MOSCOW, January 25, Anastasia Silkina. The myth about the curse of Bulgakov's novel «The Master and Margarita» did not frighten director Mikhail Lokshin, and a new film adaptation is being released. How a multifaceted work was placed in cinema for a wide audience and whether the artists believed in mysticism — in the material .
The film «in the world» by Bulgakov
The new «Master and Margarita» is not a line-by-line adaptation of a literary work. Much in the book is at the level of associations, symbols and metaphors, and this cannot be literally transferred to the screen. According to the director, the concept was to “build a film “in the world” of Bulgakov’s novel.”
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"We wanted a person who had never read the book to be able to feel the drama of the characters and understand how they are connected to each other,” explained Mikhail Lokshin.
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When working on the script, we studied different editions of the novel.
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“The idea arose that we have a certain author — the creator of the entire reality in which he lives in the 30s. This is a kind of mixture of the Master and Bulgakov himself. And then the work itself that he creates: in the book he writes only about Pilate, but in our film he also writes a novel about Pilate, and then it becomes part of the meta-novel “The Master and Margarita,” said screenwriter Roman Kantor.
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Woland the foreigner and the real couple in the title role
There was no doubt that Woland should be played by a foreigner. The role was cast by the German August Diehl, known for the films “Inglorious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino and “Allied” by Robert Zemeckis.
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“For some reason, it has become established in the minds of many that Woland is an elderly man who speaks Russian perfectly. In fact, Bulgakov describes Woland, about forty-five years old, as an elegant foreigner, clearly different from Soviet citizens. He speaks with a noticeable German accent,” recalled Mikhail Lokshin.
In several scenes, August Diehl even spoke his lines in Russian. But where the subtlety of the game was a priority — in the native language, and then re-voiced in the studio. Artificial intelligence also helped, which learned to speak in the voice of an actor.
There were a huge number of auditions for The Master and Margarita, Yulia Snigir and Evgenia Tsyganov were not approved right away.
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" “Their undoubted chemistry outweighed, and the most important thing was hitting Bulgakov’s heroes,” the director noted.
The fact that the actors are spouses in real life did not interfere with filming.
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“It’s not easy, but hugging a stranger is not always easy either,” commented Evgeny Tsyganov. — It was a special adventure. I know that this is Yulin’s favorite novel.”
The eccentric Koroviev-Fagot was embodied by Yuri Kolokolnikov, the misanthrope Azazello by Alexey Rozin, the vampire Gella by Polina Aug.
The reference for the cat Behemoth was a black Maine Coon, and he was voiced by Yuri Borisov.
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"We initially conceived Behemoth to be on the verge of realistic. Yes, he speaks and can walk on his hind legs, drinks vodka and eats mushrooms, but he does it as realistically as possible for a large Maine Coon,” the director emphasized.
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The film also stars Leonid Yarmolnik (Dr. Stravinsky), Evgeny Knyazev (Chairman of MASSOLIT Berlioz), Danil Steklov (poet Bezdomny), Alexander Yatsenko (informer Aloysius), Alexey Guskov (Baron Meigel), Dmitry Lysenkov (critic Latunsky), Marat Basharov ( director of the Variety Show Likhodeev), Igor Vernik (entertainer Bengalsky) and others. Viewers will see the Dane Claes Bang in the role of Pontius Pilate, and the Israeli actor Aaron Vodovoz in the role of Yeshua Ha-Nozri.
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Crossing Moscow, St. Petersburg and technology
Five years passed from idea to premiere. About a thousand people took part in the work: a gigantic film crew and numerous post-production — computer graphics are in almost every frame of the film, which runs for two and a half hours.
““Even if you don’t see it, it’s there,” she warned producer Natalia Klibanova.
The point is not only about the cat Behemoth, but also about the fact that it was necessary to show Moscow in the 1930s, which does not exist. For example, in the scene of Margarita's flight, you can see the capital as it was in the general plan.
The image of the “bad apartment” was assembled piece by piece, said production designer Denis Lishchenko.
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" ;Everyone knows the house on Mayakovka, but it’s impossible to rent there. And the Garden Ring looked different at that time: there were a lot of trees there. And now — salons, shops,” he explained.
A suitable building was found in St. Petersburg, but without an entrance — it was rented in another house. And the interior of the “bad apartment” was created in the pavilion.
The meeting place of Woland with Berlioz and Bezdomny was also found in St. Petersburg, on Moscow Square: the modern Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow seemed to the creators of the picture too cozy, which did not correspond to the spirit of the picture.
The image of the Variety Show was based on the main building of Moscow State University and the Minsk Theater; in the interior you can see similarities with the foyer of the Russian Army Theater. The MASSOLIT building — the Russian State Library, the restaurant of the Writers' Union — a high-rise building on Barrikadnaya in the capital. The ball was filmed at the Ethnographic Museum.
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The scene became the most memorable for Yulia Snigir. She had to film in the cold in a transparent outfit, uncomfortable shoes, and even with a metal headdress that dug into her skin.
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“I experienced the whole range of emotions that Margarita went through at Woland’s ball,” said the actress. “I remember the feeling that I really was there: complete immersion.”
Mysticism on the set
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“I can sometimes be a superstitious person, but not in the area of the mystical curse of the novel “The Master and Margarita,” admitted Mikhail Lokshin. — During preparation and auditions, I regularly had to answer the question: “Aren’t you afraid to make a film adaptation?” It's a curse.» It even happened that some artists refused to participate, citing fear of this “curse.”
None of the film’s team noticed the mysticism on the set. Despite the fact that the filming period, which took 70 days, coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, everything went without incident.
January 24, 14:53