In 1994, Nikita Mikhalkov shocked the world film circle with a "Poison Sun", which was well received in Cannes and won the Grand Jury Prize and the Catholic Humane Spirit Award.
This political-themed film does not directly criticize the former Soviet Union during the gloomy period of Stalin's purges, but in a seemingly peaceful and harmonious Soviet pastoral scenery, it hides its murderous intentions and subtly oppresses politics. The repression and despair presented in the next year won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in one fell swoop.
At the beginning of the film, it describes to us that a certain army general in a country villa where he was on vacation with his well-off family members, in order to prevent the villagers' wheat fields from being destroyed by the Soviet tanks during the exercise, gave an order by contacting the direct commander, and finally saved the young man. Small harvest is not destroyed!
The large section of the film describes the trivial things in life, no doubt to show the peaceful manor life and human nature, people, etc. on the eve of World War II. Of course, it is more Russian features such as songs, eating, drinking, playing and singing.
The purpose may be to show that peace is precious, or it may be to show how ordinary and easy the protagonist is!
Therefore, it can lead to the lack of justice in the various means imposed on it by the era and the leading layer!
Bad luck finally broke the tranquility, and the general was waiting for the KGB's arrest! Because at that time the great purge led by Stalin!
In this way, the first part is over, and I don't think this film is great after throwing away the sentimentality that purged Stalin!
Then there is "Poison Sun 2"!
16 years later in 1994, director Nikita Mikhalkov devoted more effort to creating a sequel to this work, putting his vision in the context of the Great Patriotic War during World War II, trying to make this film known as "The Great Patriotic War". An epic work for the most devoted film in Russian history.
The film has been dubbed the largest investment in Russian history, with an investment of up to $55 million, according to the producers. After its release in Russia, the first weekend box office received less than 4 million US dollars, which is obviously not an optimistic result compared with its investment.
Due to the excellent reputation of the previous film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this film was originally expected by fans and the media. However, after the film was released in Russia, it faced the embarrassing situation of a flood of bad reviews. On the IMDB rating, the film has been hovering between 3 and 4 points, and the audience's evaluation is also shockingly "vicious", "This is the worst movie I have ever seen", "If you want to know about Russia's The history of World War II, don't watch this film, it shows completely 'the history of Mikhalkov's own romance'".
At present, the controversy of this film mainly lies in:
1. This is a film with almost no plot, and it is less related to the previous work, just like a collection of war short films.
2. This film is considered to be an insult to the Russian people who sacrificed their lives for the country. The war scenes in the film lack logic and make the Russian soldiers look dull and stupid.
Although Mikhalkov reflected and criticized the Stalin era in "Poisonous Sun", in recent years, his political stance has been regarded as more conservative and nationalistic by public opinion. So much so that when his "Poison Sun 2" was announced to compete in the 2010 Cannes main competition, it caused a lot of controversy, and some people even launched a joint petition to protest.
Mikhalkov revealed at the press conference that day that the creation of "Poison Sun 2" was inspired by "Saving Private Ryan", and the real theme of the film is the human nature shown in the father-daughter relationship. In addition, the story in the film is actually only half told, and the rest will be put into "Poison Sun 3".
I think those who wrote the above comments have either not seen the film, or even "Poison Sun 1", or are thinking on the sidelines, so they cannot accept some of the Soviet military phenomena described in the film, such as the cowardice of the recruits at the beginning, and the death of the tank soldiers. Wanting to see the female nurse's carcass, driving civilians to play strikers...
Can't these be true descriptions of brutal wars? Isn't the film also showing the fascists who are strong on the outside, weak on the inside, and slaughter the villagers?
I think it is precisely these real representations of the warring parties that can make this film another masterpiece that tells the history of that period. "2" is far better than "1" in terms of artistry and reality.
And the director's metaphorical narrative, such as the fortress is often broken from the inside, etc., it's a matter of opinion!
It is not the scorching sun that burns people, but the scorching people need the scorching sun.
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