The historical drama "Podolsk Cadets" by Vadim Shmelev was released in Russia.
Igor Ugolnikov became the general producer of the project.
Shmelev and Ugolnikov worked on the script for the tape together with Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vadim Zadorozhny.
The roles in the film were played by Alexey Bardukov, Evgeny Dyatlov, Sergey Bezrukov, Igor Yudin, Artyom Gubin, Lyubov Konstantinova and others.
It was originally supposed that the film will be released on May 4, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory.
In addition, according to Igor Ugolnikov, on May 8, it was planned to simultaneously show the picture in 80 countries.
But due to the epidemiological situation, the creators of the tape had to change plans.
Nevertheless, as the producer stressed, it was important for the team to release the film precisely in the Year of Memory and Glory.
In addition, ten years ago there was another film about the feat of Russian soldiers, which was produced by Ugolnikov - "Brest Fortress".
This jubilee was another reason not to postpone the premiere anymore.
The plot of the film is set in October 1941.
Then 3.5 thousand cadets of the Podolsk artillery, Podolsk infantry and Moscow military engineering schools and their commanders went to the Ilyinsky line in order to contain the fascist invaders at any cost until the arrival of reinforcements.
About 2.5 thousand did not return from there.
The film also covers a short period preceding key events.
From the first shots, the viewer finds himself in the epicenter of a spectacular battle, in which everything impresses, from authentic weapons to a spectacular production with artistically flying rain drops, splashes of mud and genuine emotions of the participants in what is happening.
But the fight on the screen is not real - as long as it is preparing young guys for their future exploits.
However, even here it is obvious that the heroes are responsible for fulfilling their duty, and the film crew for the project.
© Shot from the film "Podolsk cadets" (2019)
In this impromptu battle, the characters of the key characters begin to unfold.
Without wasting words and overwhelmed monologues, you can learn about their temperaments and relationships in a few minutes.
The same tendency continues in the future: without focusing on the details of the personal life of the characters, the scriptwriters managed to create harmonious, lively, easily readable images.
Such a study of the heroes allows us to multiply the understanding of the unfolding tragedy: this is how the historical drama about military events becomes very personal.
In the center of the plot are the soldiers who have not seen life and are ready for everything, but young guys, in their heads - pranks, romance, a thirst for life and no awareness of where they are going.
They rejoice at new scopes, prepare to take an important exam in a week, fall in love, make plans and do not understand that these plans are not destined to come true.
At the same time, the drama of the film is built in such a way that the viewer is aware of all this and prepares in advance for the worst.
The film involves young actors, for many of them this project is the very beginning of a career in cinema.
All of them look organically as cadets.
In preparation for filming, the artists took a course for a young fighter.
As Igor Ugolnikov noted, it was necessary: in the frame you can immediately see whether a military man or not.
“And I saw with what interest it was happening, how they worked on themselves, and in two weeks they already rallied.
It was a small, but already a military unit, "- said the producer.
Front intelligence officer Ivan Starchak was played by Sergei Bezrukov.
According to the artist, he dreamed of starring in this film and immediately told Ugolnikov that he agreed to any episode.
The artist was happy to learn that he was invited to play the role of the legendary scout.
© Shot from the film "Podolsk cadets" (2019)
An important component of the picture was the music that successfully complements the drama.
The composer of the project was Yuri Poteenko, who was repeatedly awarded the Golden Eagle Prize for his compositions (Inhabited Island, White Tiger, Battalion, Time of the First).
“A film that should awaken feelings cannot exist without music, because music is the only component in cinema that awakens feelings.
Everything else carries information, ”Poteeenko noted.
He added that 25 musical numbers were recorded for the picture.
All of them, according to the composer, reflect "the emotional state of the person who looks at these events."
From other films about the war, the film "Podolsk Cadets", according to its creators, is distinguished primarily by its historical accuracy.
In addition, the script describes events, information about which is not available anywhere else.
According to Oleg Komissar, chairman of the military-historical council of the Ilyinsky frontier national film project, painstaking work was done while working on the script for the film.
The filmmakers had to gather their own group of historians and independently research archival materials.
Experts managed to find a lot of previously unknown information.
At the same time, the Commissioner stressed that this topic will continue to be studied, and it will be embodied in other projects.
© Shot from the film "Podolsk cadets" (2019)
The keen interest of filmmakers in detail is visually traced in every scene.
Decorations, weapons, clothing and other things were created in accordance with historical data and are as close to real as possible.
So, the shooting of the film took place at the site of the battles.
Especially for the picture, an exact copy of the Ilyinsky border was built along with the river and part of the Varshavskoe highway.
The spectacular scene of the final battle, which took place on October 16, is also documented.
According to Ugolnikov, the team had at their disposal photographs of this battle, as well as a diagram of how the cadets defeated 14 German tanks.
“The Germans were so shocked by this circumstance that on October 18 they recorded which tank was standing and by whom it was hit ... We created a film adaptation of this final battle, and maximum reliability was above all for us,” the producer explained.
According to Ugolnikov, the production of the tape cost 450 million rubles.
Despite such impressive expenses, it seems that the creators of the project did not seek to make it as widespread as possible.
They do not flirt with the viewer, do not come up with unnecessary jokes, and do not interrupt the main plot with unnecessary romance.
There are some funny moments in the film designed to defuse the situation, but all of them are more than appropriate and justified by the drama.
The love story is also present here, but it is also extremely neat and unobtrusive, and does not vulgarize the plot, but successfully complements it.
First of all, the creators of the project sought to convey information about the feat of Podolsk cadets to a wide audience.
The heroes of the film, as Igor Ugolnikov noted, "really turned the tide of the war, having withstood the month of October and not letting the Germans into Moscow."