Life principles followed by the director of the films “Brother” and “Zhmurki” Alexei Balabanov

Director Alexei Balabanov grew up completely unremarkable child. He did not even think that in many years he would become one of the most recognizable figures of the CIS cinema. What Balabanov thought about and what he wanted to invest in his films, you will learn from our material.

Director Alexei Balabanov In 1959, Lesha Balabanov was born in Yekaterinburg. The boy wasn't very interested in art. He was more interested in the idea of distant countries and travel. Perhaps these dreams played a decisive role in choosing a specialization. Balabanov entered the pedagogical for an interpreter.

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Unfortunately, this knowledge was first useful to him when Alexey became a member of the military operations in Afghanistan. A little later, army stories, as well as the impressions that the guy received in the service, will form the basis of his films. Perhaps it was the Soviet army and military tasks in Asia and Africa that shaped the young man’s relationship to life.



Looking through the quotes in this article, you will see that thought the director outside the box. For example, he was characterized by pragmatism, simplicity and lack of illusions. However, it is this view of the world that made Balabanov’s films so unique.



After serving, Alexey returns to his native Yekaterinburg, where his father attaches him to the post of assistant director. By the way, in those years, the hometown of the future director was immersed in the atmosphere of the underground. It was then that Balabanov met with the group members. "Nautilus Pompilius.". Their music will perfectly fit into the gloomy style of the director’s paintings.



The first film of Alexei was shot a little confused: a familiar operator had to urgently pass the thesis. Unfortunately, the resources were damn short. Balabanov wrote the script with the expectation that only a few people will participate in the filming. Massage, by the way, were visitors to the restaurant where the events of the picture took place.



At the time of moving to St. Petersburg in 1990, Balabanov had several very good works in his portfolio. Two years later, Alexey decided to Creating your own film company Together with producer Sergey Selyanov. Almost all of the director’s films were released under the name of this film company.



The fact that Alexey was able to capture the unique spirit of the 90s and embody it in cinema. He did it so well that even those who did not live at the time would be able to fully feel his atmosphere. Alexey's best films: "Brother", "Zmurki", "Cargo 200" and "I Want Too".

“Brother” with the participation of Sergey Bodrov Jr., Andrei Krasko and Viktor Sukhorukov became a cult. The zeitgeist here is shown quite unironic, but rather too vividly. The tape will echo in the hearts of all whose youth fell on the dashing 90s.

Photo preview by Oleg Belyaev. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons