Russia (bbabo.net), - The world premiere of the Russian film "Brother in Everything" took place at the Berlin Film Festival. Its director, Alexander Zolotukhin, one of the students of the Kabardino-Balkarian workshop of Alexander Sokurov, is at the Berlinale for the second time. Three years ago, the young director presented his debut "Russian Boy" about the events of the First World War there. The action of the new picture takes place already in peacetime, but its heroes are military people. The director told why he was interested in the story of two twin pilots.

In the new film, you again enterritory of the military. Is this a tribute to your father, a military pilot?

Alexander Zolotukhin: When I studied with Alexander Nikolaevich Sokurov, he recommended that we make a list of topics that we would like to implement in the future. To, finishing work on the film, to understand what to do next. I have such a list, and I follow it.

Of course, the theme of the military is close to me, as they say, by blood. As the son of a pilot, I spent my childhood in military garrisons. Then it was still the Soviet Union, my father served in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan. And everywhere they were remote small garrisons. For example, we lived in the secret Kazakh Priozersk, and in the letters in the address bar they indicated Priozersk in the Leningrad Region.

Have you thought about becoming a pilot?

Alexander Zolotukhin: I wanted to, but it didn't work out. But now he made a film about them. The army, in this case the Air Force, is a place where people with special characters serve, which are interesting to show on the screen. For example, we have a real military man in the role of the third main character, an instructor pilot. He is not an actor, but a very gifted, courageous person with natural organics. People like him are rarely spoken about in the context of their daily service associated with risk: no one knows what the flight will turn out to be, whether the pilot will return to the ground. Features of their characters in extreme circumstances of service are very important to me.

In "The Russian Boy" one could feel the influence of the Wanderers - and now you seem to have achieved the absence of any artistry.

Alexander Zolotukhin: I associate the aviation environment from childhood memories with documentary filming on 8 mm film. My father had an amateur camera, he took landscapes, my sister and I, planes in the sky. Then the parents hung up a sheet at home, and we watched this home-made "movie". In the color grading of "Brother in Everything" we tried to convey the feeling of slightly faded, with softened colors of 8 mm film.

A lot of documentaries were supposed to be filmed at the flight school, and cameraman Andrei Naydenov and I decided that the entire film should preserve this style. One of our tasks with the artist Elena Zhukova was to find art in everyday life.

On the territory of which school did you shoot?

Alexander Zolotukhin: Krasnodar Military Pilot School. Worried about getting permission. We finally received the welcome - thanks to producer Andrey Sigla and my master Alexander Sokurov.

We don't have computer graphics... They hung aircraft with equipment. So in the frame - real flights

In your film, all flights...

Alexander Zolotukhin: ...the real ones. We don't have computer graphics. We consulted with aviation engineers. Special cases for cameras were designed at the LOMO factory. Aircraft were hung with this technique. In the frame - real flights.

Where were the twin brothers found?

Alexander Zolotukhin: They graduated from the theater school, "Brother in Everything" is their debut. We were very lucky with Kolya and Serezha Zhuravlev. The casting was long and difficult. While we were looking for actors, we discovered a whole world - it turns out that there are entire clubs in social networks, groups of twins.

Did the Zhuravlev brothers influence your story?

Alexander Zolotukhin: Watching the guys live, I learned a lot about the twins. The guys know each other so well that they can communicate silently, making do with a gesture. Therefore, I reduced the number of dialogues: it is more interesting to show how the brothers listen and hear each other. I wanted to show the individuality of each, so that the viewer, gradually recognizing the characters, would understand that each is still unique - each has its own inner world.

About "listen and hear". You have preserved their local dialect. A rare case in our cinema...

Alexander Zolotukhin: Of course, it is important to record this. This is also why I am interested in working with non-professional actors who, like the Zhuravlev brothers, have just graduated and have not lost their characteristic nuances in their speech and plasticity.

The name "Russian Boy" contained a generalization. The name "Brother in Everything" already seems to have a biblical sound.Alexander Zolotukhin: I didn't put any biblical connotations on purpose, but the brothers' relationship is really an archetypal topic that has been worrying people since ancient times... The working title of the new painting was "Flight". And also in the process of work, we realized that it no longer corresponds to the internal content. The title should, like a hoop to a barrel, ring the film. But also to give a hint to the viewer what the movie is about. In the English version, by the way, the name sounds more accurate - "Brother in every inch." That is, a brother who is in every cell of another brother, in any manifestation - love and jealousy, rivalry and affection. In everything.

But the flight instructor in the movie tells them, "There's only one seat on the plane."

Alexander Zolotukhin: Yes, and this is the tragedy of the relationship between the characters. The military environment encourages everyone to become separate. In the film, the situation is when the twins cannot live and develop without each other... It is known that conflicts often arise against the background of aggression, hostility - but the drama can also arise from attachment that develops into dependence... Another topic that excites me is the topic human responsibility to the destructive power of military technology. The plane is not only a beautiful dream and absolute freedom, but also a powerful weapon. A military pilot inevitably faces the question of responsibility and moral choice: he must, in the event of an order, press a button. And everyone who wants to become a military pilot must understand this.

By the way

The Russian distribution of "Brother in Everything" will be released on March 3.

bbabo.Net