Aigul MYRZATAI
ALMATY, July 4 (THE GLOBE)
Despite the fact that �Aldar-Kose� is a cartoon, while �The Barber of Siberia� is a movie, the common element of both stories (about Kazakh Balda (Kose) and the Russian tsar Alexander III) is the national idea. This idea is connected in both films with the national heroes and national spirit of Russia and Kazakhstan. Now let�s see how Nikita Mikhalkov interprets Russian patriotism and whether Aldar-Kose is an image of the Kazakh people.
�Few years passed from the time when the Kremlin suddenly began to anxiously search for �a national idea�. They searched all the time, and more than a single budget rouble was spent towards the search, but in vain. They found nothing theoretically or practically. But Mikhalkov has found something, though he was not especially looking. According to Mikhalkov�s deep and old belief, the famous Uvarov�s triad � the Orthodox Church, tsarism and the people � was most peculiar to Russia. It should only to be realised, that was done in the new film. Mikhalkov is doing the same as the Bolsheviks did: he is widely introducing the feeling of patriotism, which has been almost forgotten in Russia, into Russian masses with the help of cinematography. Of course, it is not the patriotism of the soviet epic films �War and Peace� by Sergei Bondarchuk or �Liberation� by Yuryi Ozerov. It is the new old patriotism.� (Igor Zotov, �Nezavisimaya Gazeta�, 20.02.1999).
�The creation of N.S. Mikhalkov might even realise the second dream of the master � to promote the awakening of the national dignity of the Russians. The film is so insulting to Russian national feeling that any thinking Russian will ask the question: �If the famous cultural master, who according to rumours, wishes to be the ruler of Russia, considers it possible to give me a feeble and illiterate play devoted to matrioshka, vodka, balalaika (we would like also to add bubliki and the laugh of the hero of Julia Ormond transforming to hysterics at the sight of this Russian exotics) as a stirring spiritual source; if the master not only paints the great nation as interesting primates (it wouldn�t be so bad if this only dealt with the sale of Russian primates in the Western film market � business is business; but the master is sincerely confident that the nation described in this way will be completely impressed); then something must be seriously rotten in our national-state consciousness.� (Maxim Sokolov, the leading correspondent of �Izvestiya� newspaper, �Tale about the tsar Nikita and his forty junior officers�).
Let�s not argue whether national consciousness is spoiled or not in Mikhalkov�s latest creation. Whatever we try, the mentality of the Russian State will still be unavailable for us Kazakhs. Besides, there are already enough recognised critics from our neighbour. The only feature we could clarify regarding the creator of �Barber�, is that it is directly connected with his creative process as it passed through the epoch of the powerful state of the former USSR. In that period, the mentality of all 15 republics was the same: ideas of the Bolsheviks and socialistic society. How could Mikhalkov not create a film about Bolsheviks and the Soviet power? And Nikita Sergeevich made in our opinion his best films �Insider among outsiders, outsider among insiders� and �Slave of love�, which, alas, did not expose everything �negative� about the new authorities that replaced the monarchy. But times change. On the wave of progressive streams and interests and the new state conception, Mikhalkov like a true �truth-carrier� first publicly exposed Stalin�s period, then he exposed the image of Alexander III (�Siberian barber�) by announcing the essence of the monarchy. �According to the creator�s statements, his significant task was to provoke love for the vast, complex, wealthy and great Russia in the audience, and to the Tsar, as the easiest and most accurate determination of monarchism is as following: �A Monarchist is a person who loves the Tsar.� (Maxim Sokolov).
Let�s not talk about the monarchy. It was always alien to Kazakh consciousness. We were immediately shifted from the nomadic style of life to the construction of socialism. This is why this unnatural barber�s epic story with it�s fantastic budget, turning off of the Kremlin stars, ice made of plastic foam in the Moscow river, fireworks at the Sobornaya square and Alexander III (Mikhalkov) solemnly kissing a horse as an element of the requiem mass for the junior officers, was so surprising to us. Hence, the first night of the film was accepted in a very warm and friendly way in the cold days of the New Year. For the Kazakhstani population, �The Barber of Siberia� is also notable and is to be especially beloved because, Mikhalkov (possibly, due to his relative connections) was more friendly and less severe to us than to his Russian compatriots, who tried to get into the premier in Moscow. As Yevgeny Kiselyov said in �Itogi�, not all the Ministers were called to the Kremlin Palace. Invited to the studio after the triumph of the film, the director added that at that time, people had been ready to pay US$ 700 for a ticket to the Kremlin. Consequently, if you were not a Minister and did not pay US$ 700, or if you did not belong to any famous family, alas, you did not watch the film.
(To be continued)
6 July 1858 - The shoe manufacturing machine was patented by Lyman Blake of Abington, MA. on this day.
6 July 1957 - Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon, women�s singles, tennis title this day. Gibson was the first black tennis star to win the prestigious event.
6 July 1987 - It was revealed this day that the median age when men first marry moved up to 25.5 years � with 60 percent of American men over the age of 15, married.
6 July 1946 - Sylvester Stallone (actor: Rocky series, Rambo series, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Demolition Man, Nighthawks, Oscar, Tango and Cash, The Specialist)
7 July 1885 - G. Moore Peters of Xenia, OH, patented the cartridge-loading machine.
7 July 1985 - Boris Becker won the Wimbledon tennis title this day by defeating Kevin Curren - 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Becker became the youngest, the first German and the first unseeded player to win the title in the 108-year history of Wimbledon. Becker was only 17 years old at the time � not even old enough to drive a car in his own country!
7 July 1922 - Pierre Cardin (fashion designer)
7 July 1940 - Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) (drummer: group: The Beatles; singer: It Don�t Come Easy, Photograph, You�re Sixteen; actor: Candy, The Magic Christian, Blindman, Caveman, Give My Regards to Broad Street; married to actress, Barbara Bach)
From June 4 to July 3
The Kosteyev State National Museum. Exhibition of the works of Bakhytbek Talkambayev.
The Kosteyev State National Museum. Exhibition of the works of S. Kalmykov, I. Itkind, V. Eifert, and Rudolf Nuriev�s painting.
From 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Closed on Monday.
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