Why was the film Matilda Alexey teachers banned? How MP Poklonskaya and director teacher quarreled
There are still more than three months before the premiere of Alexei Uchitel’s new film, but he has already managed to earn the title of perhaps the most scandalous Russian film of recent decades. Why did the film, which tells about the first love of Emperor Nicholas II, outrage the public so much?
Still from the film "Matilda"
At the center of the plot love relationship Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov, the future last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. However, their relationship lasted relatively short - namely, until his coronation with his future wife Alexandra Federovna. There are rumors that the ballerina and Nicholas II even had a daughter.
After her relationship with Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, Matilda was the mistress of another Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, and later married another representative of the royal house - Grand Duke Andrei Romanov. All this time she successfully raised illegitimate son. After the revolution of 1917, she left Russia forever.
Young Nicholas II with Matilda Kshesinskaya The fate of Kshesinskaya, like her biography, is very rich and interesting. Born in St. Petersburg, she was a prima ballerina of the imperial theaters and simply an influential person with whom powerful men from noble families easily fell in love. Alexey Uchitel invited Polish actress Michalina Olshanskaya to play the role of the main character; German theater and film actor Lars Eidinger played Emperor Nicholas II. Among the star names familiar to the ear of the Russian viewer: Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Evgeny Mironov, Sergey Garmash, Danila Kozlovsky and Grigory Dobrygin.
The painting was originally conceived and positioned by the Teacher as large-scale historical reconstruction: especially for filming, the Assumption Cathedral of that time, the Palace on the River Pontoon and the interiors of the carriages of the Imperial railway train were painstakingly recreated. Filming for the most part took place at the Mariinsky Theater, in the Catherine, Alexander, Yusupov and Elaginoostrovsky palaces. The film's budget is $25 million, which is simply a huge amount for Russian cinema.
Where (or who) started the protests against the painting
Alexey Uchitel started filming historical drama back in 2014, and then everyone was only waiting for details about the new creation of the famous director. When the production of the film came to its logical conclusion, the public was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of aggressive objections and demands for a ban on showing the film and even the completion of its production. Perhaps the reason for this was the first trailer for the film, which could seem somewhat provocative - it was from the moment of its appearance that complaints began to pour in.
Among the main dissatisfied were members of the social movement “Royal Cross”, who actively accused the Teacher and his painting of slandering Tsar Nicholas II and his royal family. It was with them that a large-scale “flash mob” against the release of the film began. “The Tsar’s Cross” turned to State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya for support, and then the scandal received really wide publicity.
“In the film Matilda, Tsar Nicholas II is not portrayed as who he really was. The love between Matilda Kshesinskaya and Tsar Nicholas II was platonic, not lustful. Also, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, the economic and social situation was better compared to the current situation in Russia,” the social activists said in an official statement.
Natalia Poklonskaya. Photo: lenta.ru Natalya Poklonskaya, in turn, quite expectedly sided with the “Tsar’s Cross” and twice sent a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation to check “Matilda” for extremism. However, in both cases the audit found no violations. In 2016, RuNet also joined the protests - a petition appeared on the Change.org website to ban the film in Russia.
Still from the film "Matilda" However, Poklonskaya did not stop there - at the end of January 2017, she was sent a deputy request to the Prosecutor General’s Office in order to check the legality of spending the funds allocated by the Cinema Fund for the creation of the film. Obviously, Poklonskaya wanted to remove the film from distribution in other ways - and the fact that every year in Russia dozens of outright failures and second-rate blockbuster parodies financed by the Cinema Fund is released apparently does not bother the deputy.
But this was not the end of the epic - already in April a letter was sent to an expert commission to evaluate the script and trailer of the film. The members of the commission, quite expectedly, saw in them a lot of critical comments: from the moral character of the king to the ugly and “dishonest” appearance of his beloved. The commission's verdict was not long in coming: the film portrays a false image of St. Nicholas II, and also offends the feelings of believers. The results were again sent to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Still from the film "Matilda" Discontent is growing to this day - just yesterday there were reports in the media that the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov sent an appeal Russian minister culture to Vladimir Medinsky with a request not to show Alexei Uchitel’s film “Matilda” in the republic. The text of the appeal notes that such a decision was made after reading the information received from Natalia Poklonskaya about thousands of statements by Orthodox Christians and Muslims about insulting the religious feelings of believers storyline film.
