2023: My favorite Russian movies
The difficult time for Russian cinema continued in 2023. International isolation and severe censorship mean that Russian cinema is constantly between a rock and a hard place. But in every dark kingdom there are rays of light. One of the brightest rays of last year was the Mayak film festival in Gelendzhik, organized by the Kinoprime foundation. Of course, this is not a replacement for the wonderful Kinotavr festival in Sochi, which was liquidated in 2022, but we must pay tribute to the courage of the creators of the Mayak festival.
The best Russian film of 2023 is “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Lokshin. This talented film based on the brilliant novel by Mikhail Bulgakov was much more fortunate than the best Russian films of 2021 (“Captain Volkonogov fled”) and 2022 (“Big Snakes of Ulli-Kale”). Indeed, unlike these films, which never received an audience, “The Master and Margarita” was not only released on cinema screens, but it also turned out to be the leader in the national box office!
I would especially like to highlight the talented director Natalya Meshchaninova and her new film “One Little Night Secret”, who previously created such magnificent films “Nadezhda Combine” (2014) and “Heart of the World” (2018) and the exciting TV series “An Ordinary Woman” (2018) and “ My Mom's Penguins" (2021).
Another talent was revealed especially last year, with 2 films on the list of director Roman Mikhailov. Amazing fact: Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Professor of the Academy of Sciences Mikhailov completed his scientific career several years ago, becoming a successful writer and film director!
The success of the series “The Boy’s Word. Blood on the Asphalt” by Zhora Kryzhovnikov, both in artistic and commercial terms, cannot be called anything other than grandiose. Of course, this series is the pinnacle of Kryzhovnikov’s creativity at the moment, but I would love to remember his previous projects - the incendiary comedy “Kiss Them All!” (2013) and the kindest musical “Best Day” (2015)!
Another interesting series of 2023 - “The King and the Clown” by Rustam Musafir about the legendary rock band of the 90s caused a lot of noise and controversy. Personally, I liked more the short fairy-tale separate film version based on this series - “The Tale of the Pot and the Prince.”
The best Russian film of 2023 is “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Lokshin. This talented film based on the brilliant novel by Mikhail Bulgakov was much more fortunate than the best Russian films of 2021 (“Captain Volkonogov fled”) and 2022 (“Big Snakes of Ulli-Kale”). Indeed, unlike these films, which never received an audience, “The Master and Margarita” was not only released on cinema screens, but it also turned out to be the leader in the national box office!
I would especially like to highlight the talented director Natalya Meshchaninova and her new film “One Little Night Secret”, who previously created such magnificent films “Nadezhda Combine” (2014) and “Heart of the World” (2018) and the exciting TV series “An Ordinary Woman” (2018) and “ My Mom's Penguins" (2021).
Another talent was revealed especially last year, with 2 films on the list of director Roman Mikhailov. Amazing fact: Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Professor of the Academy of Sciences Mikhailov completed his scientific career several years ago, becoming a successful writer and film director!
The success of the series “The Boy’s Word. Blood on the Asphalt” by Zhora Kryzhovnikov, both in artistic and commercial terms, cannot be called anything other than grandiose. Of course, this series is the pinnacle of Kryzhovnikov’s creativity at the moment, but I would love to remember his previous projects - the incendiary comedy “Kiss Them All!” (2013) and the kindest musical “Best Day” (2015)!
Another interesting series of 2023 - “The King and the Clown” by Rustam Musafir about the legendary rock band of the 90s caused a lot of noise and controversy. Personally, I liked more the short fairy-tale separate film version based on this series - “The Tale of the Pot and the Prince.”
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