Why against the film Matilda. Standing against "Matilda": hundreds of Orthodox Christians prayed for the film to be banned
-Where will we pray? In the temple or on the street? — believers ask as they enter the territory of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi.
- And as God willing. If there are only a few of us, then in the church, and if there are many, then on the street,” answers one of the organizers of the prayer stand against the film “Matilda.”
At first, Orthodox activists wanted to hold a rally in one of the city squares, but the Moscow mayor’s office refused them this, so they had to confine themselves to the territory of the temple.
Not far from the gate there is a coffee table with books on it. Participants in the prayer standing are offered to buy “The Tsar and Russia” for 500 rubles, as well as the magazine “The World of God” for 200. It soon becomes clear that the temple will not be able to accommodate everyone: people have filled almost the entire area around the church building.
Many in the crowd are worried and are looking for State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya. Hearing their negotiations, others grumble: “You should come to church to pray, and not stare at politicians.” Women are scurrying back and forth through the crowd with stacks of papers - these are activists collecting signatures to ban the film "Matilda".
Finally, around the temple there is a religious procession with two dozen clergy and several hundred believers. Newly arrived people gradually join the moving crowd. Now about a thousand people are slowly moving towards the backyard of the church, where, as the organizers announced, the prayer standing will take place.
The high wall separating the temple area from the construction site was covered with posters depicting the family of the last Russian emperor and the inscriptions “For the Faith, for the Fatherland, for the Tsar!” The huge construction crane towering above the wall gives life to the spectacle. Despite the massive event in the neighborhood, he continues his work, dragging loads. But on the crane there is a sign “Vertical”, so it seems that it is another decoration for a prayer standing.
The essence of the claims
“We evaluate the film based on publicly available trailers posted on the Internet... In Matilda, our holy emperor appears as a fornicator, and Empress Alexandra as a witch. This is a lie that offends the feelings of believers,” announces the coordinator of the Orthodox social movement “Forty Forty” and the organizer of the standing Andrey Kormukhin.
He emphasizes that the Orthodox cannot take the position “if we don’t like it, we don’t look” in this situation, since for them Nicholas II is “like a relative.”
“Gentlemen, officials! We, the Orthodox people, do not want this film, which discredits the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church and directly offends our religious feelings, to be released,” the leader of “Forty Forties” addresses the audience.
He also assured that if believers are not heard today, similar actions will be held again. Then everyone prayed for an hour and a half. Until recently, the organizers of the action themselves hoped that Poklonskaya, who so actively supported the standing, would be able to come. Only at the very end of the prayer did it become known that the deputy was at an important meeting and would not be able to participate in the action this time.
Matilda Passion
The scandal surrounding "Matilda" broke out back in 2016. Then the little-known social movement “Royal Cross” considered the painting a “threat to national security.” Probably no one would have known about this if Natalya Poklonskaya had not become interested in the story.
The deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption sent a request to Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika asking him to check the film. Although the filmmakers insisted that “Matilda” was not ready yet, and no one had seen it yet, the deputy replied that written and oral appeals from the public were sufficient to contact the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Later, the director of the film, Alexei Uchitel, stated that no violations of the law were found in his film. And Poklonskaya soon said that the prosecutor’s office would also request the approved film script in order to conduct its research and examination. However, so far there have been no official decisions on the discovery of violations of the law.
At the end of January, the NTV channel broadcast a letter that the organization “Christian State - Holy Rus'” sent to movie theater directors demanding that they refuse to rent “Matilda.” Later, Uchitel’s lawyer reported that the director submitted a statement to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation with a request to protect the film’s team from “threats and illegal actions of extremist individuals,” as well as from slander by State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya.
“I haven’t read it, but I condemn it”
At Poklonskaya’s request, a commission of experts made a conclusion about “Matilda” by examining the film’s trailers and script. Verdict: the image of Nicholas II in the film does not correspond to the image of the emperor canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ministry of Culture refused to accept this conclusion, indignant that the experts made it “without seeing the film.”
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called the request for inspections of the film company of director Uchitel a personal initiative of deputy Natalia Poklonskaya. At the same time, he emphasized that inspection agencies in such a situation can either order an inspection or refuse it.
The deputy herself flatly refused to watch “Matilda,” not wanting to “get dirty.” “People already regard this film as an anti-Orthodox provocation and have the right to say so, because they express their opinion,” Poklonskaya wrote on her LiveJournal blog. She also expressed doubt that the film would glorify and cultivate patriotism and high moral principles.
Poklonskaya’s position is shared by Orthodox public organizations throughout the country, in particular the “Forty Forties” movement. It was they who initiated the all-Russian prayer stand against Matilda. Poklonskaya also invited the Teacher to stand so that he could communicate with his opponents. The director responded with an invitation to the premiere of the film being prepared for release.
Position of the Church
The Russian Orthodox Church has not yet voiced its official position regarding Matilda. However, some of its representatives expressed their opinions. Thus, the chairman of the department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, even watched the film. However, he later admitted to the Teacher that he could not say anything good about his film and considered it “the apotheosis of vulgarity.”
Another hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk, did not like the distortion of history in Matilda. The creators of the film have Nicholas II rushing between Matilda and Alexandra Feodorovna - this, according to the bishop, is nothing more than slander, since in reality, according to him, there was no love triangle.
“Why, who do they want to fool with another masterpiece slogan: “The Secret of the House of Romanov”? What other secret? All secular Petersburg knew about the relationship between the heir and Kshesinskaya,” Bishop Tikhon was indignant.
However, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that it is wrong to demand a ban on the film. In his opinion, it is enough to warn viewers about the historical truth and untruth in Matilda. The plot of the film, the bishop believes, allows it to be classified only in the fantasy genre.
To somehow correct this, the filmmakers invited representatives of VKontakte to a private screening of the film. Representatives of the social network, surprisingly, appreciated the film and are ready to promote it.
I would like to express my gratitude to the team working on the film “Matilda” for the opportunity to familiarize myself with the material at the post-production stage.
Despite the fact that the film is in the process of production, even from its working version one can appreciate the seriousness and scrupulousness of the creators’ approach to their own work.
Our platform has always been open to dialogue and opinions, so we decided to support the film, giving VKontakte users the opportunity to form their own idea of Matilda.
Let's also collect opinions about the upcoming film. Here are some facts for you to think about:
Fact 1
The main roles were played by famous Russian (and not only) actors - Michalina Olshanska (Anatomy of Evil), Danila Kozlovsky (Legend #17), Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Burnt by the Sun).
Fact 2
Orthodox activists, historians and State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya accused the filmmakers of violating ethical standards. It is argued that there is no historical role in the history of the film, but the picture itself is “terrible, vulgar and insults the memory of Nicholas II.”
Fact 3
Over the course of a year and a half, about 7,000 unique costumes, shoes, hats, jewelry and accessories were created for the film. More than 12 tons of silk, wool, velvet, cloth, leather and other materials were spent on production.
Fact 4
Filming took place in historical places: the Catherine, Elaginoostrovsky, Yusupov and Alexander palaces, the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky Theater and others.
Fact 5
You should not expect clear historical accuracy; the authors took liberties in their presentation. But the main story is conveyed accurately.
Fact 6
This is the most scandalous film not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Discussions of this picture are already brighter and richer than those of the same “50 shades of gray”.
They tried to ban it twice within a year, but to no avail.
Fact 7
Thousands of people all over Russia came to a prayer stand against the film “Matilda”. They were also supported in Moldova, Austria and Serbia.
Fact 8
Director Sergei Aliyev plans to show his documentary answer to “Matilda” - the film “Matilda’s Lie”. Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov even starred in it.
Fact 9
Archpriest Chaplin accused Putin of a “huge mistake” because the President did not ban the release of the film Matilda.
Fact 10
Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) declined to make any comments. They don't care much about the fate of the film. Poklonskaya is indignant.
And here, as we promised, is the trailer for the scandalous film “Matilda”:
How Matilda became the most scandalous film before its release
Filming of the film under the working title “Matilda” began in June 2014, “but, as planned, was interrupted several times due to the busyness of the performers and waiting for location,” says the website of the Rock Films studio. In 2015, work resumed, and the film crew planned to release the film in the fall of 2016.
April 20, 2017. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky criticized the situation surrounding the film, calling the situation “an orgy of democracy.”
“This is an orgy of democracy. How can you judge a film that no one has seen yet?