Who supported the rental of "Matilda"
Of course, such a scandal attracts public attention, especially when it comes to a film. Many film critics and fans of Teacher's work say that it is premature to pass an opinion on a film that has not yet been released. Cultural figures considered it their duty to speak out in support of the film: film director Stanislav Govorukhin, chairman of the Duma Committee on Culture, criticized the idea of checking the film, adding that such initiatives should be stopped in the bud.
In response to numerous attacks, more than forty Russian filmmakers wrote an open letter, including Pavel Lungin, Alexander Proshkin, Alexander Gelman, Vitaly Mansky, Andrei Smirnov and others. It is noteworthy that the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, who personally visited the filming of the film several times, also supported Matilda.
Still from the film "Matilda" What does Alexey Uchitel think?
The director of “Matilda” called the discussion around his new film useless and unnecessary.
“Honestly, I’m already tired of Mrs. Poklonskaya’s war with me and the entire film crew. Instead of calmly finishing the film, I am forced to be distracted by nonsense, nonsense and insults,” said the director. “The film will be released, everyone will watch it, and only then will it be possible to discuss it.”
The film’s producer, Alexander Dostman, also believes: “People who have not seen the film, and no one except the working group has seen it, cannot draw any conclusions - it’s funny, some kind of comedy, amazing stupidity. And what’s also surprising is that everyone follows Natalya Poklonskaya’s lead and takes her opinion into account; I’ve already stopped being surprised by her. This is a film about beautiful love. Regardless of whether Tsar Nicholas is Tsar or not, he is a man, but what, a man cannot love?”
By the way, Konstantin Dobrynin, the lawyer of director Alexei Uchitel, addressed the ethics commission of the State Duma of Russia with a response complaint against the activities of deputy Natalia Poklonskaya. He claims Poklonskaya’s “unfounded accusations” against Teacher, as well as “the use of deliberately false information and calls for illegal actions” against the creators of the film “Matilda.” Thus, a real outbreak broke out between Poklonskaya and the Teacher. civil war. Only one thing remains clear in this situation - despite all the scandals surrounding the film, the premiere of the film will take place on the planned date.
When will the film be released in cinemas?
The premiere is scheduled for October 26, 2017, it will take place at the Mariinsky Theater - where the main character of the film, Matilda Kshesinskaya, performed at the beginning of the 20th century. The musical producer of the film was the artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev.
Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky - public threats, persecution of the film’s authors, arson..."
Radicals howl against what they have not seen.
The minister, deliberately emphasizing his conservative reputation, states: I saw the film, “there is nothing offensive in it either to the memory of Nicholas II or to the history of the Russian monarchy.”
However, State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya again makes a parliamentary request, now to the Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Culture, Pavel Pozhigailo: the film “Matilda” should have the distribution certificate issued to it revoked. For a reason stated more than once, but not yet confirmed: a wide release of the film will offend the feelings of believers.
The controversy surrounding Matilda has been going on since last year. In December 2016, RG published a discussion between Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk and the film director Alexei Uchitel - voluminous, balanced, verified, deep, sensible and predictive. ("RG" dated December 13, 2016)
Vladyka Tikhon insisted: history, especially the history of an emperor recognized as a saint, simply obliges us, and even in the year of the centenary of the revolution, to a scrupulous - without vulgar distortion - attitude towards ourselves. But at the same time he was opposed to banning the film: “I am sure that this is an absolutely dead-end and wrong path. Not demands for bans, but a warning about truth and untruth - this is the goal that can and should be set in connection with the upcoming wide screening of the film. If the film conforms trailer, it will be enough to simply talk widely about the real former history. Actually, that's what we are doing now. And then the viewer will decide for himself."
The fate of works of art is not decided either by bans, or by popular vote, or by parliamentary requests.
