Why there are so few articles about Russian films and TV shows on Lifehacker

We try to choose the brightest, most exciting and interesting. But unfortunately, to date, Russian-made films too often turn out to be weaker than analogues from other countries and are attracted only by their native language. And on condition of good dubbing, this advantage also disappears. Domestic producers continue to step on the same rake, and therefore our cinema is often not very interesting.

Our answer to Hollywood

One of the main problems of Russian cinematography is that the authors too often try to imitate their Western colleagues and take on alien topics or aim at scales that they cannot pull. Sergei Shnurov once said this wittily.

This endless "response to Hollywood" deprives Russian films of the distinctiveness that French, Chinese or even Indian cinema has. Domestic paintings try to imitate American ones, but due to less experience and budgets, it turns out pale.

After all, the movie "Attraction" itself seems to be not bad, and even the special effects look decent in it. But this is another variation on the standard theme of the alien invasion, and the stake is largely made on the visuals. And if you look into the world's cinema, you can find many films with a more interesting plot. From the purely heroic "Independence Day" to the very controversial "District 9", where the aliens stayed on Earth and settled in the ghetto.

"Attraction"

"Arrival"

And one can only guess: was it by chance that "Attraction" came out a few months after "Arrival" by Denis Villeneuve - a complex film about the search for a common language with aliens.

Likewise, the film "Billion", which pushed the premiere of the last "Avengers", even with large investments, plays the witty story from "Ocean's 11" - both visually and in script. Moreover, in the West this topic is already outdated and the “female” spin-off “Ocean's 8” was held without much enthusiasm.

There are many examples: the domestic "Night shift" clearly refers to "Super Mike", "Alien" copies "The Martian". Of course, in such cases it is more interesting to talk about the original.

"Alien"

"Martian"

This tendency is easy to notice even from the headlines and advertisements: the series “Dead Lake” is declared “the Russian“Twin Peaks””, and the film “T-34” is advertised as “Fast and Furious” on tanks”. That is, even upon release, the authors force the viewer to compare them with foreign counterparts. Alas, most often this comparison is not in favor of domestic works.

But do not think that it is only about the huge Hollywood budgets. For example, in 2018 the Argentine horror film Frozen with Fear was released, which turned out to be so scary and interesting that they already want to reshoot it in the United States. And investments in this picture are literally penny by world standards.

But in a strange way, good horror films do not work out in Russia. And the reason is all the same desire to follow the West. Breaking Dawn seems pretty good, but it again turns to the classic Comatosers and uses techniques from James Wan's films, perhaps in the setting of a Soviet research institute. And therefore it is again lost against the background of its predecessors.

And one does not even have to talk about such strange attempts to enter the territory of comics, as the failed film "The Defenders", which used literally all the clichés of the genre, but with a weak plot and graphics.

Endless repetitions

Often, the producers of Russian cinema act like very short-sighted marketers: if the public likes a certain topic, they start making films about it one by one until everyone gets tired of it. As a result, those who do not follow the rental very closely may even get confused - they watched the film, or a new one has already appeared.

"Tanks"

"Indestructible"

"T-34"

In April 2018, the Russian film "Tanks" was released about the run of the T-34 before the start of the Second World War. In October, "Indestructible" appeared about the battle on tanks in 1942. And a couple of months later - "T-34", again about the war with the Nazis and tanks.

Watching three pictures on the same topic a year is boring. Moreover, the very tragedy of an unequal battle with tanks was shown back in 2016 in the film "Panfilov's 28".

And in the same way, you can remember films about sports: "Ice", "Coach", "Moving Up". Films about space: "Salute", "Time of the First". Variations on the theme of Gogol's works: “Gogol. Beginning”,“Viy”. And much more.

Plus endless franchises. There is a widespread belief among skeptics that all MCU movies are the same. But do not forget that on New Year's holidays 2019 most of the Russian rental was given to the seventh part of "Yolok" and the ninth part of the adventures of the three heroes.

The same goes for the actors. It's really nice to talk about interesting new artists. But in major domestic blockbusters they prefer to take stars already known to the viewer.

Danila Kozlovsky, "Coach"

Alexander Petrov, "Attraction"

Vladimir Mashkov, "Crew"

Thus, the choice of actors in all major releases is very small: Danila Kozlovsky ("Duhless", "Legend No. 17", "Crew," "Viking", "Matilda", "Trainer", "On the District"), Alexander Petrov ("Policeman from Rublyovka", "Attraction", "Gogol", "Ice", "Sparta", "Call DiCaprio!", "T-34"), Vladimir Mashkov ("Homeland", "Crew," "Moving up", "Billion"). The same faces are constantly flickering on the screen, and this monotony gets boring very quickly.

Branchy cranberry

It is no secret that Western paintings are often replete with stereotypes about Russians, as well as many factual mistakes regarding the history of the country and the characters of people. Suffice it to recall the evil boxer Ivan Drago from Rocky 4 or the cosmonaut Lev Andropov from Armageddon, who wears a hat with earflaps even at the orbital station.

It would seem that Russian films should avoid such shortcomings, because the authors have all the documents and materials, living nature, and sometimes the opportunity to meet with the participants in real events about whom they are filming.

However, domestic paintings are often filled with the same cranberries as foreign ones.

The sensational "Hipsters" showed the era of the 1950s unnaturally bright: no one could wear such costumes in those days. At the same time, the music of the 1980s sounds in the soundtrack. Moreover, the very word "dudes" in reality was sarcastic and offensive, and the participants in the subculture called themselves simply "dude" (stands for "a person who respects the great American culture").

After the release of "Moving Up", the widows of basketball players even sued the creators of the picture, accusing them of distorting history. And even without this lawsuit, stereotypes are too striking: the intrigues of the KGB, clichés about Soviet life, unnatural colors and much more.

Russian cinema: Stereotypes are too conspicuous

At the same time, the Americans and the British are releasing the series "Chernobyl", in which, although they tend to stereotypes about party leaders, they are surprisingly vividly restoring the life of the 1980s and accurately telling about the events. And again the question arises: if you cannot trust major Russian films even in matters of your own past, then why advise them to someone?

So far, the most interesting Russian films are works of authorship by young directors. There are too few of them, and they pass too unnoticed for the mass audience. And therefore, talking about American blockbusters or original films from different countries is still much more interesting, and readers are more interested in these topics.

It remains only to sincerely hope that in the future the situation will change and more and more articles can be devoted to domestic cinema. After all, once it was Russian cinema that was ahead of the whole planet, and foreign masters learned from Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky.