Born in the year of “Islands”: what teenagers think about Lungin’s legendary film

Where was the film "The Island" filmed?

Selecting such a picturesque nature is always a difficult task. The film crew explored as many as 4 places where famous monasteries were located: on the Onega, Ladoga and Pskov lakes, in Kizhi. However, the director did not like any of the structures he saw - he noted that modern monasteries do not have the necessary atmosphere; they looked more and more like “cities surrounded by high walls.” The film required an old wooden building, hinting at the remoteness of the area.

Luck smiled on the team only the fifth time - when they went to Karelia. On the coast of the White Sea they found the small village of Rabocheostrovsk. The local landscapes impressed everyone: the stunningly beautiful sea, old dilapidated buildings on the shore. Where the film “The Island” was eventually filmed, the Russian spirit was in the air.

Filming location

All that remained was to build the scenery, which was easy, since on a small peninsula (which will become an island in the film) there was an abandoned navigation tower. For the film, it was turned into a bell tower, and the old barracks that stood nearby were turned into a church. Restoration was carried out inside and out, the roof was restored, and domes were built. And, of course, the barge, which played a significant role in the plot, turned out to be a great success. According to the director, it was sunk specifically for the film.

Sunken barge

Film crew

• Scriptwriter: Dmitry Sobolev
• Director: Pavel Lungin
• Directing team: Sonia Masson
• Anna Machilskaya
• Alexey Shikhatov

Actors of the film "The Island"

The main role in the film was played by Pyotr Mamonov, a famous Russian musician, leader of the group “Zvuki Mu”. He is known to be a very pious man, so it didn't take long to ask him for the role. Before filming, Mamonov even received a blessing from his confessor.

Peter Mamonov

The prototype of the main character, according to rumors, was Father Alexey Guryanov, the highly revered rector of the Church of St. Nicholas on Lake Pskov. He was awarded many honors in the spiritual community. Like Mamonov’s character, believers from all over the country came to Nikolai for advice and help. He had a reputation as a wise old man and seer. Unfortunately, in 2002, Alexei Ivanovich Guryanov passed away. More than 3,000 pilgrims gathered for his funeral. The director also singled out the ascetics Theophilus of Pechersk and Sevastyan of Karaganda as prototypes of the main character.

Father Alexey Ivanovich Guryanov

The other two monks were played by Viktor Sukhorukov and Dmitry Dyuzhev. For both of them, this was an excellent chance to prove themselves in the most serious role possible. Before this, Sukhorukov mostly played negative, repulsive characters with hints of hysteria, and Dyuzhev played not very smart bandits. Both actors did a great job with their characters and brought out their new, strong and dramatic sides.

According to Viktor Sukhorukov, he was not a deeply religious person and observed all the rules prescribed by Orthodoxy. Therefore, the main consultant on the set (in addition to Father Kosma, a monk of the Donskoy Monastery) was Pyotr Mamonov. According to eyewitnesses, he was very concerned that the film be shot as truthfully as possible and would not cause any criticism from the church. Therefore, the main actor constantly made changes to the script, and at first even refused to play a hero with the gift of a seer - since a sinner, which Father Anatoly is in the plot, cannot have such an ability.

Father Anatoly (Peter Mamonov) and Filaret (Viktor Sukhorukov)

Sukhorukov came to the rescue and advised the actor to play as if he himself was surprised at his gift. And in the denouement - when it becomes obvious that the sin was not allowed - he comes to peace with himself.

Dmitry Dyuzhev also managed to perfectly reveal his character, playing, as Lungin put it, “a man who serves God as an officer: honestly, he’s waiting for a promotion, new stars, but for some reason they don’t come, and he doesn’t understand what’s going on.” Through all three main characters, the director revealed three ways of coming to God: suffering, like Father Anatoly (Mamonov’s hero), joyfully childish, naive, like Filaret (Viktor Sukhorukov) and strictly career, like Job (Dmitry Dyuzhev).

Filaret and Job

Historical reference

In the 1990s, domestic cinema was going through hard times. Directors were deprived of funding and were forced to create films, as they say, “on their knees.” But the crisis did not affect Lungin’s work. The director has directed a number of films that have been included in international film festivals.

He has such hits as:

• Taxi blues
• Wedding
• Oligarch

But the most impressive were the works of Pavel Lungin of the 2000s. “Island” is one of them.

What formed the basis of the script

Many people are interested in the film “The Island” and what book it was based on. In fact, the literary source was the story of the same name by Dmitry Sobolev, which he later turned into a script. The author admits that he was also not a strong believer, and in this story he was attracted rather by the problem of repentance, clearly expressed in Christian culture. However, at the insistence of Pyotr Mamonov and Kosma’s father, edits were made to the text in order to achieve the authenticity of the narrative.

The author of the story “The Island” is Dmitry Sobolev

Cast

How the film The Island was filmed

Due to the lengthy search, the film crew did not have much time left - in winter the White Sea was covered with ice, and they had to complete the film at all costs. Since the film “The Island” was filmed in October, it was necessary to finish it before December 2005, which the team successfully accomplished.

Rabocheostrovsk actually acted as the main setting - actions outside of it take place only at the beginning and end of the film: in episodes of the Second World War and at the station, during the admiral’s arrival in Moscow with his daughter. Thanks to the operator’s tricks and competent work with the video editor, the film was edited “seamlessly”, and also gave the image a recognizable bluish-gray tint, which becomes closer to purple in the scene with the exorcism ritual over Nastya.

Exorcism of demons from Nastya (Victoria Isakova)

My rating: 10 out of 10

Vikenty Kopytkov, 14 years old

Recently, a new optical illusion has gone viral on social media. The picture shows balls, and they seem to be different colors. In fact, all the balls are the same, but the lines running next to each other give the impression that the balls have different colors. Pavel Lungin's film "The Island" creates the same illusion. Everyone will see something different in this film: life experience, personal experiences of the viewer - these are like those colored lines from an illusion picture.

Father Anatoly lives in a monastery on the island. In his behavior I saw a weak person. But it’s not for me to judge him, because he is who he is. Yes, he is weak, but this is his special strength. More than thirty years later, Father Anatoly prays as if only yesterday he committed the Fall. With sobs and turning himself inside out, he goes to God in prayer.

The text of his prayer seems to be no different from the words of the monks in their cells, but in the voice of Father Anatoly there is suffering and emotional breakdown. He has his own path to God.

It is clear that for his sincere repentance, Father Anatoly was endowed with the gift of foresight. He sees the future, but this gift weighs on him. He bears the grave sin of killing his partner a long time ago...* (Father Anatoly thinks he committed murder, but, as it turns out closer to the end of the film, his partner Tikhon survived and forgives him 30 years later. - Ed.) Paradox The fact is that Father Anatoly is a sinner, but the people who come to him on the island need his gift of a seer.

The main character finds the only way out of the situation in deception. Playing two roles, the real one and the imaginary elder, Father Anatoly heals the souls of people. In this way he rids himself of pride and people from timidity before the “great saint.” They do not see him as a saint and talk openly about their problems.

But God’s gift accompanies the main character every minute, and not just during conversations with those in need. For Father Anatoly this is a heavy cross. He doesn’t understand why a sinner needs such a superpower. Avoiding his pride, the monk deliberately behaves like a holy fool, a blessed one. So he fights with himself.

After watching, there are no questions left - if you look not from the outside, but completely immerse yourself in what is happening, fully empathizing with the main character. Then you can understand not only the thought lying on the surface, but also the subtext.

It is captivating that the film contains neither edification nor propaganda. Just the life I'm spying on. Without embellishment or anything else.

Today I'm only fourteen. “The Island” greatly impressed me, but probably more so because of its atmosphere. Perhaps in ten years my view of this film will change and I will discover something new in it.

Reception of the painting

Given the provocative nature of whoever directed The Island, audiences and critics were wary. However, the painting struck everyone with its peacefulness and deep respect for spiritual issues. The film won many awards at film festivals (including 6 Golden Eagle awards and 6 Nika awards). Until now, many consider this film to be the director’s best work and refer to it as an example of “Orthodox cinema” in Russia.

Final scene of the film

Technical data

• Production: Pavel Lungin Studio
• Feature film, color
• Age restrictions: no
• Rental certificate No. 11191 dated June 21, 2005
• Premiere at the Kinotavr festival in Sochi on June 27, 2006[8]
• Release: November 23, 2006
• Budget: $1.9 million
• Box office: $2,530,791[9]
• The only film in wide Russian release that recorded an increase in box office receipts on the second weekend
• First broadcast on central TV: January 7, 2007, Rossiya TV channel

Notes

1. the setting for the film is a church - a rebuilt old barracks (salt hut) in the village of Rabocheostrovsk; after filming, the abandoned building became a landmark of the village. Burnt down June 8, 2021 [1] [2] [3]
2. ↑ 1 2 3 4 Vika Golovkina.
   Film "Island": starring Rabocheostrovsk
   (unspecified)
   . Information portal "Strana.ru" (2011).
3. ↑ 1 2 3
   The history of the creation of the film “The Island”
   (unspecified)
   .
   RIA Novosti
   (November 24, 2006).
4. K-fm “Island” :: Film director Pavel Lungin about Solovki
5. Bezruk Maria
   . This happens once in a lifetime // Newspaper “Trud”, No. 1, 01/10/2007
6. ↑ 1 2 3 Sergey Guryev.
   History of the group "Sounds of Mu". - St. Petersburg: Amphora, 2008. - 254 p. — ISBN 978-5-367-00765-7.
7. Prize 2006 (unspecified)
   (inaccessible link). Its own track (2007). Retrieved November 17, 2012. Archived December 9, 2012.
8. Film - ISLAND (undefined)
   . kinobusiness.com. Access date: October 27, 2021.
9. Salnikov A. Vladyka Ignatius: “There are many projects that can be implemented” // Vologda LAD. - 2014. - No. 1. - P. 104-108
10. Elizaveta Samysheva.
    Mamonov Pyotr Nikolaevich
    (unspecified)
    . rusactors.ru (2007). Access date: November 17, 2012.