Alexey Uchitel was indignant in response: “What love triangle? We don’t have one.... From the point of view of explicit scenes, we have a picture for a kindergarten. There can be no vulgarity - I guarantee it. We took on a serious work in every sense.” He insisted that it was time to break the everyday stereotypes of Nicholas II as a “bloody” and “weak-willed” tsar: “over 17 years of rule, he led the country to political, economic and military prosperity, created the most powerful Russia in its entire existence.”
The discussion around the film, in its substantive, rather than radical anarchist stage, had a positive effect.
We can already assume that the film will not be equal to the trailer that excited many, which was not even made by the director - the distributors.
And it became clear that public opinion, which is able to clearly and convincingly express its positions through the mouths of its best speakers, is strength.
And then we all need to understand that the fate of works of art is not decided either by bans, or by popular vote, or by parliamentary requests. It is decided by a debating community of experts - artists, critics, producers, managers. His opinion, in general, was summed up by the Minister of Culture: when this film appeared, neither laws, nor common sense, nor respect for people were violated, be they historical characters or our contemporaries.
Therefore, let's believe what has been said and leave the barricades for a while. Because a little more and everything will turn into a farce - both the fate of art and the consideration of religious feelings. For now, it’s better and more honest to keep quiet. Before the film premiere.
Direct speech
Alexey German, film director:
I believe that everything that is happening - threats to distributors, lawyers, arson, throwing Molotov cocktails at the windows of director's studios - is a very bad sign. Radicals of all stripes must be punished and brought to justice. I don't understand why law enforcement won't look into this. In this way, an uncontrollable situation arises in our country, fraught with the transfer of society almost to a pre-revolutionary state. Therefore, radicals of all stripes must be punished in the harshest possible ways.
And politicians need to take care not to pass off their personal empathy as the position of the state. Our legislative power should not be used for self-promotion, and the State Duma should not turn from a place where laws are passed into a platform for self-promotion. There is no need to introduce interests parallel to state power into the current agenda.
On September 12, the largest Russian association of cinema chains, which includes Formula Kino and Cinema Park, refused to show the film Matilda, despite the issuance of a distribution certificate. Its owner is Alexander Mamut, one of the largest Russian businessmen. The reason was a security threat. We traced how the Matilda scandal developed - from the first attacks to threats to burn down cinemas.
April 7, 2016. The first trailer of Alexei Uchitel's film "Matilda" was published, which became the starting point for complaints about the film on the basis of "the filmmakers' mockery of one of the most revered saints of our church - Tsar Nicholas II." On the website of the Orthodox portal “Russian People's Line” a whole section appeared entitled “The film “Matilda” - blasphemy against the Holy Tsar.”
May 5, 2016. The newspaper “Zavtra” published an appeal to the Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Chaika with a request to check the film “Matilda” for the presence of a crime under Art. 282 (inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity) and Art. 148, paragraph 1 (public actions committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers), and prohibit its rental in Russian Federation. Andrei Krutov (“A Just Russia”) also sent Yuri Chaika a request to conduct a prosecutorial review of the film. Mikhail Degtyarev (LDPR) prepared an appeal addressed to the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky with a request to ban the film from distribution.
June 7, 2016.On the Day of Remembrance of the Royal Martyrs, participants “burned blasphemous posters of the film “Matilda” at the rally.
June 13, 2016. The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office checked the film script, but did not find any crime.
July 1, 2016. Outrage continues on Orthodox resources; calls to action and a template text of a complaint for filing with the prosecutor's office are being circulated in communities. There are many online petitions against “Matilda” - in particular on Change.org such a petition has collected 24,301 signatures.
August 4, 2016. Alexey Uchitel, through his lawyer, informed the Prosecutor General's Office about the threats of radical persons against the distributors of "Matilda".
November 1, 2016. Against the backdrop of the appeal activists from the organization “Royal Cross” State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya files a complaint against the film with the Prosecutor General's Office. As a result of checking the trailer and script of "Matilda", no violations were found.
December 14, 2016. The Russian Orthodox Church criticized “Matilda” for historical inaccuracy. Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) called the picture “slander.” The Moscow Patriarchate said that they do not intend to demand a ban on the film, but are concerned that some viewers may believe in the historicity of the film.
