The history of the formation of the country and the person: the premiere of the painting "The Heart of Parma"

The events of the film “The Heart of Parma”, which was released on October 6, unfold in the Great Perm of the 15th century.

In the center of the story is the difficult fate of Mikhail, the heir to Prince Yermolai, who was killed by the leader of the Voguls Asyka (Valentin Jing).

Saved by the governor Poljud (Sergey Puskepalis), the boy must become a real ruler who will unite many tribes and small principalities and be able to strike a balance between their interests and the ambitions of the Moscow ruler Ivan III.

The story begins with the fact that Prince Yermolai sends a gang of ushkuyns to the lands of the Voguls, who must steal the Golden Baba, the idol of local pagan tribes.

The robbers become witnesses of a bloody sacrifice and a mystical ritual, but they cope with the task, although at the cost of the lives of almost the entire detachment.

At the same time, in a difficult fight, the ushkuyniki kill a lamia, a pagan shaman who turned into a she-wolf.

It is noteworthy that this scene was filmed in Stone Town - a unique natural monument located on one of the peaks of the Rudyansky Spoy ridge.

“For filming, we only had to add a few props, and the place itself was already created by nature for us.

When the shamans were filming there, it was, to be honest, a little uncomfortable: this scene looked so organic and powerful, ”said producer Daria Lavrova in an interview with the Proficinema portal.  

The Golden Baba is delivered to Cherdyn, the capital of the principality.

The leader of the Voguls Asyka vows to return the relic and destroy the enemies.

The Voguls attack Cherdyn and massacre almost the entire local population.

In a hard battle, Prince Yermolai dies, young Mikhail and little Tiche - the daughter of one of the local leaders - are saved by the voivode Poljud, who was played by Sergey Puskepalis, who tragically died in a car accident on September 20, 2022.

• © Shot from the film "Heart of Parma" (2022)

The scene of the capture of Cherdyn by the Voguls is striking in its scale and naturalism - the assault on the settlement by the pagans looks scary, bloody and authentic.

For all the seeming brutality, there were no casualties during the filming - even when filming the most ambitious battle scenes.

According to the results of filming, the scenery, built specifically for the film, was decided not to be dismantled, but transferred to the Gubakha city administration as a historical and tourist site.

In general, the scenery, costumes and the picture as a whole are very impressive.

In the "Heart of Parma" the authors worked to the conscience - all the details are made at the highest level.

The viewers may get the impression that they were really transferred to the 15th century - exteriors and interiors, shops of merchants and everyday life of both the inhabitants of Cherdyn and pagans - everything does not look glossy sleek, but as close as possible to history.

Even fantasy elements are not embarrassing, which are not particularly numerous in the film, but they are connected mainly with the wife of Prince Mikhail Tiche, whom everyone considers a lamia sorceress.

These nuances should be considered not as a historical reality and recognition of the existence of magic, but rather as an attempt to recreate the worldview of a person who lived in the 15th century, with his belief in the supernatural, spirits and miracles.

Michael's contemporaries perceive Tiche as a pagan sorceress who refused to accept Orthodoxy.

Khan Asyk looks like another semi-mystical character, driving around the battlefield on a huge fighting elk.

This looks extremely impressive, but frankly fabulous, and can also be explained by an attempt to look at events through the prism of medieval delusions - after all, the pagan leader was considered an immortal sorcerer from Parma, so what else could he ride, if not the mighty lord of the wild forest?

In any case, Megerdichev's picture is not a fantasy, but an epic historical drama based on real events and personalities, and interspersed with fabulousness are designed to diversify the main plot.

• © Shot from the film "Heart of Parma" (2022)

It is impossible not to mention separately the computer graphics made to last, the excellent work of the makeup artists and the spectacular battle scenes.

Here you can draw a parallel with Mel Gibson's film "Braveheart", where, with a number of significant historical assumptions, a lot of work was done to work out the dramaturgy and reveal the motivation of the characters.

The Heart of Parma is a story within a story.

The life and actions of Prince Mikhail, who was forced to balance between the interests of the petty princes of Great Perm and Moscow, his love for a heterodox woman, condemned by the Orthodox Church, his internal denial of senseless bloodshed, the adoption of difficult decisions for the good of his land - the basis that lies on the surface.

There is another layer - the interpenetration of two cultures, the original pagan and Orthodoxy that came to Parma, the unification of the Russian lands by Ivan III in order to build the "Russian people" from many fragmented tribes and small principalities, and cruel decisions made by the tsar for the benefit of a higher goal. 

One of these decisions is the march to Parma of the Moscow army, led by the governor Fyodor Pyosty Starodubsky (Vitaly Kishchenko) - because of Mikhail's refusal to join the siege of Kazan.

This episode clearly demonstrates the difference in the power and endurance of the two armies: well-equipped and armed Muscovites smash the militia of the Prince of Great Perm, and Mikhail himself is taken prisoner and sent to Moscow, where he meets with Ivan III (Fyodor Bondarchuk).

It is impossible to call "The Heart of Parma" a verbatim adaptation of the novel by Alexei Ivanov - there are many differences between the film and the original source.

But they did not harm the picture in the least: despite the rather solid timing, it looks literally in one breath, does not sag, and most importantly, it makes you empathize with the characters, each of which manages to fully reveal itself on the screen.

Heart of Parma is a decent, truly epic film with perfect casting, a great story, and stunning visuals.