The Protagonists of European Cinema: Nikita Mikhalkov
It is the ninth step of an ideal course started with Krzysztof Zanussi and carried on with Carlos Saura, Otar Iosseliani, Jules Dassin, Andrzej Wajda, Edgar Reitz, Andrej Tarkovskij and Theo Angelopoulos.
A review of the most representative films of a the great Russian director attending the tribute will be shown.
BIOGRAPHY
Nikita Mikhalkov, born in Moscow on 21st October 1945, is the most important contemporary Russian director, Nikita’s father, Sergej Mikhalkov, has been one of the most popular writer of verse tales for children, his nursery rhymes and poems are very popular, and is also the author of the Russian national anthems (of the Soviet period and of today). As to his mother, Natalija Konchalovskaja, she descended from a family of famous painters: her grandfather was the famous painter Ambulante Surikov while her father was the neo-impressionist painter Konchalovskij.
Nikita Mikhalkov starts his career in cinema as actor, and, together with the acting studies, followed from 1963 to '66 at the Theatre Institute B. Schukin, he works since 1963, in Walking the streets of Moscow by Georgij Danelija and in Nobiliary nest directed by his brother Andrei Konchalovskij. From '67 to '71 he attends the direction courses at VGIK (Moscow Institute of Cinematography) in Romm’s class, and graduated with the essay Quiet day at war's end (1970). He makes his début in feature film with Friend among strangers, stranger among friends (1974), brilliant western full of rhythmic sequences, followed by Slave of love (1975), which soon reveals him as one of the most sensitive Russian voices and as metteur-en-scène of the first magnitude and brings him the Award for the Best Direction for the Festival of Teheran.
Unfinished piece for mechanical piano (1977), taken by the youth work by Cechov Platonov, is awarded the First Prize at S. Sebastian Festival and the next year wins the David di Donatello Prize as Best Foreign Film. The following Five evenings (1978) tells the story of a man and a woman who, separated by the war, meet after twenty years. From Goncarov’s novel he takes A few days in the life of I.I. Oblomov (1979), from a play by Sofiya Prokofyeva In private (1983). With an Italian production, he shoots, Dark eyes (1987), adapting some Cechov’s story with his usual writing fellow Aleksandr Adabashyan and with Suso Cecchi D'Amico: the film obtains a special mention at Cannes Film Festival and Marcello Mastroianni is awarded several prestigious acknowledgments. Urga is the Gloden Lion at Venice Film Festival in 1991, a love story set in nature, entirely shot in Mongolia. Then he shoots the documentary Anna: from six till eighteen (1993), where from year to year the director has asked to his daughter always the same three questions, recording the changes of the girl’s perception of changes and protagonists of recent Russian politics. With Burnt by the Sun (1994), in which feelings and ‘political’ reasons intermingle in the space of a hot summer day in 1936, he reveals the tragic face of Stalinism: the film wins the First Jury Prize at Cannes Film festival and the Oscar as Best Foreign Film. In 1999 he directs The barber of Siberia, tormenting love story, with dramatic implications, between an American adventuress, played by Julia Ormond, and a young cadet during Alexander III’s reign.
Among the many prizes and signs of honour he has been awarded, in 1992 he was appointed in France Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and in 1994 Commander of the Legion of Honour for his artistic merits, in Russia in 1997 he was conferred from the Russian Orthodox Church of the first degree of Sergej Radonezhskij’s order. In 2004 he has been decorated by the order of the Chevalier of the Great Cross by the Presidency of Italian Republic.
Besides his activity as a director, Mikhalkov covers a series of very prestigious charges: since 1993 he is President of the Russian Foundation of Culture and since 1988 he is head of the Union Russian Filmakers. In 1988 he has created the cinematographic study TRITE, of which he is president and for some years he has chaired Moscow Film Festival that, thanks to his direction, from two-yearly has become yearly.
At the latest Venice Film Festival he has presented 12, remake of the famous Sidney Lumet’s masterpiece (12 angry men) adapting the text to the Russian socio-political situation present situation: the film has been warmly welcomed by public and critics and has been one of the five Oscar nominations. He has started to shoot the sequel of Burnt by the sun, set in Russia from 1943 and 1945.
The films in review:
