Some actors come to casting and ask me, "Didn't you see my previous roles?" We do not work with actors like this. Their previous roles do not matter; I need the actual work with an actor in this particular character that has been written in our script. What matters is flexibility, believability and efficiency of an actor.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Categorized in : Character Ask Me Efficiency

There are things which are without answers, and there is nobody who can explain them. Either we feel them and sense them, or not. Sometimes we just give up and carry on.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

giving-up answers sometimes

Art is not some sort of guideline for understanding. It's a thing unto itself.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

guidelines understanding art

The most important thing for me is the image, not the thought.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

important-things important

What I know is that I am honest about my films, and my films are honest about reality. The stories themselves dictate the way that they should be told.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

honest film reality

When I was shooting the film I did not see the story as an everyday tale or a social one. To a great extent, the film is a mythological look on human life. This is probably what I would like the audience to keep in mind before they enter the screening room.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

everyday mind looks

Everything that fed my energy and imagination is something that I'm disinclined to speak about.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

energy speak imagination

Observing life, living through it. As you experience life some events call upon you to suffer through them and that's what brings inspiration.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

events inspiration suffering

When an actor comes to you and starts working with the script, the image of his character that you had in your mind gets substituted with an image of that particular actor. And this is the right way to go. An actor has to be absolutely truthful - this is the only thing required of him, apart from talent of course. It's very easy to understand: you need to absolutely believe in what you see.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

mind character believe

Church, the spiritual power, and the executive power are working today united in a system that confronts people. This alliance or cooperation between the spiritual power and the executive power, between the church and the government, unfortunately takes away the Church's basic mission. It takes away their right to speak on moral or ethical subjects.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

government spiritual people

I knew, starting in 10th grade, I wanted to be in theater and an actor. I went to acting school in Siberia, but there was no future there - and I was consumed with ambition.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

acting ambition school

Most Russians don't treat the government, or those in power, as something close to them. They don't believe that they, as ordinary people, are able to change the development of things. That's why they have a very specific ironic sentiment towards power and the figures that represent it. I wanted to translate this irony into the cinematic language.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

government believe people

Film entertains with different angles, quick moves, like a commercial. But filmmakers like [Wim] Wenders allow themselves to observe a subject for a long time without changing an angle, and allow you to do that along with them.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

different long moving

I wouldn't say I'm fixated on describing any kind of relationship whether it is a father and a son, or a family. I don't like it when people say that I'm particularly following the same line or that I'm only interested in family dramas. I'm interested in human relationships. The most intimate, the most delicate, and the most intriguing relationships are those within a family.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

drama father son

This is all fake, pretend and lies, how long? How long will this dragon tribe drink our blood, when will they be sated? For how long can we observe this and be indifferent?

Andrey Zvyagintsev

top-news

The film's reception abroad proves its universality - it is understood everywhere, it evokes compassion for a person who finds himself in the grips of injustice and tries to maintain a sense of dignity.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

entertainment

The locals in the area spoke of the fact that this film is absolute truth.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

entertainment

Life is even harder.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

entertainment