Russian Historical Films in XXI century

Abstract

Notwithstanding the variety of genres, the relevance of historical cinema lies in presenting the political conflicts of the described historical periods responding to the social demand inherent in the time of their release. Moreover, according to Pierre Sorlin, a renowned historian and film scholar, the main thing about historical cinema is not historic authenticity, but the logic of history, which offers ample opportunities for artistic freedom.
These factors determine the choice of the article’s subject matter, namely, the case study of three Russian historic films: “1612” (2007, dir. Vladimir Khotinenko), “Boris Godunov” (2011, dir. Vladimir Mirzoyev) and “The Heart of Parma” (2022, dir. Anton Megerditchev), since firstly their events and characters are identified by the audience as part of national history, and secondly the contemporary representation of the past evokes associations with the actual here and now. “1612” describes the political turmoil of the “Time of Trouble” in Russia, evoking associations with the collapse of the USSR, the political and economic disruption of the state machine as well as the sense of losing national identity. Recounting the events at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries “Boris Godunov” fits into the early 2010s, emphasizing its relevance through the cultural associations in the characterization of powerful elites and the essence of power. “The Heart of Parma”, set in the reign of Ivan III, narrates about the conquest of the Perm Principality by Moscow in the fifteenth century, corresponds to the current debate about Russia's imperial past, geopolitics, the relationship between an empire and its colonies, and ultimately the vector of the state's development.
Reflecting the public and/or ideological demand at the time of their release, these films can be looked upon as spotlighting the vicissitude of the formation of national self-consciousness (identity); a probabilistic model of the relationship between usurped power and the loss of political will jeopardizing the integrity of the country; and the civilizing cultural mission of imperialism in Russian statehood. Thus, the films themselves fit into the logic of history, forming in the audience a sense of involvement in the historical and cultural heritage of the country.