidkhodjaev brought him a stack of drawings by Edward Munch and said: “I read the script - we’ll shoot like that.”
“It seems to me that, as a result, Munch himself got it quite adequately. Alisher very accurately sensed this task, and very precisely proposed it, and very precisely fulfilled it, ”the director emphasized. - Alisher has a very mobile camera, not at all static, not picturesque. Rather, it is observation, expression, very strong energy. "
According to Khlebnikov, when creating the image of Gradov, the project team was guided by the image of King Kong, in which destructive power is combined with love and tenderness.
The investigator does not disdain to act dishonestly and to use power in every way. But at the same time, love forces him to go to official crime. Both the director and the actors emphasize: the film focuses not on economic crimes and not on the work of investigators, but on the feelings of the main characters. Performers of the central roles said that they were allowed to become co-authors of their characters.
The Storm had three premieres. A working version of the opening episode was shown on Kinotavr on June 11th. In the evening, September 4, the first series was shown at the Oktyabr movie theater, and from Thursday the first two episodes are available on the Internet.