April 25, 2017. First Deputy Minister of Culture Vladimir Aristarkhov, that when issuing permission to rent the film “Matilda”, the conclusions of the expert opinion will not be taken into account, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev officials will not interfere in the creative process of creating works of culture and art and will not explain to the artist what he should do.
“If we don’t want to return to the times when culture was strictly regulated from above, then we all need to take this into account, including officials and politicians. In general, any person in power needs to suppress the temptation to explain to the artist what he should do.”
May 2, 2017. The Russian Orthodox Church comes out with new criticism of the film, the head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, for its “blasphemous” and “apotheosis of vulgarity.”
“It seems to me that this is about our national heritage, about our history. We shouldn't spit on our history. We should not subject people of such a level and magnitude as the last Russian emperor to such public humiliation.”
In the same year, deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valery Rashkin addressed the leadership of the FSB with a request about the activities of the movement. According to the opinion, the deputy answered.
August 1, 2017. A prayer vigil against Matilda took place in Moscow. Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya called for people to stand the day before. The event brought together 500 people who prayed “for the enlightenment of the creators of such a “cinema.”
August 8, 2017. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, sent a letter to the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky with a request to prevent the screening of the film “Matilda” on the territory of the republic.
“To live with honor, we must remember our history, be proud and honor those who fought for us. This memory is sacred and noble. We, the descendants of the victors, must not only sacredly honor the memory of the defenders of the Motherland, but also educate the younger generation in the spirit of respect for our history. I ask you to exclude the Chechen Republic from the distribution certificate for the screening of the film “Matilda”.
Kadyrov's teacher should personally watch the film before asking for it to be banned.
The next day, the Ministry of Culture received a request from the Dagestan authorities to ban the film.
August 10, 2017. The Ministry of Culture will screen the film to viewers over 16 years of age throughout Russia. Natalya Poklonskaya, in the decision of the Ministry of Culture, provides the basis for holding ministry employees accountable “for violating the law on countering extremist activities.” Meanwhile, regional authorities still have the right to limit the demonstration of “Matilda” on their territory. In addition, distributors can do this: for example, the only film distributor in Ingushetia refused to show the film due to fragments that offend the religious feelings of believers.
Alexey Uchitel to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the head of the FSB, demanding that they ensure their safety after the attack on his studio in St. Petersburg, as well as the safety of the audience who are waiting for the premiere of the film “Matilda”.
September 4, 2017. Channel One announced that it would show a four-part version of the film. Shortly before this, the director announced that a series based on “Matilda” would be released on television in 2019, but did not specify on which TV channel the premiere was planned.
On the morning of September 4 in Yekaterinburg, a minibus loaded with barrels of gasoline and gas cylinders arrived in the lobby of the cinema, after which the building began. According to eyewitnesses, after the collision, two people ran out of the car, one of them threw a Molotov cocktail into the building. Man suspected of arson canceled "due to technical reasons." “The show is postponed to October 25, 2017, 18:00,” the website states.
On the same day, there are two cars at the office of Uchitel’s lawyer Konstantin Dobrynin. “Burn for Matilda” leaflets were scattered at the scene of the arson. About what happened
The Russian public was stirred up by the film "Matilda", which is due to be released on March 30. State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya, after appeals from angry citizens, even sent a request to the Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Chaika for the relevant authorities to check the picture, but the prosecutor’s office did not find any violations. What is this film about, why did Orthodox activists oppose it, and the site’s correspondent decided to answer many other questions.
Who is Matilda?
The film is dedicated to the fate of the real-life dancer Matilda Kshesinskaya, who was a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. But she became famous not only for her plasticity, but also for her connection with the most august persons of the Russian Empire. The young lady managed to be the favorite of Tsarevich Nicholas, the mistress of Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich, and the latter even married her, in light of which Kshesinskaya received the title of Most Serene Princess and the Romanov surname.
What is the film about and who worked on it?
The audience will see the story of the relationship between the last Russian emperor and the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, who was a real star of her time and drove many men crazy with her beauty.