January 31, 2017. Activists of the unregistered organization “Christian State – Holy Rus'” sent threats to Russian cinemas demanding that they refuse to release “Matilda”. Otherwise, they promised to burn the cinemas. Alexey Uchitel contactedThe Prosecutor General's Office, the latter, in turn, found corpus delicti in the actions of the activists.
February 7, 2017. The second Matilda trailer has been released. Russian filmmakers wrote an open letter in support of the film, among the signatories of the letter are the chairman of the KinoSoyuz Andrei Proshkin, Alexander Gelman, Pavel Lungin, Boris Khlebnikov.
May 25, 2017. At the request of Natalia Poklonskaya, the tax inspectorate begins an audit of the Rock film company for tax crimes, general director who is Alexey Uchitel.
July 14, 2017. At the Russian Super Cup match "Spartak" - "Lokomotiv" in the stands of fans appeared several banners “For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland. Teacher, keep your hands off the Russian Tsar.” Alexei Uchitel's lawyer asks to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the fans.
August 1, 2017. In a number Russian cities(Moscow, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Omsk, Sevastopol and Yekaterinburg) there is a prayer standing under the slogan “Let's stop Matilda - save our earthly Fatherland!” The day before, the action was announced by State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya. According to the organizers, several thousand people took part in the action in Moscow.
August 10, 2017. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issued a distribution certificate for Matilda to be shown throughout Russia. The film is rated 16+. In April, the first deputy head of the department, Vladimir Aristarkhov, said that Poklonskaya’s expertise would not be taken into account when making a decision. Some Russian regions decided not to show “Matilda”; in particular, all cinemas in Vladivostok, as well as Ingushetia and Dagestan, refused the film.
August 31, 2017. Unknown people tried to set fire to the office of the Rock studio, directed by Alexei Uchitel.There was no large-scale fire; only the façade of the building was damaged. The police opened a criminal case.
September 4, 2017. In Yekaterinburg, a driver drove a UAZ into a cinema, tried to ram the doors, and then set the car on fire.The incident is regarded as a terrorist attack. The driver was detained and does not deny his guilt. The investigators are considering the main version of the protest against the release of the film “Matilda”.
September 10, 2017. The widow of Nicholas II’s nephew, Olga Kulikovskaya-Romanova, filed a lawsuit for the protection of honor and dignity against the creators of the film “Matilda”. On the night of September 11, two cars caught fire near the office of lawyer Alexei Uchitel, in the area of Plyushchikha Street in Moscow. Leaflets with the slogan “Burn for Matilda” were found next to the cars. In the morning, the preliminary screening of "Matilda", which was supposed to take place on September 11 at the Moscow cinema "Illusion", was postponed indefinitely.
September 12, 2017. An annual religious procession was held in St. Petersburg in connection with the day of transfer of the relics of Alexander Nevsky. There were about 100 thousand participants. One of the columns of the procession carried the banner “Matilda - a slap in the face to the Russian people.”
The joint chain of cinemas "Cinema Park" and "Formula Kino" refused to show "Matilda" due to threats from representatives of the organization "Christian State - Holy Rus'". Representatives of the united network contacted the police. State Duma deputies asked the FSB to check the organization.
September 14, 2017.Leader of the organization "Christian State - Holy Rus'" Alexander Kalinin gave an interview “Medusa”, in which he stated that if “Matilda” is released, the cinemas where the film will be shown will burn down every day.
Max Vetrov/RIA Novosti
The Russian prosecutor's office will check Alexei Uchitel's film "Matilda" at the request of Natalia Poklonskaya. The request was sent to the Prosecutor General after an appeal to a deputy of the social movements “Tsar’s Cross” and “Parental Resistance of the Russian Federation”, who stated that the picture offends religious feelings. Poklonskaya, in a commentary, confirmed the fact of sending the document and said that she hoped that the director would listen to the opinions of citizens.
According to Poklonskaya, the prosecutor’s office is obliged to carry out the check in accordance with Articles 144 (“Procedure for considering a report of a crime”) and 146 (“Initiation of a criminal case of public prosecution”) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This is not the first appeal from citizens regarding the film “Matilda”.
In July 2016, a petition was created on the website change.org, the authors of which called for the film to be canceled because, in their opinion, “the content of the film is a deliberate lie.”
