The director Andrey Bogatyrev, the producer Tatiana Voronetskaya and the actors Konstantin Plotnikov and Oleg Savostyuk introduced the film Red Ghost 1812, which is part of the Russian Premiere Competition of the 48th Moscow International Film Festival.
During the Patriotic War, Prince Romanovsky’s estate was burned to the ground, and his family was wiped out by a French detachment led by the madman Elif Courage. Young Mikhail miraculously survives, a mysterious lone partisan saves him, the French call this partisan the Ghost. Dreaming of revenge, the young prince goes with the Ghost, unaware of the challenges ahead.
Andrey Bogatyrev: "Our film's historical accuracy is relative. For sure, we studied a lot of source materials, but our film is ultimately a work of fiction and contains a certain degree of mythologization. For me, I feel a deep connection with the values of respect and honor in the era we’re portraying. Any war is terrible, it's absolutely clear, but during the Patriotic War of 1812, there was a high sense of honor, and respect was palpable; this is documented in the diaries of Davydov and French officers, and in the letters of Napoleon and the Russian emperor. And this is very important, which is why we decided to explore this topic in our film. Who is closer to whom – people from the same army or those who share the same understanding of honor? This relates not only to the external plot but also to the internal conflict within the individual".
Tatiana Voronetskaya: "During the Patriotic War of 1812, there 300 thousand people were killed, 175 thousand of them were civilians. This speaks about the involvement of population. At the same time, our society was "tuned" to everything French: literature, language, lifestyle, and cuisine. All of this was very much in vogue, as described in Pushkin’s notes. And there is also an observation there that when Napoleon entered Russia, the French way of life persisted, but when he left our country, we became more self-aware, Russian cabbage soup shchi came back into fashion. It might seem just a dish, a trifle. But it is just as important as valenki in our film".
Konstantin Plotnikov: "When I read the script and realized who I would be playing, when I got to know Courage, so to say, I needed to justify him to myself. The main revelation for me was that Napoleon managed to create an atmosphere in his army where fighting wasn’t exactly prestigious, but not fighting was terrible, so everyone wanted to join the army. Courage was demoted from officer to quartermaster, and for an ambitious man like him, that was a huge blow. For him, achieving the goal is what matters; the rest does not matter".
Oleg Savostyuk: "When it comes to the concept of honor, there were times when I disagreed with my character, because in terms of my nature, I’m probably closer to the Ghost. My understanding of honor, pride, dignity, standing tall, and my attitude to frightening, incomprehensible and terrifying things is more practical. I have a belief, which has been instilled in me by my culture, upbringing and the inner voice, and at first, it was difficult for me to understand my character because of that".
During the Patriotic War, Prince Romanovsky’s estate was burned to the ground, and his family was wiped out by a French detachment led by the madman Elif Courage. Young Mikhail miraculously survives, a mysterious lone partisan saves him, the French call this partisan the Ghost. Dreaming of revenge, the young prince goes with the Ghost, unaware of the challenges ahead.
Andrey Bogatyrev: "Our film's historical accuracy is relative. For sure, we studied a lot of source materials, but our film is ultimately a work of fiction and contains a certain degree of mythologization. For me, I feel a deep connection with the values of respect and honor in the era we’re portraying. Any war is terrible, it's absolutely clear, but during the Patriotic War of 1812, there was a high sense of honor, and respect was palpable; this is documented in the diaries of Davydov and French officers, and in the letters of Napoleon and the Russian emperor. And this is very important, which is why we decided to explore this topic in our film. Who is closer to whom – people from the same army or those who share the same understanding of honor? This relates not only to the external plot but also to the internal conflict within the individual".
Tatiana Voronetskaya: "During the Patriotic War of 1812, there 300 thousand people were killed, 175 thousand of them were civilians. This speaks about the involvement of population. At the same time, our society was "tuned" to everything French: literature, language, lifestyle, and cuisine. All of this was very much in vogue, as described in Pushkin’s notes. And there is also an observation there that when Napoleon entered Russia, the French way of life persisted, but when he left our country, we became more self-aware, Russian cabbage soup shchi came back into fashion. It might seem just a dish, a trifle. But it is just as important as valenki in our film".
Konstantin Plotnikov: "When I read the script and realized who I would be playing, when I got to know Courage, so to say, I needed to justify him to myself. The main revelation for me was that Napoleon managed to create an atmosphere in his army where fighting wasn’t exactly prestigious, but not fighting was terrible, so everyone wanted to join the army. Courage was demoted from officer to quartermaster, and for an ambitious man like him, that was a huge blow. For him, achieving the goal is what matters; the rest does not matter".
Oleg Savostyuk: "When it comes to the concept of honor, there were times when I disagreed with my character, because in terms of my nature, I’m probably closer to the Ghost. My understanding of honor, pride, dignity, standing tall, and my attitude to frightening, incomprehensible and terrifying things is more practical. I have a belief, which has been instilled in me by my culture, upbringing and the inner voice, and at first, it was difficult for me to understand my character because of that".