Alexei Oktjabrinowitsch Balabanow

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Alexei O. Balabanov, 2010

Alexei Oktjabrinowitsch Balabanow ( Russian Алексей Октябринович Балабанов ; born February 25, 1959 in Sverdlovsk , † May 18, 2013 in Sestrorezk ) was a Russian director , film producer , screenwriter and actor . He received, among others, the Russian Film Award Nika for his direction of the film Про уродов и людей ( english Of Freaks and Men ) and prizes at the Kinotavr - Film Festival of Sochi for Брат ( German  's brother ) and Война ( English War ).

biography

Balabanov was born on February 25, 1959 in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg. After ten years of schooling in Sverdlovsk, he studied from 1976 at the Faculty of Translation at the Linguistic University in Gorky , now Nizhny Novgorod.

From 1981 to 1983 he did his military service as an officer in the Soviet Air Force and was deployed as a pilot in transport aviation, where he flew to destinations in Africa and Asia. His memories of it were reflected in his film Груз 200 ( English Cargo 200 ). He took part in the war in Afghanistan and was transferred to the Soviet Navy shortly before the end of his service .

Balabanov worked from 1983 to 1987 as an assistant director in the Sverdlovsk Film Studios . In 1990 he completed the High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors in directing .

He made his first feature film in 1987 in the Urals . The script was written overnight. The low-budget film is set in a restaurant and was played by the band members of the Nautilus Pompilius , with whose frontman Vyacheslav Butusov he was good friends. In his other films, Balabanov always looked for actors who embody everyday life in the most natural and convincing way and replaced less professional actors.

Since 1990 Balabanow lived and worked in Saint Petersburg . Together with film producer Sergei Seljanow , he founded the film production company CTB ( German  STV ) in 1992 . There he produced most of his films.

The two films Счастливые дни ( English Happy Days , based on Samuel Beckett Theater Drama) and Замок ( english The Castle after the castle of Franz Kafka ) include unforgettable remarkable visual representations and transfer absurd and claustrophobic feelings embedded in literary inspirations.

With the film Брат (The brother) , which tells the story of a young man who the assassin was Balabanov gained in Russia celebrity. In the 1990s, the film became one of the Russian film icons and Sergei Bodrov , who played the leading role, was called "Hero of the Generations". Due to the xenophobia of the character in the lead role, Balabanov was accused of nationalism and xenophobia .

In 1998 he directed the film Про уродов и людей (Of Freaks and Men) based on a scenario that he had written five years earlier, but was unable to implement earlier due to a lack of budget. Despite the controversial plot (the film focuses on porn film production in the Russian Empire ), the film was awarded the Nika in the Best Film category.

Balabanov brought out Брат 2, the sequel to the film Брат in Moscow and the United States of America . Also with regard to the film Война (2002; English War ) he was accused of political inaccuracies, for example that the North Caucasus was the scene of the Second Chechen War . Thereafter, Balabanov devoted himself to less demanding films such as the crime comedy Жмурки ( English Dead Man's Bluff ) and the melodrama Мне не больно ( English It Doesn't Hurt Me ).

In 2007, in the film Груз 200 , he showed in a naturalistic way the downside of the late Soviet Union during the war in Afghanistan and the terrible and cruel side of humanity, which was the reason why some well-known actors refused to appear in the film. The film was banned from broadcasting in many cities in Russia.

The plot in the film Кочегар (2010) tells about Yakuts , veterans of the Afghan people, and the resistance of the common people.

In his last film, Я тоже хочу (2012), the director explains the problem of letting someone go from life. Balabanov himself played a role in an episode of the film. In an interview, he stated that this would be his last film.

Excluding amateur and documentary films, Balabanov made 14 feature films.

Balabanov died of a heart attack at the age of 54 . The funeral services took place on May 21st in St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg and the burial in the local Smolensk cemetery .

Movie reviews

Balabanow on the set of the film Морфий (Morphine)

Most of Balabanov's films are set in Russia between the 1980s and 1990s and tell the life stories of people. He got his breakthrough with the plot about Danila Bagrow in the films Брат (The Brother) and Брат 2 ; this role was played by Sergei Bodrov. In the film, Bodrow created his own myths and value system and was therefore hailed as the first real hero on the post-Soviet cinema screen.

In the main roles, Balabanov often portrayed outsiders who are on the brink of being, looking for their place in life or unsuccessfully looking for harmony in life. According to Ksenija Tschudinowa , these are "wolves driven into corners". They are forced to fight their way through an alien world by force, and this manifests itself in Balabanov's films often ranging from criminal to sexual violence. The film critic Andrei Plachow recognized these moral violations, which shape people by violating generally accepted norms, as the key to understanding Balabanov's creativity. He describes Balabanov as a socially conservative person who was always on the lookout for the morality of society, and put him on a par with Fyodor Dostoevsky and John Ford .

