“Zoya” Kosmodemyanskaya: an attempt to return
The film “Zoya” was released. It’s great that this happened, but, unfortunately, it happened during a pandemic - and therefore it will be difficult to assess the real success of this movie at the box office. And yet this is important. And that's why.
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is an iconic hero of Russian history. This is an example of the true courage of a teenager, thrown with a bloody hand into the cruelest meat grinder. When we talk about children in the war, we first of all remember Zoya - and it becomes obvious that in many of those very young people there was something that allowed them to rise above the rest, filled them with the power bestowed by faith. They defeated death with the highest ideals, affirming the triumph of life over it.
However, already in modern times, when they began to progressively debunk the heroes of past years, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was not only pushed aside, but they also tried to put it in, as they say, a completely different light. Here, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the caricatured words of the cartoonist (a deliberate tautology!) Bilzho, who stated that Zoya was not a heroine, but an ordinary madwoman.
This, of course, does not change the essence; however, those who wanted to believe in heresy believed. The trick here is that such a move is not used by chance. It is practical and proven - and needed for total depreciation. Like, a feat, to put it allegorically, is not a righteous fire burning inside, but only a flash, a reflection. That is, the feat is accomplished not thanks to and in the name (of ideals, values, etc.), but in spite of it.
Unfortunately, this is exactly how part of the public sees it. Let us remember, for example, how a fashionable Moscow magazine spoke about the Zoya memorial complex, as a good place for a walk and a fashion session. That's all, actually.
I dwell on these details in detail, because they are the key to writing heroes in modern times, in the civilizational code of the people. And it is precisely this problem that cinema solves at an accessible level. And we see how the state invests huge amounts of money in the production of films with military-patriotic themes. They are designed not only to entertain, but also to enlighten, to affirm value ideals (including by opposing the census of history).
To be fair, this is not always possible. Very often it's the other way around. And then something comes out that carries a negative ideological charge - and cinematically it looks so-so. However, there are also positive examples - “28 Panfilov’s Men”, as an option. “Zoya” - albeit with a stretch - can also be considered a successful work.
Here - and this is the main thing - the creators tried to give a true picture of Zoya’s development. It’s not a fact that it was completely successful, but they tried very hard. Actually, those things that I spoke about above (now it’s clear why) were reflected in the film. This is worth saying thank you for.
Yes, in some places the creators do not avoid cliches - oh, that Stalin! - however, in general, a very clear line is drawn: feat is the only remedy against total cruelty as the main attribute of evil. And this evil is banal in its disgustingness. The faces of the Nazis reducing hell to a picture are both mundane and otherworldly, as are the devils taking on human form. They are rational, they are logical, but it is a structure of madness. But true greatness lies in that girl who makes a great sacrifice with full awareness and thereby breaks any evil.
The contours of this are in the Zoya feed - for that we say thank you. The main thing is that over time these contours appear clearer and more distinct. Then, God willing, our cinema will reach a new level.
...the last film about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya appeared in the forties of the last century. And then - silence. Well, it's time to break the cowardly silence. It is extremely difficult to do this now, when there is noise everywhere, but the approaches are all the more important. Speak first of all with those who not only do not know Zoe, but are sometimes even deaf to the feat. Talk to them, talk convincingly.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.