7 films about Russian poets worth watching

1. Kharms

• Russia, 2017.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.9.

The debut feature film by Ivan Bolotnikov tells the tragic story of the poet and playwright Daniil Yuvachev, better known under the pseudonym Kharms. The film is set in the 1920s and 1930s in Leningrad, where the hero leads a bohemian lifestyle, but at the same time feels cut off from reality and misunderstood by society.

He loves women, but does not find attention among them, considers himself genius, but publishers refuse to publish it. The absurdist works of Kharms are too far from the spirit of the times, and only after his death does his work gain recognition.

Documentary filmmaker Bolotnikov places the characters in a partially fictional world with real situations from the life of the poet and his entourage, successfully intertwining feature films and documentary chronicles.

2. 18–14

• Russia, 2007
• Adventure, history.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDB 6.0.

A fictional adventure story about a group of lyceum students aged 14–18 from Tsarskoye Selo, among whom was a young Alexander Pushkin. The action takes place in 1814, and the carefree life of students at that time is associated only with the sciences, poetry and other youthful pranks. But the usual routine is broken by the appearance of a maniac who kills girls in the vicinity. Lyceum students decide to catch the criminal on their own.

The feature film is based on the novel of the same name by Dmitry Miropolsky and is based on real historical facts. In 1814, a maniac was indeed operating in Tsarskoe Selo, although students, of course, did not go in search of him. Thus, the picture successfully combines the real historical period of the great poet's life with an exciting detective story.

3. Mirrors

• Russia, 2014.
• Biography.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.1.

Director's view of Marina Migunova on the life and work of Marina Tsvetaeva through the prism of her relationship with loved ones. In Koktebel, the poetess meets her future husband, Sergei Efron; in Prague, he cheats on him with the future hero of his poems - Konstantin Rodzevich, from whom he gives birth to a son. In Paris, she tries to keep her daughter Ariadne when she experiences financial difficulties, and later decides to return to the USSR.

The picture does not aim to cover the entire biography of the poetess and focuses on the most disturbing and dramatic moments of her life. Among them are the difficult and cold relations of the heroine (performed by Victoria Isakova) with her husband, lovers and children. Critics note that the actress managed to very convincingly convey the image of Tsvetaeva with her detachment from the world.

Although the film does not pretend to be objective, allowing itself some liberties in the plot, nevertheless, this moody sketch gives a full-fledged idea of ​​one of the facets of the personality of the great poetess and deserves attention as an original look at her history.

4. Nika

• Russia, 2022.
• Biography, drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.6.

A touching indie film about the fate of the young poetess Nika Turbina, whose talent flourished and withered along with the era of perestroika. In her debut film, director Vasilisa Kuzmina compassionately portrayed the heavy burden of a child prodigy played by Liza Yankovskaya.

Trying to understand herself and her relationship with her mother, the 27-year-old heroine comes to the conclusion that she is no longer able to compose a single line, and indulges in oblivion with the help of alcohol. But the appearance in her life of a new friend, Ivan, gives hope for the return of the lost "voice".

Will the poetess be able to create another masterpiece, or will she face an inevitable tragic ending? Those who are familiar with Turbina's biography already know the answer to this question.

5. One and a half rooms, or Sentimental Journey to the Motherland

• Russia, 2009
• Biography.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.2.

A poetic journey into the childhood and youth of Joseph Brodsky. The basis for the picture was the essay of the same name by the poet himself about a fictional trip from emigration to St. Petersburg, as well as his drawings, poems and voice recordings.

Director Andrey Khrzhanovsky managed to turn all this into an amazing video collage of several sketches. A bold combination of animation, black and white film and rich colors recreates the atmosphere of Soviet life, enlivening old photographs and lines of poetry.

The authors of the film seem to return to Brodsky what was taken from him: the opportunity to see his parents and visit his homeland. We see how the poet arrives incognito in the city, walks along the deck of a ship on the Neva and meets with the ghosts of his mother and father.

6. Save my speech forever

• Russia, 2015.
• Biography.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.5.

An ambitious attempt by Roma Liberov to fit the whole life and work of Osip Mandelstam into an hour and a half timekeeping. Such a difficult task is solved by the director with the help of an eclectic visual range that combines documentary footage, animation, puppet theater and computer graphics.

The picture is so saturated with information, images and quotes that the viewer will always have to be on the alert in order to have time to catch references to biographical facts and works of the poet. The film seems to test your knowledge and understanding of Mandelstam's work.

Liberov with respect and love reminds us of the greatness and tragedy of the fate of an outstanding poet under the soundtrack inspired by his works from rapper Noize MC.

Bonus: Moth. Light. Flame. Dust

• Russia, 2023.
• Drama.
• Duration: 52 minutes.

Film fantasy about Mayakovsky of our days, timed to coincide with the 130th anniversary of the birth of the classic. Director Vladimir Arshinin and the music and poetry label Made Inside were inspired by the biography of the poet and his famous work "A Cloud in Pants" to tell the story of a modern poet-rebel who challenges the creative elite, questions the sincerity of feelings in poetry and its role in society.

The tape tells about the process of creating one poem and the trials that the poet faces. With this creative approach, the authors of the picture pay tribute to Russian literary traditions and call for a new reading of the classics. The film is released on August 17 at KARO cinemas in five major Russian cities.