Still from the movie “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors”
Recently, the Film Fund published a list of future feature films and animated films for children and adolescents, the creation of which will receive government funding. There are 31 titles in total. Among them: “My Dog’s Business”, “Someone Else’s Call”, “The Flower of Seven Flowers”, the animated “Cinderella”, the new part of “Koshchei”, “Luntik”. Returning Home”, cartoons about Doctor Aibolit… But there are also familiar names: “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” and “Morozko”. For each of these projects, the state allocated 150 million rubles. The film adaptation of Vitaly Gubarev’s novel “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” will be directed by Klim Shipenko (“Slave”, “Slave 2”, “Challenge”…). A good director, but not Alexander Rowe, the creator of cult Soviet children’s films.
And here the opinion of the audience was divided. Some write on social networks: do not touch the “sacred”, invent something of your own, film another fairy tale. With all due respect to Klim Shipenko, there is now no director like Alexander Rowe, who made such magnificent films as “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” and “Morozko.” That is why piece goods are called piece goods.
But there are also many defenders of remakes. Banning new film adaptations just out of respect for the old ones is wrong. The practice of remakes is universal and widely used in Hollywood. And nothing: they are all alive, they are making a good movie. Even with a reverent attitude towards the wonderful classics of Soviet cinema, for the new generation of viewers both “Morozko” and “The Kingdom…” are very archaic. “For the twenty-somethings and for Alain Delon, it did not exist. Not to mention Marilyn Monroe,” skeptics write in the comments. Why should “zoomers” be deprived of the opportunity to see good old stories on screens, adapted to the modern mass cinema language? It doesn’t matter if it’s another Cinderella or a sleeping beauty.
However, the fair arguments of the remake’s defenders are drowned out by general indignation. Fans of the “archaic” are the majority. Why is it like this? We asked famous film expert Vyacheslav Shmyrov.
– Both “Morozko” and “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” are photographs of our previous life. They are iconic and truly beloved,” says Vyacheslav Shmyrov. – The older generation of viewers does not accept the very idea of a new film adaptation. This is an attempt to protect themselves, their past, their ideals, which they believe will be trampled. People are willing to fight for their ideals. And they are partly right. After all, it’s not just about movies. They are super movies, through them we learned about life and ourselves.
– Klim Shipenko is a good director. Will his new film adaptation of “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” be able to repeat the success of Alexander Row’s film?
– It is unlikely that the new film adaptation will have the same success as the film filmed in 1963. It is not even about the director, nor the actors who will star in the remake. The success of the audience today is momentary, unique. I looked and forgot. A year and a half ago everyone told us how wonderful the family comedy “Cheburashka” is. The film became the highest-grossing film in the history of Russian film distribution. In three days I recovered my budget. Success failed. What’s next? Who remembers it today? Where is the guarantee that it will be remembered decades later? And “Morozko” and “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors,” filmed 60 years ago, are still loved and reviewed. By the way, cult Soviet films also collected huge amounts of money at the box office.
– So what: not do remakes at all?
– Why not do it? It’s totally acceptable to make a new movie based on the same plot, just as it’s acceptable to make new Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauties, no matter how talented the previous versions were.
If “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” is not a repetition, but a new cinematic incarnation of Vitaly Gubarev’s novel, there is nothing reprehensible in it. Remember how many film adaptations of the novel “Anna Karenina” or “Quiet Don” there are.
The problem is not the remakes. And in the helplessness of modern Russian cinema, in the absence of new, fresh ideas that bring the image of the future closer to the younger generation.
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