Andrei Michalkow-Konchalowski described Balabanov as one of the most talented Russian directors of his time. "It was strange, uncomfortable, but had an astonishing inner core structure", "For me the reflection is always stronger than the incident light beam, but Balabanov always walked along this beam in a straight line" - this is how Nikita Michalkow described the director of the melodrama Мне не больно and the black comedy Жмурки , in which he starred.

Film critic Natalia Siriwli pointed to Balabanov's inherent desire to create myths, noting that the director " uses all his well-known talents and professionalism to shoot masterful scenes that evoke strong emotions such as disgust, horror and disgust in the viewer."

According to Selyanov, the producer of almost all of his films, Balabanov created the impression of a closed person. In reality, however, he was a very sincere, open and happy person who “did a lot for his country with his activities and talents”.

Unrealized projects

In 2000, Balabanov began making the film Река , which is about the colony of lepers in Yakutia . But on November 21, 2000, actress Tujara Swinoboyeva , who had been assigned the lead role, died in a car accident before filming was finished. In 2002 the unfinished film was presented as a montage of 49 minutes of footage. According to Mikhail Trofimenkov , this film was to become Balabanov's main work and re-evaluate him as a world-class master in public.

Bodrow and Balabanow discussed the possibility of making a film about extraterrestrials several times, but this never came about.

Balabanov began making the film Amerikans from November to December 2003 . The plot is the story of a bankrupt American who went to Russia to get his money back. The main roles were played by Michael Biehn and Alexei Tschadow . One of the bigger roles should be played by the musician Sergei Schnurow and his band Leningrad . Mainly the film was shot in Irkutsk . Because of Biehn's problems with alcohol addiction , the shooting had to be stopped . Balabanov indicated that he did not intend to continue shooting this film because he was not used to treading the same path twice. Still, he decided in 2013 to resume filming on this film and rewrite the script so that heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson could take on the role. However, Tyson later did not have the time to take part in this project.

In 2007, the film production company CTB started a youth project called Cinema . Interested young people were asked to record a five-minute video using a digital camera , mobile phone or smartphone . Balabanov would write a script based on the best video. About 3,000 videos were sent to Balabanov, from which he chose only one. However, from this material he was unable to create a full-fledged script, and the project was abandoned.

Balabanov's other plans included the implementation of his script about the criminal youth of the later Soviet dictator Josef Stalin . To do this, he collected and researched facts about him that were unknown to the public. Another film should appear under the title " Мой брат умер " ( German  my brother died ). However, Balabanov did not find time to finish the script. Candidates for the roles included Oleg Garkuscha and Renata Litvinova . His son Fyodor Balabanov has announced that he will make this film.

family

Balabanov was married twice. With his first wife Irina, he had a son, today's economist Fyodor Balabanov. With his second wife Nadjeschda Wasiljewa he worked on the film Замок ; she was a costume designer at Lenfilm . With her he had the son Pyotr (born 1995).

Honor

Memorial plaque on the school building in Sverdlovsk

In 2014 director Yuri Bykov made the film Дурак ( English The Fool ) and dedicated it to the memory of Alexei Balabanov. There is a longer passage in this film that reflects the work of Balabanov among rock music , such as Спокойная ночь by the Russian rock band Kino .

A memorial plaque in his honor has been placed on the building of the Sverdlovsk school where Alexei Balabanov studied .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1995: The Arrival of a Train ( Pribytie poezda ; Director, Screenplay, Actor)
  • 1997: The Brother ( Brat ; Director, Screenplay)
  • 2000: Brat 2 (continuation of Der Bruder (Brat); director, screenplay)

