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Marlen Khutsiev, one of Russia's most innovative and beloved filmmakers, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 93.
Khutsiev was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) in 1925. His father (ne Khutishvili) was a communist with a pre-revolutionary socialist pedigree who, after serving in high positions in the Soviet government, was executed in 1937 to be opposed. revolutionary activities. Her mother was an actress of a noble Georgian family. The name of Khutsiev, "Marlen", was formed from the names Marx and Lenin.
Graduate of a film school in Moscow, Khutsiev worked as a director at Odessa studio. He then moved to Moscow and worked at Gorky Studios and then at Mosfilm.
Khutsiev is almost synonymous with thaw, the short period of civic and artistic freedoms that followed the death of Josef Stalin in 1953. His first film, with Feliks Mironer, was titled "Spring on Zarechnaya Ulitsa" (1956), the only one of its kind. story of a young teacher sent to a small town after graduating and his ambiguous relationship with one of his students in an adult education course. The student is a "shock worker" in the local factory, an easy joker with women. The story does not follow the Soviet plot: the educated woman of the big city does not immediately fall in love with the raw worker, but charming and hardworking – although the film ends on an ambiguous note, literally an ellipse on the screen. The film was one of the most popular films of the time, seen by more than 30 million viewers.
Khutsiev's next film, "Two Fyodors", focused on the post-war period, when a returning soldier adopted an orphan (both named Fyodor), but their relationship was almost destroyed when he got married.
This was followed by "Ilych's Gate," a film so sharply criticized by the country's main viewer, Communist Party Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev, that it was shot and ridden in depth before Be broadcast under the title "I'm twenty years old". later. The original version was only rebuilt and shown in 1988, at the time glasnost. The film, which shows young people in bulk, personally or professionally, without socialist fervor, is particularly remarkable for the scenes of poets reciting their verses at the Polytechnic Museum: Andrei Voznesensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Bulat Okudzhava and others.
The other Khustiev film of that time, "July Rain", was shot in the same way, like the New European Wave, with documentary footage, non-professional actors and a discreet and sinuous plot.
His films not only defined the thaw era – and provided some of the most iconic images of the period – but their unobtrusive intrigue and ambiguity inspired generations of filmmakers who followed.
Until the end of his life, Khutsiev continued to make films, feature films and documentaries, while teaching at the country's leading film school and playing occasionally.
His latest film, "Not Yet Evening", about a meeting between writers of different generations, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov, was completed before his death.
Khutsiev has received dozens of Soviet, Russian and international awards for his films and contribution to cinematography.
Marlen Khutsiev will be buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery on Thursday after a ceremony at the Central House of Cinematography.
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