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Quiet Flows the Don

Many thanks to an IMDb.com user who’s posted the link to this article, printed in The Moscow Times in February this year. Unfinished Business is about the process of completion of the last film by the Oscar-winning Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk, Quiet Flows the Don. I’ve already written something about it, but now you can read the article for yourself.

I cannot tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this picture! Which is why I’m digging information about it from everywhere, and I do hope it gets finished soon. As a matter of fact, 9th Company (Devyataya Rota), a film by the late director’s son, Fyodor Bondarchuk, is Russia’s official entry to the Oscars’ long list for 2007.

20 thoughts on “Quiet Flows the Don”

  1. I’ve been watching this on Russian TV for the past couple of days. Passion in the Cossack village, and battles with the Hun on the Front! It’s quite good.

  2. Goodness me, my expectations are finally being upheld by someone!!! All I heard so far wasn’t “quite good”. Fantastic, thanks so much for posting this! Keep me updated, but tell me what you think about the whole thing, when it’s finished.

  3. The general opinion I’m getting in Russia is that Gerasimov’s version was better. The Don Cossacks are threatening to come to Moscow and picket the Ostankino TV tower on the grounds that a) it’s not really a Russian movie, since it has foreign actors and b) it is inaccurate in its recreation of Cossack life, e.g. the women in the movie don’t have their heads covered.

    I’m enjoying it though. I think Rupert Everet makes a good Cossack!

  4. To be honest, I do think it’ll be a good film, for I simply cannot imagine that Bondarchuk, being the cinema giant, could/would “spoil” the film. I feel the Russian public opinion of today may influence, perhaps profoundly, the reception of the film, but I would hope someone would be tolerant and wise and be able to see past some of the details.

    I also think that Everett – Forest was a good choice, personally. Forgive me, but I think the Cossacks would do better protesting against Everett as Grigory. They’d have more ground, and, alas, would be in tune with the general attitude to gay people. :-/

  5. I do like the film. I think a lot of the objection is simply that the actors are not “nashi.”

    Here’s a report on the outraged Cossacks. You read Russian, obviously:

    http://www.gzt.ru/culture/2006/11/09/200408.html
    Культура / Новости
    Казаки, недовольные “Тихим Доном”,
    готовы пикетировать “Останкино”
    20:04 // 09.11.2006

    Донские казаки, недовольные новой
    экранизацией “Тихого Дона”, готовы пикетировать Останкино, заявил атаман международного союза казачьихобъединений Всевеликого войска Донского генерал армии Николай
    Козицын.
    “Сейчас по хуторам, по станицам, бурлят казаки, каждый день раздаются звонки с призывами вплоть до того, чтобы собрать из Ростова эшелон казаков и икетировать “Останкино”, – сказал Козицын. “Скажу честно и откровенно: ясмотрел фильм-экранизацию романа”Тихий Дон”, снятый Герасимовым, в котором сыграла величайшая плеяда советскихартистов, и считаю, что это величайшее произведение 20-го века. А это не наш фильм, не российский, не казачий. Это мыльная опера”, – подчеркнул он. Как сообщает РИА Новости, Козицын крайне отрицательно отозвался об исполнителе главной роли в фильме – актере Руперте Эверете и о других иностранных актерах. “Пускай они играют своих и не лезут в нашу душу. Если нацепить на корову седло, то все равно корова в седле получится”, – подытожил Козицын.

  6. Well, if anything, this just proves that the Cossacks do indeed have a very fiery temper. I wish I wanted to picket every historical film I’ve seen! It’s a shame, to be honest, because I don’t remember anything similar when we had ‘Eugene Onegin’ premiered in Russia. Obviously, there was a lot of jokes about it, because they used a Soviet song in it, mistakingly believing that it was an old Russian folklore song. 🙂 But… I don’t know. Judging by the stills, Everett looks fit for the role, and I read that Bondarchuk was kind of perplexed when he learnt that RE was gay (he evidently was aware of the public opinion). Back to the film’s current reception, I guess the whole thing just shows the lack of information, or even the lack of desire to learn more about the production. There is a lot of prejudice, and I don’t like it.

    Thanks a lot for the link. The previous visitor explained what the whole thing was about, so I think I won’t translate the link at the mo. I’ve found some information on the web about how the novel itself is being read, so I’ll probably use the link to look at how different people see the novel. But the story kind of goes against the report on Channel 1 about ‘QFTD’, where the extras who took part in the film all those years ago were actually looking forward to the premiere. So, I think it’s just some ‘devotees’ trying to show off their patriotism, without knowing much.

