hermitage sokurov

03/05/11 08:19The State Hermitage Museum: Hermitage News

Página 1 de 4http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/13/hm13_2_008.html

An Internet Meeting with Alexander Sokurov in the Hermitage's CafeMaxOn 5 April 2004

Alexander Nikolaevich, what qualities should young people have for them tounderstand that cinematography is their calling? Should they be aware thatthis is first of all difficult and serious work, not just some amusing party-going?I think a young person by definition cannot realize all the difficulty of hischosen path. He may have heard about this, but he cannot truly know it. Hecannot understand how responsible and tough this business is. In thisprofession you have to experience life. It seems to me that a young man is noposition to understand whether cinematography is his calling or not. For thisyou have to live life a bit. Maybe after many years a man will understandsomehow what he has dedicated his life to and find it was not his occupation,that he has lived someone else's life. Mistakes like this are nowadays fairlycommon when you choose art as the main element in your life. I would say thatthe majority of people who are engaged in art have made a mistake in choosingthis area of activity. You have to strive for mastery. Mastery without art ispossible, but art without mastery does not exist.

Alexander Nikolaevich, you have a wonderful film crew. Where and when wasit formed?A film crew is a living organism, like a tree. Our tree grows in a noble placebut under a harsh wind. Obviously we are in the North. It was formed here onthis soil in 1980 when I graduated from the Institute of Cinematography andbegan to work in various studios. The first person who was involved in formingthe group was, of course, Vladimir Persov, my friend, sound engineer, andsound director. There is also, of course, the sound director Sergey Moshkovwho is wonderfully educated and has an amazing artistic personality. Thecamera men with whom I worked and continue to work are Sergey Yurizditsky,Alexei Fedorov, Alexander Burov. It has been a great honor for me to workwith Anatoly Rodionov. And for more than 20 years I am working with thecostume designer Lidia Kryukova. Also with the make-up artist ZhannaRodionova. I am grateful to artistic producers Nataly Kochergina and ElenaZhukova. There were people who supported us. And then there have been theadministrators, finance people, production organizers. This group formedbecause we just love and value one another. And we cannot live without oneanother. This is a unique phenomenon in cinema, where people come togetherand split up, meet and then go their own ways.

Alexander Nikolaevich, do you introduce your feelings about the world, yourhappiness and pain, into your films? Are your films your desires and yourautobiography?I can say quite precisely that I never made a film about myself. My personal

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/11/hm11_0.html

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/11/archive/hm11_1.html






life is one of routine and the everyday existence of a professional. There isnothing extraordinary in my life. Everything I do in cinema is dreamed up, afantasy. But of course the feelings and sensations which arise do have somerelation to me as a person.

Alexander Nikolaevich, please tell us whether your activities are based only onfilm-making or also extend to staging other types of productions such as showsor concerts? Of course cinema is not as interesting for me as literature. I am very interestedin the musical theater. Now we are discussing the possibility of my staging theopera "Evgeny Onegin" in the ABDT. The theater came to me with thisproposal and it was a big honor for me. There are projects under discussionwith Gergiev, also for staging an opera. There are proposals from someEuropean theaters. I am very interested in what are called installations. It isinteresting to work with a large space, with large lighting, with sound. Ourgroup has experience with this type of work from the organization of apresentation on Palace Square for the 60th anniversary of the lifting of thesiege. I wish to pay my respects once again to the Hermitage, which creates forme such unbelievably convenient working conditions. It was very complicatedto organize work in below-zero conditions, in the very center of a northerncity, applying a huge number of modern technologies. This involved energeticartistic measures from the side of staff and it was all made possible only by thepersonal support of Mikhail Piotrovsky.

Alexander Nikolaevich, which new actors do you want to develop and discoverin your new films?This is a very difficult question. Yet at the same time very easy. My favoriteactors, to be sure. These are the people who are near and dear. Only with suchpeople is it possible to bring about an artistic form, artistic life. I do not repeatlife. Rather I create something new and different on the screen. To do this Ineed new and different people. Very often they are not actors.

Alexander Nikolaevich, your film "The Russian Ark" has become a uniqueevent in cinema. Will it remain so or are you planning to further use thistechnique in a sequel?Yes, of course. There is an intention which you can achieve using theinstrument of single frame shooting. This generally is not a question of someexceptional choice; it is a professional issue having to do with professionalconsistency.

