The day before the animated family film Paddington 2 was scheduled to debut in cinemas, Russia’s Ministry of Culture postponed the release from January 18 to February 1, sparking backlash from the country’s Association of Cinema Owners. In a Facebook statement on Wednesday, the organisation called the decision to delay Paddington 2 But the incident illustrated Russia’s ongoing initiative to prop up its own film industry, one where nine of 10 films are government-funded and often cast Russia in a positive light. The cinema is just one domain where the modern Russian system walks a fine line of sheltering citizens from Western ideals that may not agree with President Vladimir Putin’s view of the world and Russia’s role in it. A law allows the Ministry of Culture to bump foreign films, such as Paddington 2, if their release dates coincide with that of a locally produced film. The rule was enacted two years ago. At the time, culture minister Vladimir Medinsky seemed to make a veiled threat regarding the content of Russian cinema. “We won’t fight for every (Russian) film,” he said then. “We will set financial, political or ideological priorities.” In 2015, Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, a movie about Russia produced by Russians, had its release date postponed by the Ministry of Culture even as it was a hit at international film festivals and won a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film. The bleak tale of a man’s battle with a corrupt local bureaucrat was criticised as anti-Russian and undermining Putin. In response, Russia outlawed movies “defiling the national culture, posing a threat to national unity and undermining the foundations of the constitutional order.” The Ministry of Culture ultimately reversed its course on that legislation, and public curiosity led to the film’s wide release in Russia. Medinsky said at the time that the characters, shown taking swigs of vodka, “are not Russians,” and that films “filled with a sense of despair and hopelessness over our existence, should not be financed with taxpayers’ money.” Russia banned swearing in arts and media in 2014, which meant that a sanitised version of the film ran in theatres. “Let all the flowers grow, but we will only water the ones we like,” Zvyagintsev quipped to The Guardian, referencing a quote from Medinsky himself. The release of Paddington 2 – which has a rare 100 per cent “fresh” rating on the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes – was not postponed because of its content, but because of what appeared to be an attempt to eliminate some box office competition for the home-grown Scythian, a historical drama also scheduled to debut on January 18, and Going Vertical, a patriotic Soviet sports flick about the USSR’s Olympic basketball triumph over the US team in 1972. Watch Paddington 2 (2018) Full Movie Online Free - Putlocker - 123movies - gostream Putlockers-Free. Paddington is happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor. Paddington 2 (2017) Full Movie Online on FMovies. Watch Paddington 2 (2017) Online free In HD - Paddington, now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular. Paddington full movie online for free in HD quality with Spanish subtitles, English subtitles. ![]() ![]() ![]() Amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia, Going Vertical is now Russia’s highest-grossing film ever. “We will do everything in the interests of the industry, Russian cinema, but not in the interests of Hollywood,” said Medinsky, according to Interfax. In its statement, the Russian Association of Cinema Owners said this is not the first time the government has intervened in a movie’s release date, but it found the last-minute nature of the decision especially outrageous, citing economic damage to the theatres and distributors, who had advertised a January 18 date for Paddington 2.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2018
Categories |