The multi-part series “Flight” was aired, the script for which was written by Pyotr Todorovsky. He also acted as a director. What surprises did the new series bring to the audience? Why do critics say that the producers literally turned the industry upside down – or rather, raised it to a new level – and the audience is already giving the project the highest score?
The cast of the series is impressive: Oksana Akinshina, Yulia Khlynina, Pavel Tabakov, Evgenia Dobrovolskaya, as well as Nikita and Mikhail Efremov play in it. The producers were not afraid of the scandal associated with the figure of Efremov Sr. and released the project on the air.
There are 8 episodes in total. They are united by a cross-cutting plot: six people from the legal department of a construction company were supposed to fly on a business trip by plane, but they were late, and the plane took off without them. True, not far away – it crashed on takeoff, everyone who was in it died. The stunning news turns the insides of each of the characters, and something crawls out that was deeply hidden, rammed into the framework of a decent life. As if the failed death canceled all taboos, made unimportant everything that was “before”.
In each series, one of the characters tells his story, which radically changes the opinion of the audience about him, which has developed after the first series. After all, in it all the characters seemed like ordinary office plankton. It turns out that behind the dress code is hidden such a dense chton that goosebumps.
And it’s not even about the skeletons in the closet, but about the dark underside of the bright side of life. But they look like decent people, we chat nicely with them every day at lunch in the office, we meet in supermarkets and cinemas, we live in the neighborhood.
An interesting dramatic technique was used: in the series, the characters confess, but not on camera, but on a voice recorder. Such was the advice of the psychologist to the heroine Akinshina. Her story opens the cycle, plunging the viewer deeper and deeper into the very abyss of the dark secrets of the characters.
For the first time in their lives, the characters have the opportunity to tell the truth, and thanks to the accurate play of the actors, we identify with them, we think: “Could I be able to?”
Particularly impressive is the second series, where Mikhail Efremov literally repeats his own story (which, of course, had not yet happened at the time of filming). At this point, such a force of mystic creativity and reality converged that it is scarier to watch than any horror. The series is honestly marked 18+ (but not on television, but on the TNT premiere): obscene language, scenes of sex and violence.
You can describe the characters for a long time, concise dialogues, off-screen text, twisted plot twists, but it’s easier to generalize: we have before us the best series of the year, and not only the past 2020, but possibly 2021 as well.
It is worth paying tribute to Fedorovich and Nikishov. Including thanks to their work in recent years, the phrase “Russian serials” has ceased to be associated with endless soap operas about “Cinderella from the outback”.
Domestic serials have far surpassed Russian cinema in terms of quality, reached the international level and received recognition at prestigious world shows. And this was done by two producers who could just drive the timing, adjusting to the tastes of the audience. Instead, they turned the industry upside down because they wanted to shoot what they would like to watch themselves. Successes and ratings have proven that they are right. And this is the best illustration of the saying “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.”
If cinemas are experiencing a crisis, suffer losses, lose viewers, then online platforms show an increase in subscribers and billions in market turnover. And all thanks to competition – other Russian streaming platforms are forced to reach out to reach the set high bar. But the viewer wins the most anyway, who has finally begun to praise, and not scold, domestic content. And who finally chooses “ours” – not because it is ours, but because it’s cool.