In what way can you combine the notion of an original, 'authorial' film, whichis what you make, with film production as a process that requires a lot ofpeople, meaning that many personalities are influencing the final result? If youcould make a film all by yourself, would that be a plus or a negative for you? It is quite possible to shoot a film all by yourself. And it is not difficult. Whatis difficult is to achieve a high professional level, high quality from thetechnologies used. The conditions hardly bear on the direction chosen by theauthor. All that is needed is the will. It is unfortunate but for the creation ofcinema you need a lot of will power. Cinema is a field of strong persons withgreat force of character and colossal responsibility. Art is always original, thework of one author. It cannot be otherwise if it is art.

You are now shooting a film about the Japanese Emperor. Who will be themain character in your next 'historical' film if you already have one in mind?Yes, we are now shooting a film in which the key person is Hirohito. It is setin 1945. The film is being made in Japanese and English with the participationof some remarkable Japanese and American actors. My next film should be the



final one in the trilogy that began with "Moloch". This will be a film aroundmotifs from the "Faust" of Goethe and also Thomas Mann. This will not be avery cheap film from the point of view of expenses.

What do you dream about most often?I have no dreams. Haven't had them since I was 30.

What gives you pleasure in life? Summer and my mother's voice.

What do you regret most of all in life?I regret that I learned man is mortal. It was a great mistake on the part of ourCreator to let us know we are mortal.

Alexander Nikolaevich, are you planning to do any further filming in theHermitage? If so what could be the subject of your new film in this remarkablemuseum?Thanks for this question. Yes, I have discussed with Mikhail Piotrovsky theidea for a new film, a playful film. If we write the scenario in the coming yearthen this work will be done. It has a modern subject, a love story.

What do you think, can an artist also be a politician? A merchant? Abusinessman?I think so. Genius and wrongdoing are compatible.

Alexander Nikolaevich, why were you yourself the cameraman in your film"Taurus"? Was it that none of your cameramen was suitable?Good question. The reason is that it was very important for me to pass throughall the stages of this artistic and social formation in the practice sense. I alwaysenter into my work with an image. I test the composition, the movement of theframe, the arranging of the light. "Taurus" was designed to be a very complexwork from the technological standpoint. In this film we used a new objectivewhich has nothing like it in the world. It is an objective without any lens.Instead we used a great number of complex optical effects and devices. Wealso used an original system for presenting light which was achieved with helpfrom Anatoly Rodionov. The film was unprecedented in terms of technologicalcomplexity. In this experiment I could not put anyone at risk, could not exposeany other cameraman to the dangers. Moreover, we had a very limited budget.

Can you list the films which amazed you, which exerted an influence on yourcreativity..This would be Eisenstein's "Strike" or Robert Flaherty's "Man of Aran", filmsof the 1930's. And the film by Japanese film director Fumio Kamei, "TheFighting Soldiers", made in 1946. A figure who predetermined and definedeverything that happens, happened and will happen in cinema is Dovzhenko.Everything artistic that we see in cinematographic practice today wastheoretically formulated and practically achieved on the screen by Dovzhenko.You can find there the sources for Tarkovsky, something that is in Bergmanand also in many other modern directors.

Alexander Nikolaevich, please tell us whether you have meetings with viewersin some other format?Meetings with viewers do take place when we finish up our films or when wearrange retrospectives. I was very pleased by my meeting with visitors to theHermitage exhibition in Irkutsk. It was an enormous honor for me to take partin this Hermitage work. I liked how they viewed "Russian Ark" there. I like theway people await their encounter with cinema art and with art in general. It is a



great pleasure for me to be in Petersburg and in the Hermitage. This is a sacredgrotto for me. It is a great pleasure to be recognized by the Hermitage.

Are our questions and answers helpful to you in your work or in some otherareas?They are helpful. They confirm that my voice is heard. This is all part of mysojourn in my homeland. You cannot live in Russia and fail to converse openlywith people. This conversation is our "sacred duty".

The full internet conference is available on the site www.starchat.ru.

Copyright © 2011 State Hermitage MuseumAll rights reserved. Image Usage Policy.

About the Site



hermitage sokurov

Documents