Shot from the series “Operation Neman”
Vladimir Bogomolov, who wrote one of the best adventure books about the war, could not stand filmmakers. He sued Mosfilm in 1975, and as a result, the film based on his novel In August 1944 never appeared.
Only in 2000 was the tape of Mikhail Ptashuk released with Yevgeny Mironov in the title role. The writer also did not like the brilliant movie, he demanded to remove his last name from the credits, outraged by “nonsense and ill-conceived improvisations.” And this despite the fact that everything was filmed almost literally according to the book.
What would Vladimir Osipovich do with the creators of the series “Operation Neman” is scary to even imagine! But the writer passed away in 2003 and now those who make films based on his novels have a free hand.
Shot from the series “Operation Neman”
In the book, the captain of counterintelligence Alekhin, by the power of his mind and imagination, fights with the saboteur Mishchenko, whom both the reader and Alekhin himself imagine from an archival file with mean lines typed on a typewriter. In the new film, Mishchenko (Aleksey Kravchenko) is a full-fledged hero who appears from the very first frames and lives his rich enemy life. Alekhin (Alexander Yatsenko) is playing a difficult game with him, sometimes ahead of the enemy, but hopelessly lagging behind.
The character of Sergei Makovetsky Solomatin in the book is indicated by dotted lines, but in the film he has an important and very dramatic role. It would seem, well, why so with the classics!
But in fact, the fact that filmmakers again took up a novel half a century ago (and will take it more than once!) A real declaration of love for Vladimir Bogomolov, and for his brilliant book, which for the boys of the 70s and 80s was next in importance with The Three Musketeers and Ivanhoe.
“Operation Neman” is a battle of minds and characters. A duel of professionals, each of whom is convinced of the correctness of his path. And, in the end, it is precisely the fact that “our cause is just” that decides the outcome of the fight.
Shot from the series “Operation Neman”
In recent years, films about the war have been shot piece by piece, which, of course, is correct. The shaft of pseudo-war films, where Sasha Petrov single-handedly smashes the Third Reich, has stopped.
“Operation Neman” thanks at least for the fact that they did without vulgarities about the NKVD scoundrel forever sitting on the shoulder of the protagonist. Even Stalin, performed by Levan Mskhiladze, came out not as a caricatured villain and not a revived monument, but quite a living person.
All heroes have faces, characters, and for every Soviet soldier killed by spies, you want to grab the enemy by the throat. A rare case for modern cinema, where people from the extras are shot by the dozens, not really caring about the feelings of the audience. As bequeathed by James Bond, Rimbaud and other tough guys with an empty look, there are no many corpses, the main thing is that the war looks like a dashing adventure.
Shot from the series “Operation Neman”
“Operation Neman was made in the traditions of the old Soviet military cinema, when they knew how to cherish “minor characters”. After the war, each viewer remembered his “ordinary soldier”, and each dead responded with personal pain in his heart. And the life of a particular boy with a gun worried a person no less than the fate of the protagonist.
Such a careful attitude distinguishes the new film from the mass of soulless fakes. And yes, for the sake of it it is worth digressing from the endless comedies of the same type and dreary reasoning and the futility of the existence of a modern person in a big city.