Awards

  • Prize winners at Kinotawr :
    • 1997 for Брат (Grand Prix)
    • 1998 for Of Freaks and Men (Special Jury Prize)
    • 2002 for Война ( English War - Golden Rose, Main Prize)
  • Prize winners at Nika :
    • 1999 for Of Freaks and Men (best film)
    • 1999 for Of Freaks and Men (best director)
  • GoEast award winners :
    • 2009 for morphine
    • 2011 for Der Heizer

literature

  • Lyubov J. Arkus et al .: Балабанов . Saint Petersburg 2013. ISBN 978-5-905586-08-8 .
  • Florian Weinhold: Path of Blood. The Post-Soviet Gangster, His Mistress and Their Others in Aleksei Balabanov's Genre Films . Reaverlands, North Charleston 2013, ISBN 978-1-4823-0047-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Известный российский кинорежиссер Алексей Балабанов скончался сегодня на 55-м году жизни. Echo Moskvy, May 18, 2013, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Скончался Алексей Балабанов. Rossiya Sevodnya, May 18, 2013, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Russian cult film director Alexei Balabanov dies. BBC, May 18, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Winners 1991-2005. In: kinotavr.ru. Retrieved August 25, 2017 (Russian).
  5. ↑ a b c d e Douglas Martin: Aleksei Balabanov, 54, Russian Film Director, Dies. The New York Times, May 21, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b c "Сила - в правде": Биография Алексея Балабанова. RBK, accessed on August 24, 2017 .
  7. ↑ a b c Mikhail Akinchenko: Прощание с кинорежиссером Алексеем Балабановым в Петербурге прошло тихо и скромно. Perwy kanal, May 21, 2013, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Алексей Балабанов: "Про уродов и людей". Wonderzine, March 24, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b Nancy Condee: The Imperial Trace. Recent Russian Cinema . New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-536676-1 , pp. 3 ff., 217 ff .
  10. ↑ a b c d Andrej Plachow: Режиссеры настоящего . Volume 2: Радикалы и минималисты . Palmira, Saint Petersburg 2017. ISBN 978-5-521-00454-6 . P. 6 ff.
  11. ↑ a b c Jurij Saprykin: Русский рок в лицах. Lenta.ru, May 20, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Алексей Балабанов: "Груз-200" никого равнодушным не оставит ". Vseokino.com, February 2007, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  13. ↑ a b c Andrej Plachow: Точность невозврата. Kommersant, May 20, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Алексей Балабанов был тяжело болен и ждал смерти. NTW, May 18, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Anzhelika Saoserskaja: Алексей Балабанов: "Я хочу в рай, чтобы встретиться со своим папой". Vechernyaya Moskva, May 18, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Aleksandr Kudryavtsev : "Колокольня cчастья" режиссера Балабанова обрушилась под Вологдой. Rossiya Sevodnya, June 28, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  17. ↑ В Сестрорецке умер Алексей Балабанов. New Sestroreck, May 20, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Умер Алексей Балабанов. Lenta.ru, May 18, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Sergej Grachev : "Не знаю, скучно в раю или нет". Каким был Алексей Балабанов? Argumenty i Fakty, May 21, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  20. ↑ a b c Arsenij Suchoweverchow: Пространство подростка. Киноязык Алексея Балабанова. Iskusstwo Kino, January 2008, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Vasily Korezkij: Не время для героев. Russky Reporter, May 23, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Ksenija Tschudinowa: Умер русский гений. Snob Media, May 18, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Aleksandra Fedotowa: А.Кончаловский о кризисе церкви, президенте-предателе и поиске счастья. Glawkom, August 20, 2014, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Marija Kuwschinowa: Алексей Балабанов: как делался "Брат". Afischa, March 3, 2014, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Кинообозрение Натальи Сиривли. Russky Shurnal, 2007, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Mikhail S. Trofimenkow: В "Реке" брода нет. Kommersant, July 1, 2002, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Сергей Бодров Связной. Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Полис кадровой защиты. Kommersant, June 2, 2008, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Leonid Pavlyuchik: Алексей Балабанов: "Хочу снять фильм о приключениях черного американца в Сибири". Trud, September 20, 2012, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  30. ↑ Попсовое кино. Chapayev, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  31. ↑ Балабанов позвал Кустурицу в соавторы фильма о Сталине. Lenta.ru, January 23, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  32. ↑ Алексей Балабанов назвал молодого Сталина вором в законе. Lenta.ru, December 11, 2012, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  33. ↑ Alexei O. Balabanow pm: "Мой брат умер". Последний сценарий Алексея Балабанова. Seance, May 27, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  34. ↑ Iliya Radayev: В интернете опубликован последний сценарий Алексея Балабанова. filmpro, May 27, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  35. ↑ Yevgenia Smurygina: Фильм по последнему сценарию Алексея Балабанова снимет его сын. Radio Business FM, May 27, 2013, accessed August 25, 2017 .
  36. ↑ Arkus et al. 2013.

Web links

Commons : Aleksey Balabanov  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Balabanow, Alexei Oktjabrinowitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Балабанов, Алексей Октябринович (Russian spelling); Balabanov, Aleksey (English spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian film director
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Sverdlovsk
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2013
Place of death Sestroreetsk