Julia Vysotskaya and Andrei Konchalovsky in Venice. What do they think about the film “Dear Comrades!” in the West?

Yulia Vysotskaya Andrei Konchlovsky with his son_

Julia Vysotskaya and Andrei Konchalovsky presented, as part of the main program of the 77th Venice Film Festival, the film “Dear Comrades!”, dedicated to the events in Novocherkassk in 1962. Events are shown through the prism of the vision of a convinced communist Lydia (actress Yulia Vysotskaya).

The black and white film, on the one hand, refers to the historicity of events, to the painstaking restoration of the “spirit” of the era, as the director himself states. So Konchalovsky chose party leaders based on the principle of proximity to real historical characters. On the other hand, it gives a feeling of documentary. The black and white coloring deprives the picture of the “fussiness” of color, focusing the viewer’s attention on the narrative, emphasizing the purity and tragic dissonance in the inner world of the protagonist. The brilliant performance of Yulia Vysotskaya is complemented by a cast of unprofessional but authentic people from the 1960s.

As befits a director of his age, status and spiritual-intellectual capital, Konchalovsky does not make films about “current” (a word he doesn’t like) events. He films about archetypes and archetypal situations, explores the human soul.

At a press conference in Venice, Konchalovsky and Yulia Vysotskaya wisely “fought off” associations of the Western press with events in the post-Soviet space. Konchalovsky said that he has been nurturing his films for a long time; they simply cannot be associated with a political agenda. Konchalovsky argued that he simply could not prohibit the press and viewers from drawing parallels that would depend solely on their spiritual and intellectual baggage.

According to professional press ratings of September 8 at the Venice Film Festival, the film “Dear Comrades!” Konchalovsky takes second place with a rating of 3.1, and 3.3 points from the press was given to the film about the youngest daughter of Karl Marx, “Miss Marx.” The prestigious American publication Variety released a positive review of the film, and Screen International and The Observer gave it 4 out of 5 points, which in itself is a very high result. However, it is obvious that Konchalovsky is unlikely to leave Venice without a reward.