  7. I’m happy for the Cossacks that they’ve been able to some extent revive themselves and have legal recognition from the government now, and I must say that Rostov-na-Donu is a very pleasant city — I’ve been there twice — but I think they have a tendency to overreact extremely when they feel slighted. And as we know Cossacks tend to be pretty nationalistic.

    As far as the movie goes I’m enjoying it a great deal. I’ve never seen the Soviet-era version, so I can’t compare. I do like Everet’s performance (I must hasten to say that I am no film connoisseur).

  8. How do you find it watching the film in Russian? Since I don’t know where you are from, I don’t know how easy it is.

    As a matter of fact, there are two Soviet versions, 1931 and 1958. You can check them out on IMDb.com

    Thanks for commenting on the film, I’d hope someone from the Russian crew or cast might have a look at this, I’m sure they’ll be pleased.

  9. I’m American, but have lived in Moscow for over 6 years and understand Russian pretty well, so watching the film is not a problem.

    Thanks for the info on the Soviet versions — the Gerasimov film was the only one of which I was aware. Time for a trip to Gorbushka! 🙂

  13. Hi, nice to see you. How was the trip to ‘deshevyi rynok’?

    Thanks a lot for the link. Everett actually repeats certain things he’d said before. In the post ‘A bientot’ here I gave the link to his fan website, and I *think* that interview about him making ‘QFTD’ is there. He also told the story that his personal chef used to cook him porridge every morning, so eventually RE began to refuse politely. By the end of the shooting he decided to ask, why he was fed so routinely, to which the chef replied: ‘What do you say? Everybody knows that Englishmen eat porridge for breakfast’. Well, as we know, they don’t.

    It’s to the point which RE makes in that interview, that we’ve all got *images* of the country and people, which are not necessarily true.

    You may be interested in this one, as well, http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1963450.ece
    it’s also in Russian here
    http://www.rol.ru/news/art/kino/06/11/13_004.htm

  14. Thanks — I’ll look at the links when I get a spare change. I actually haven’t gone to the rynok yet (zamechayu, chto ya nepravilno napisal slovo naverkh, whoops!).

    God knows Russia isn’t remotely like I thought it would be before I came here.

    That issue of Ogoniok also has a couple of other Cossack-themed articles, BTW. Apparently they’re trying to get the descendent of an ataman who is on trial for dissappearing people in Chili released. I have a long-standing interested in this stuff. Plus my girlfriend’s grandmother was a donskaya kazachka!

  16. Thanks a lot for this. It’s kind of shame to see banners all over Russian internet about the film’s flop. I obviously can’t say anything at the mo, but in the theatrical trailer attached to this post Everett looks quite convincing. And you say you like him.

    I love this saying: ‘Nothing prevents your seeing like a point of view’. Can’t help thinking it’s sadly relevant here.

  17. A lot of the negative reception seems to be OUTRAGE!! that “nashikh kazakov igrayut inostrantsy” and quibbling over slight historical inaccuracies. O bozhe! Perhaps then the British should be tying themselves into knots because the Soviets adapted Sherlock Holmes and didn’t depict Victorian England with pristine fidelity.

    Anyway I do like the film.

  18. Well, actually it’s one of my favourite films! Find the time to visit this website http://www.221b.ru, it’s amazing. I like the British adaptation of Hercule Poirot’s stories, I think theirs is the best. I actually saw a Sherlock Holmes film with Rupert Everett. And no, Holmes wasn’t gay. However, he was a day tripper.

  19. I don’t know, he hung around with Watson a suspiciously long period of time and had a notable lack of interest in women…

    I think Soviet film is vastly underappreciated in the West. Nobody could make a WWII movie like the Soviets.

  20. And then Watson grew tired of the society’s suspicion and got married. Sigh…

    Actually, the Arts Channel on Sky screens Tarkovsky’s movies every so often. Also, lots of Soviet classic films have been put on DVDs (say, Eisenstein’s films). But I agree with you about WW2 films, although it obviously has to do with the Cold War. I also think that realism in Soviet film can be viewed in connection with Soviet wartime photography.

    Did you notice, I posted the info on Kultura’s screening of the 1931 adaptation of QFTD? It’s on Friday at 11am.

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