In 2003, Stanislav Govorukhin's painting “Bless the Woman” was released on Russian screens. According to film critics, the next melodrama was supposed to fail at the box office. But the talent of the director, coupled with the delightful acting of the actors, allowed to create a story that captivated the audience.
About the plot
Young Vera leads an unhurried life in a small seaside village. On the seashore, she meets a military Larichev, whom she soon marries. She is in love with him with all the dedication that a naive girl who dreams of a family, children and a cozy house is capable of. But already an adult man, having a son and an unsuccessful marriage, puts debt to the Motherland above all else.
As soon as Vera finds out that a child should appear in the family, Larichev forces her to have an abortion. He believes that he will not be able to protect his family from possible troubles. After all, the country is on the verge of war. Even a man sends his son from his first marriage to a boarding school, although he sees how much Vera has become attached to the boy.
Soon the war begins. She shares them for many years. Vera works in a hospital, is waiting for her husband and helps her friend with two young children. Larichev is at the front. Returning home, he cannot cope with the consequences of the war and is dying of heart failure. Vera has no idea how to live on. But fate gives a second chance for happiness.
Cast
The process of selecting actors for filming in this picture was not easy for Stanislav Govorukhin. A few months remained before the planned date for the filming, and the director did not know who appeared in the image of the main character Vera. Although inclined to the candidacy of Maria Mironova. There was no certainty about another key military character, Larichev. In the end, Govorukhin approved Masha Mironova and Vladimir Guskov for these main roles. But the acting duo was not destined to be realized in this picture. By chance, at the last moment, the freshman of the theater school Svetlana Khodchenkova managed to propose her candidacy for the role of Vera. The embarrassed, out of breath aspiring actress with a blond braid and curvaceous was immediately approved by the director for the main role.
It is known that this movie work for Svetlana Khodchenkova was debut and, which is rare, immediately brought a nomination for the prestigious Russian film award Nika. In addition, Stanislav Govorukhin invited the young actress to continue cooperation in his other paintings. The only condition was the need to preserve the external data that the director initially attracted. But Khodchenkov was not seduced by the probability of creating in the cinema a single image of a Russian beauty. In 2005, she successfully graduated from the Boris Schukin Theater Institute and continued to act in films. There were more than enough offers. After her debut work, the actress appeared in more than five dozen paintings. Among them are "Stalin's Wife" (2006), "Quiet Family Life" (2008), "Love in the Big City" (2009), "Office Romance. Our Time" (2011), "A Short Course in a Happy Life" (2011) and others. In 2011, Thomas Alfredson's painting “Spy Get Out!” Was presented, which became the actress's debut Hollywood work. In 2013, she appeared in the role of Dr. Victoria Green in the action movie "Wolverine: Immortal."
Another key character in the painting, the military Larichev, appeared in the image of Alexander Baluev, given that Svetlana Khodchenkova will play the role of Vera.
For him, work in this film was far from the first. He at that moment he already had experience in theater and cinema. For several years he performed on the stage of the Central Theater of the Soviet Army, which was later replaced by the Moscow Drama Theater named after M.N. Ermolova. However, the actor gained wide popularity in 1995 after filming the movie "The Muslim", where he appeared as the brother of the protagonist. Also on the account of Alexander Baluyev is his work in such films as The Peacemaker (1997), Antikiller (2002), Turkish Gambit (2005), Kandahar (2010) and others.
Unlike the main characters, the actors for secondary roles were approved by the director immediately. The role of Anna Stepanovna, the mother of the main character, was played by theater and film actress Irina Kupchenko. From 1970 to the present day, the actress has served in the State Academic Theater named after E.B. Vakhtangov in Moscow. Her roles in the movie "The Noble Nest" (1969), "Ordinary Miracle" (1978), "Forgotten Melody for Flute" (1987), "Come Look at Me" (2001) and many others. She is the embodiment of that actress who is able to perfectly recreate the image of her character in the most multi-genre paintings.
Other supporting roles were also played by prominent actors of Soviet and Russian cinema, such as Alexander Mikhailov, Inna Churikova, Nina Maslova and others.
Real story
The film "Bless the Woman" was an adaptation of the novel "The Mistress of the Hotel". Stanislav Govorukhin was impressed by the story of the selfless love of a Russian woman for her husband, whose life was dedicated to serving the Motherland. The work was not an artistic invention of the author. This is the real story of a simple Russian woman who inspired Elena Wentzel to write a story.
Elena Ventzel, professor, doctor of technical sciences, in addition to scientific works, created literary works. She worked under the pseudonym I. Grekov, who has a funny reading of the igrekov. And in 1976, Wentzel introduced the story "The Hotel Mistress" to readers. As it turned out, the inspiration was the real story of Olga Kiryushina, the owner of the house, which Elena Ventzel rented during a family vacation in Odessa. She was so impressed with the guest that during one of the conversations she told the difficult story of her life.
Subsequently, this chance meeting for two women turned into a strong friendship that lasted for many years. Neither the main characters of Kiryushin, nor the author of the story, survived until the film adaptation of such a story familiar to them. But the director carefully reacted to the presentation of his version of the work. He managed to transfer the printed lines of the story to the movie screen, conveying all the love and pain of the main characters.