“There are no facts in history of Russian tsars cohabiting with ballerinas,” the petition says. — Russia is presented in the film as a country of gallows, drunkenness and fornication, which is also a lie. The picture includes sex scenes with Matilda, the Tsar himself is presented as a cruel, vengeful libertine and adulterer.”
Two weeks ago, the petition collected 10 thousand signatures (now the goal is 15 thousand), and at the end of October, social activists from the “Royal Cross” were going to hold a picket for 130 people, but the prefecture of the Central Administrative District of Moscow refused them this.
, ballet and grand dukes
The historical film "Matilda" is a kind of biopic of the famous Russian ballerina Imperial theaters Matilda Kshesinskaya. At the age of 18, in 1890, she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, danced many significant roles, she had students, but she remained in history not only for her achievements on stage, but also for her complex relationships with members of the Romanov family. Kshesinskaya lived for almost a hundred years (since 1919 she was in exile and died in 1971), leaving behind memories of her life. Her memoirs indicate, for example, that in the early 1890s she was closely acquainted with Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (he later became Emperor Nicholas II);
their relationship ended after Nicholas' engagement in 1894.
Later she was the mistress of two Grand Dukes - Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich, in 1901 she gave birth to a son, Vladimir, who 10 years later, by personal decree of the Tsar, was granted hereditary nobility and the surname Krasinsky.
After the revolution, Kshesinskaya’s son was adopted by the prince, who gave him his patronymic, and in the 1940s Vladimir received the surname Romanov.
In addition, it was in the Kshesinskaya mansion in St. Petersburg after February Revolution The Central Committee of the RSDLP(b) and the expedition were located, and Lenin, who came from exile, often visited here and spoke from the balcony of the building. The ballerina tried to return her mansion through the court, but in the post-revolutionary confusion this was not possible. Now the Museum of Political History of Russia is located here.
It is unknown which facts from Kshesinskaya’s real biography were used in Alexei Uchitel’s film.
Still from the film "Matilda"
TPO RockThere is no Matilda yet
Filming of “Matilda” began back in 2014, took place on a large scale - for example, for the coronation scene of the last Russian emperor in St. Petersburg, the scenery of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin was built, the film should show the Moscow Kremlin, Khodynskoe Field, stages of the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theaters and the royal palaces. In 2015, the Cinema Fund allocated state support to Aleksey Uchitel's Rock TPO for Matilda; During the defense, it was stated that the budget of the film would be about 700 million rubles. The film stars (he plays Count Vorontsov), (Empress Maria Fedorovna), (Emperor Alexander III).
The main roles went to 24-year-old Polish actress Michalina Olshanskaya (Kshesinskaya) and a German actor (Nicholas II) from the Berlin Schaubühne theater.
The director of this theater, the famous director, plays the role of the Romanov family doctor in the film.
The film's release was delayed several times; its premiere is now scheduled for March 30, 2017. In April of this year, the first and so far only trailer was released, according to which, apparently, everyone who protests against “Matilda” forms an opinion about the film.
Opinions in favor
Alexey Uchitel
Alexey Danichev/RIA NovostiHe told TASS that this is not the first request regarding the film, and the first check showed that everything in “Matilda” is within the law. The director added that apparently no one knows about the results of that check.
The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, director, called the screening of the film a stupid idea that has nothing to do with art. He added that such initiatives will not pass in the Culture Committee.
Deacon Andrei Kuraev also stood up for “Matilda”. In a comment to Gazeta.Ru, he recalled the saying “they don’t show half-done work to fools.”
“The film doesn’t exist yet, the premiere is only in March, but tender feelings are already offended,” Kuraev said. He added that the mindset of constantly looking for something to be offended by is destructive and that it is not difficult to imagine a situation that could truly offend the feelings of a believer, but it is the reaction to such situations that is important.
“The question is a reaction to the feeling of my insult,” the deacon explained. “Should I run straight to the court or maybe to the prayer room and pray?” With more high level spiritual life, you can also pray for those who have offended these very feelings. Finally, if I have a Christian-apostolic interest, I can think about how to use this situation to talk about my faith.”
The Ministry of Culture also does not consider it possible to comment on the film until it is finished.
In response to a request from Gazeta.Ru, the department noted that the Ministry of Culture did not provide financial support to the film Teacher, and the issue of issuing a distribution certificate (or refusing it) is considered only after the completion of the film’s production.
“The Rock film studio did not contact the Russian Ministry of Culture on the issue of issuing a distribution certificate for the film,” they said, clarifying that the trailer is not the basis for making a decision on issuing or refusing to issue a distribution certificate.
What the Romanovs say
The opinions of representatives of the Romanov dynasty, which includes most of the characters in Matilda, were divided.
The director of the chancellery of the Russian Imperial House on Radio Baltika called “Matilda” a “low-grade fake” that has nothing to do with real events. “It is quite possible to discuss the personality of even a holy person, even a king, but for what purpose? To show it in some perverted form, to make money on low emotions and instincts? This is not good,” Zakatov said.
The representative of the association of members of the Romanov family (another branch of the family) in Russia, Ivan Artsishevsky, believes that there is nothing offensive in the film.
“Nicholas II became a saint for his martyrdom, and I think it’s absolutely normal to show him as a man,” Artsishevsky told TASS. He added that this is his personal position. “There is no position of the Romanovs and there will not be; they will not interfere. I can’t even explain to them the essence of this problem,” Artsishevsky said.
This story began in November 2016, and the scandals around it do not subside to this day. Although only the lazy have not spoken on this topic, Caspart does not lag behind the trends and, having brought together the main facts and opinions about the film dedicated to the novel of the last tsar Russian Empire Nicholas II and the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, together with the readers, tries to understand whether there are right and wrong here.
November 2016. Ex-prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea, and now State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya sends a request to check the then-unfinished film “Matilda” to the Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Chaika. Natalya explains the nature of her appeal as a kind of formed protest on the part of several public organizations(including the “Royal Cross”) against the project, which is a “threat to the national security." In fact, Alexey Uchitel, the director of the film and one of the most respected cultural figures of our time, just made a film about the love between a ballerina and the heir to the throne, who became the last emperor of the Russian Empire and canonized. According to Poklonskaya, the film discredits the name of Nicholas, distorting his image, and the story taken as the basis of the film is nothing more than a myth. The director simply shrugged off this check, calling it “insanity,” because the film had not even been completed at that time. Afterwards, Uchitel made a statement that the prosecutor’s office conducted an inspection, but did not reveal any violations.
On January 30 of this year, Natalya Poklonskaya submits a request for a second inspection, continuing to insist on her point. RIA Novosti quotes her: “We cannot allow the release of a film that is a deliberate ahistorical fake aimed at discrediting, slandering and mocking one of the most revered saints of our Church - Tsar Nicholas II and his family.” In the new request, Poklonskaya requests additional verification of the script with the involvement of historians and theologians, as well as sources of budget funding.
In response to Poklonskaya’s repeated appeal, there was finally a response from Alexei Uchitel, who in turn filed an application with the prosecutor’s office (the prosecutor’s office in this case, apparently, acts as the parents of the quarreling little one). He asked to protect the film crew from slanderous attacks, and, not least, “threats and illegal actions of extremist individuals.” Under the auspices of Poklonskaya, many religious public organizations are opposing the film and have repeatedly threatened both the film crew and potential viewers.
If you thought you knew what retaliatory step Natalya Poklonskaya took, I hasten to please you: a statement was sent (no, not to the prosecutor’s office) to the Ministry of Internal Affairs department for combating extremism with a request to check the statements of Alexei Uchitel and his lawyer, Konstantin Dobrynin, who accused the deputy State Duma Poklonskaya in provoking pseudo-religious organizations into extremist activities. Similar statements the director was prompted by members of the “Christian State - Holy Rus'” movement, who sent letters threatening cinemas that would screen “Matilda.” So what's going on here?
What is Alexey Uchitel's film about?