The director of the film was the famous Russian master Alexey Uchitel, who worked on the films “Space as a Premonition”, “Walk” and many others. The script was written by writer Alexander Terekhov, winner of the Big Book and National Bestseller awards. Filming of the film began back in 2014 and took place on a large scale at the Mariinsky Theater, in the Catherine, Alexander, Yusupov and Elaginoostrovsky palaces. In addition, the sets of the Assumption Cathedral, the Palace on the River Pontoon and the interiors of the carriages of the Imperial Railway were built for the film, and over 17 tons of fabric were spent on creating costumes and a total of 5 thousand outfits were made. So, the total budget was $25 million.
Who's starring in Matilda?
On the big screen, viewers will see Danila Kozlovsky, who will play Count Vorontsov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, she will appear before the audience in the image of Empress Maria Feodorovna, and Sergei Garmash in the role of Emperor Alexander III. Artists of the troupe of the Berlin theater "Schaubühne" Lars Eidinger and Louise Wolfram will play Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Keira Knightley was initially predicted to play the leading role, and the director kept secret for a long time who would actually become Matilda Kshesinskaya in his film. It is now known that the 24-year-old Polish film actress, violinist, singer and writer Michalina Olshanska was chosen for the main role.
What didn’t the activists like?
It is important to note that no one has seen the film yet - neither activists nor Natalya Poklonskaya. The opinion is based only on a single trailer, although there seems to be nothing dangerous in it.
Let us recall that opponents of the film created a petition on the website Change.org in July 2016, where they collected signatures for the cancellation of the film, explaining that “the content of the film is a deliberate lie.”
As those who opposed “Matilda” explained, there are no facts in history of Russian tsars cohabiting with ballerinas. In addition, in their opinion, Russia is presented here “as a country of gallows, drunkenness and fornication, which is also a lie. The picture includes bed scenes of Nicholas II with Matilda, the tsar himself is presented as a cruel and vindictive libertine and adulterer.”
Poklonskaya, who supported the activists, added on her own behalf that “this film desecrates the feelings of the Orthodox and contains unreliable, false information regarding our sovereign, who is canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, is our saint, martyr.”
At the center of the plot of the historical melodrama, as the creators called the genre, is the love of Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov, the future last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, and the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. The romantic relationship did not last long - until his coronation with his future wife Alexandra Federovna. By the way, they say that the ballerina and Nicholas II even had a daughter (!)
After a relationship with Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, she was the mistress of another Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, and later married another representative of the royal house - Grand Duke Andrei Romanov. She raised an illegitimate son. And after the revolution of 1917 she left Russia forever. In Paris she had her own ballet school.
The ban on the film Matilda is one of the hotly debated topics on the RuNet
Photo frame from the film
The fate of Kshesinskaya itself is curious - she lived a long life, almost a hundred years. She is a prima ballerina of the imperial theaters, an influential person.
Polish actress Michalina Olshanskaya was invited to play the role of the main character; German theater and film actor Lars Eidinger played Emperor Nicholas II. Among the star names: Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Evgeny Mironov, Sergey Garmash, Danila Kozlovsky and Grigory Dobrygin.
Meanwhile, from the first day, the picture was conceived as a large-scale historical reconstruction: the Assumption Cathedral, the Palace on the River Pontoon and the interiors of the carriages of the Imperial railway train were specially recreated. Filming took place at the Mariinsky Theater, in the Catherine, Alexander, Yusupov and Elaginoostrovsky palaces. According to some information, 5 thousand suits required 17 tons of fabric. The total budget for the film is $25 million.
Where did it all start?
Photo frame from the film
The fact that director Alexey Uchitel began filming historical films in 2014 was known and did not cause any protest. And when production was in full swing, to say the least, the public suddenly began to actively object to filming, demanding a complete ban. Perhaps the first trailer for the film seemed provocative. But since its appearance, complaints have poured in. Among the main initiators is the social movement “Royal Cross”:
“In the film Matilda, Tsar Nicholas II is not portrayed as who he really was. The love between Matilda Kshesinskaya and Tsar Nicholas II was platonic, not lustful. Also, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, the economic and social situation was better compared to the current situation in Russia,” the social activists said in an official statement. And they turned for support to Natalya Poklonskaya, now a State Duma deputy, and at that time the prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea.
Natalya Poklonskaya twice sent a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation to check “Matilda” for extremism. The inspection found no violations. In 2016, a petition appeared on the Internet on the website Change.org, the goal of which was to ban the film. “The content of the film is a deliberate lie,” it says.
