Best of Times
Russia, 2007, 93 min Drama/Arthouse
Presented by Gorki film studios and KinoProba, with the support of Federal agency of Culture and Cinematography
Director Svetlana Proskurina
Screenplay Ivan Vyrypaev
Producer Stanislav Ershov
Director of photography Oleg Lukichev
Art Director Dmitri Alekseev
Composer Andrei Sigle
Starring Mikhail Evlanov, Dana Agisheva, Irina Evdokimova, Elena Levinskaia, Iana Esipovich, Aleksandra Kulikova, Natalia Sedykh, Viktor Sukhorukov, Tatiana Ipatova
synopsis
The narrative in Svetlana Proskurina's latest film is deceptively simple. Two middle-aged women, Katia and Valia, are looking back on a distant youth in which, together with a man called Valentin, they formed a tragic love triangle. Valentin's true love is Valia, but after a separation caused by Valentin's imprisonment for the maiming of a violent neighbour in the communal apartment they all share, Valentin begins a relationship with Katia who has been jealous of Valia all along. He marries Katia, but years later his path crosses again with that of Valia, for whom his love is rekindled with new passion. Unable to leave Katia, and apparently abandoned by Valia, he eventually kills himself whilst engaging in a desperate, solitary variant of Russian roulette with a rifle, in which one of only two compartments is loaded. Valia returns to his home only to find Katia mourning her dead husband. The two women then become imprisoned in a relationship based on mutual hatred, but tinged with a bizarre affinity attributable to their shared grief.
'A tiled swimming pool and a Southern sea. Opera arias and an unskilful accordion, passionate whispers and despairing letters. The inexplicable metaphysics of love. A guy and two girls, a man and two women. With and without him... It is not a love triangle, but an insatiable desire to live their own story until the end, no matter what the end might be.' (from the script by Ivan Vyrypaev).
Click here for a review and here for a Russian television report on the film
creators
Svetlana Proskurina
Director
One of the most complex and mysterious Russian filmmakers working today. Svetlana's unique cinematic style and aesthetics have been highly acclaimed at various international film festivals - Lokarno, Montreal, Rotterdam, Venice, Cannes. The director's filmography includes both feature and documentary films, such as ‘Remote Access' (Official selection of Venice IFF 2004); and ‘Reflection in the Mirror' (‘Une Quinzaine des Realisateurs', Cannes, 1992)
Ivan Vyrypaev
Script writer
Ivan Virypaev is a well-known Russian theatre director and the author of the play 'Oxygen', which was staged in more than twenty countries around the world and is now being turned into a feature film. With the sure touch of a true master, this thirty year-old employs dialogue in an extraordinarily incisive and revealing manner. The untrammelled imagination that fuels his writing, enabling him to mingle challenging paradox with spontaneous, intimate confession, makes him one of the most enigmatic and distinctive figures in contemporary dramatic art.
actors
Mikhail Evlanov (Valentin)
Born in 1974, Mikhail made his debut in 2004 in the widely acclaimed film ‘Ours'. Since then Evlanov has appeared in 8 feature films, including ‘Simple Things, ‘Nirvana', and the hugely successful Russian blockbuster ‘9th Company'.
Dana Agisheva (Valentina)
Born in 1980, Dana is the daughter of the well-known scriptwriter Odelsh Agishev. Graduating from Moscow State University with a degree in Romano-Germanic languages, she made her debut in 2004 with Svetlana Proskurina's film ‘Remote Access'. Dana has already won two prestigious awards for ‘Best Actress'.
Jana Yesipovich (Katya)
Born in 1976. As a teenager Jana played in the Russian Dramatic Theatre (Tallinn). Since graduating from GITIS in 2001, she is currently working in Oleg Tabakov's theatre. Her filmography includes a brief, yet memorable performance in Pavel Lungin's ‘The Island'.
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