Matilda Kshesinskaya is a young ballerina who met the royal family at her graduation ball at the Imperial Theater School. Almost immediately after the first meeting, a feeling arose between the young people, Kshesinskaya and the heir Nikolai. However, a romantic relationship began only after some time. Kshesinskaya clearly understood that there could be no marriage between them, and after Nikolai’s engagement to Alice of Hesse they never met again. History speaks about this. Judging by the trailers, the film somewhat focuses on the love triangle of Kshesinskaya herself (between her, the heir Nikolai and Count Vorontsov) and Nikolai’s forced humility with broken hearted- through overly pretentious expressions: “You are the king. You have the right to everything except love.”
Why does Poklonskaya care?
Everything is clear with her. Poklonskaya is a deeply religious person, and she always and everywhere speaks about the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, who was canonized together with his family. The final clarity in the picture was brought by the deputy’s speech on Tsargrad TV, where Poklonskaya spoke with reverence in her voice about the “myrrh-streaming” bust of the last emperor.
After numerous requests, Poklonskaya herself orders an examination of the film. Its results are quite predictable in their content, but incredibly impressive in their formulation. Medusa briefly recounts the contents of the examination, and we will only draw a conclusion: the film “Matilda” cannot be shown, since it absolutely, deliberately and premeditatedly offends the feelings of believers. In response to the examination, the completely dumbfounded Teacher turns to the State Duma Ethics Committee, clearly doubting the legitimacy of Poklonskaya’s actions. Curtain.
During a serious battle between applications to the authorities, famous filmmakers sign an open letter in which they call for a ban on censorship not only on the pages of the Constitution.
How is the government reacting?
First Deputy Minister of Culture Vladimir Aristarkhov assured that the Ministry of Culture will not take into account the examination of the film “Matilda” when deciding on issuing a distribution certificate. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov expressed the majority opinion: “trying to evaluate a film that is not yet ready is, well, strange, to say the least,” revealing confusion over the existence of experts capable of determining compliance with one or another canonical image. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also expressed his rejection of the persecution of authors whose works of art have never been seen.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk has already watched the film (not quite finished, but complete) and called it “the apotheosis of vulgarity.” RBC quotes: “This is a man who has been canonized by the church. The church has a special relationship with this person. On the day of his death, on the day of his murder royal family, tens of thousands of people come to Yekaterinburg and take part in a religious procession. They walk from the place of execution to the place of his supposed burial. This procession of 60, 70, 80 thousand people goes on for five hours. Can you imagine what the reaction of Orthodox believers will be when this film comes out?” said the Metropolitan.
Execution cannot be pardoned
Having mastered this story (which, undoubtedly, will not end soon), you can exhale - the majority understands that the scandal, at the origins of which stands Deputy Poklonskaya, has actually been made up out of thin air. She calls the image of Nicholas depicted in “Matilda” a myth, but Lars Eidinger (performing the role of the heir) reveals to us the true symbolist sound of the character: “For those who see Nicholas as a saint, this is not a real, but a mythological character. If, as an artist, you are dealing with a real person, you need to show the drama of his life, his temptations and his mistakes. I showed Nikolai's love for two women - Matilda and Alexandra. This is a story of a conflict between two feelings: one symbolizes the unshakable tradition of the monarchy, the other - the desire to be a free person. Matilda is a metaphor for anarchy and freedom."
When art was born, an immutable rule appeared along with it: art is beyond politics and religion. I'm not talking about his absolute isolation, or the absence of an inextricable connection between the author and the time, era, political regimes and the mood of society. The canvas of art is created precisely thanks to such connections. However, art cannot and should not be infringed upon so boldly, blasphemously, and simply stupidly.
However, an online petition to ban the rental of Matilda was signed by 13 thousand people. Those who do not accept art in its pristine purity, who do not realize that we are gradually and inevitably returning to the times of censorship, while experiencing an imaginary sense of freedom. But this is even more dangerous.
One thing is certain - the public outcry created by the scandal and the showdown at the state level will give many people food for thought, unfortunately not the most joyful ones.
And in conclusion - such important words from Marina Razbezhkina, documentary director. Meduza quotes: “No one has the right to tell an artist how to make a movie, write music or create a picture. Not the prosecutor, not the heads of state, not the Christian community, not spectators or listeners. The artist’s independence is his absolute right, which has constitutional grounds.”
Margarita Agadzhanyan