“There are no facts in history of Russian tsars cohabiting with ballerinas,” the petition says. - Russia is presented in the film as a country of gallows, drunkenness and fornication, which is also a lie. The picture includes bed scenes between Nicholas II and Matilda, the tsar himself is presented as a cruel, vindictive libertine and adulterer.”
Photo frame from the film
At the end of January 2017, letters of complaint were sent to cinemas across the country. Natalya Poklonskaya sent another deputy request to the Prosecutor General's Office to check the legality of spending budget funds allocated by the Cinema Fund for the creation of the film. And in April 2017 - to the expert commission, consisting of doctors of psychological, legal, philological, cultural, historical sciences with up to 28 years of expert experience, to evaluate the script and trailers of the film.
The commission members noticed a lot of critical comments: from, again, the moral character of the Russian Tsar to the ugly appearance of his beloved. And the verdict is the same: the film imposes a false image of St. Nicholas II and offends the feelings of believers. The results of the examination were once again sent to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Who supported the release of the film?
The main idea heard by most cultural figures and officials is that it is premature to make an opinion about a film that has not yet been released. But aggressive attacks from public organizations also could not go unnoticed. Many cultural figures considered it their duty to speak out in support of the film: film director Stanislav Govorukhin, chairman of the Duma Committee on Culture, criticized the idea of checking the film, adding that such initiatives should be stopped in the bud.
An open letter was written by more than forty Russian filmmakers, including Pavel Lungin, Alexander Proshkin, Alexander Gelman, Vitaly Mansky, Andrei Smirnov and others. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, who visited the filming of the film several times, also supported “Matilda” on air on the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.
Finally, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, commented on the situation around the premiere. According to him, evaluating a film that is not yet ready is, to say the least, strange. “And then, to be honest, I, unfortunately, do not have information about which experts evaluated the film - there are differences between experts. Therefore, without knowing who exactly evaluated the film, within what authority, it is probably difficult to talk about anything,” Peskov said.
What do the descendants of the Romanov royal dynasty say?
Photo frame from the film
Representatives of the House of Romanov do not agree in their assessment of the film, which has not yet been released. But many people clearly didn’t like the idea of the film. The director of the chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, Alexander Zakatov, on Radio Baltika, called “Matilda” a low-grade fake that has nothing to do with real events: “It is quite possible to discuss the personality of even a holy man, even a tsar, but for what purpose? To show it in some perverted form, to make money on low emotions and instincts? This is not good".
The representative of the association of members of the Romanov family (another branch of the family) in Russia, Ivan Artsishevsky, believes that there is nothing offensive in the film. “Nicholas II became a saint for his martyrdom, and to show him as a man, I think, is absolutely normal - this is my personal position,” Artsishevsky told TASS.
The filmmakers are tired of the controversy
Director Alexey Uchitel called the discussion around “Matilda” useless and unnecessary. “Honestly, I’m already tired of Mrs. Poklonskaya’s war with me and the entire film crew. Instead of calmly finishing the film, I am forced to be distracted by nonsense, nonsense and insults,” the director told RIA Novosti. “The film will be released, everyone will watch it, and only then will it be possible to discuss it.”
The film’s producer, Alexander Dostman, also believes: “People who have not seen the film, and no one except the working group has seen it, cannot draw any conclusions - it’s funny, some kind of comedy, amazing stupidity. And what’s also surprising is that everyone follows Natalya Poklonskaya’s lead and takes her opinion into account; I’ve already stopped being surprised by her. This is a film about beautiful love. Regardless of whether Tsar Nicholas is Tsar or not, he is a man, but what, a man cannot love?”
According to TASS, Konstantin Dobrynin, the lawyer of director Alexei Uchitel, appealed to the ethics commission of the State Duma of Russia with a complaint about the activities of deputy Natalya Poklonskaya, justifying possible violations of the rules of parliamentary ethics, which manifested themselves in “unfounded accusations” by Poklonskaya against Uchitel, as well as in the “use knowingly false information and calls for illegal actions" against the creators of the film "Matilda".
When is the premiere?
The premiere is scheduled for October 26, 2017, it will take place at the Mariinsky Theater - where the main character of the film, Matilda Kshesinskaya, performed at the beginning of the 20th century. By the way, the musical producer of the film was the artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev.
