''Russian South'' () is a 2021 Russian romantic comedy-drama film directed by Anton Fedotov. The plot is about the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, whose attention is sought by three men admiring one woman with someone, and love is jealous of three guys are fighting, the film stars

Stasya Miloslavskaya Anastasia Petrovna Miloslavskaya (; born 4 May 1995) is a Russian stage and film actress. Biography Early life Was born in Moscow. Her father is a musician and composer, artistic director her mother worked as a model, sang in musicals, and ...

, Semyon Treskunov, Rinal Mukhametov, and Aleksandr Metyolkin. It is scheduled to be theatrically released on March 4, 2021, by the Russian division of

Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...

Plot

Student Artem Dudin falls in love with a young beauty from the

. Head over heels, he abandons everything and travels south to Russia to pursue her, despite knowing nothing about the region. Artem takes a train from

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

bound for

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

. Once he arrives, he discovers that the beautiful Ksyusha is already being courted by two serious local rivals: a charming sailor and a bold policeman. It seems the naive student has little chance, and even the help of his new friends often only complicates things. But Artem is determined not to give up. Ksyusha Gordeeva is already planning to marry the sentimental local policeman, Igor. However, her love life takes an unexpected turn when Nikita, a cadet at the naval school, also proposes to her. Ksyusha spends most of her time in the city diving and training at sea, with little time for social commitments. In a dramatic moment, Ksyusha is preparing for her wedding on a yacht in the middle of the Black Sea. Suddenly, a stowaway passenger, Artem, appears, insisting on a legal marriage. Ksyusha narrowly escapes by diving into the sea and swimming safely back to shore. Meanwhile, the naval cadet Nikita actively pursues Ksyusha, while Igor, the policeman, is also close on their trail. The marriage proposal is ultimately made on the waterfront in Kabardinka. Just as the bride is about to tie the knot, her rivals intervene. Igor defends himself with standard police weapons, while Nikita uses his

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

background and family influence to stand his ground.

Cast

as Ksenia 'Ksyusha' Gordeeva, a diver * Semyon Treskunov as Artem Dudin, a simple-minded

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

from

, is simultaneously seek the heart of Ksyusha. * Rinal Mukhametov as Nikita, a

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

cadet of the Naval School, leads a

lifestyle until his beloved Ksyusha. * Aleksandr Metyolkin as Igor, a

policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

, and his beloved Ksyusha. *

Roman Madyanov Roman Sergeevich Madyanov (; 22 July 1962 – 25 September 2024) was a Soviet and Russian actor. Madyanov's career in cinema began as a child actor when he starred as Huckleberry Finn in '' Hopelessly Lost'' (1973). He was best known in the West ...

as Petr Ivanovich, Igor's father * Eldar Kalimulin as Mityai * Daniil Vakhrushev as Eldarchik * Magomed Murtazaaliev as Ruslan * Darya Feklenko as Ulyana Gordeeva *

Aleksandr Robak Aleksandr Removich Robak (; born 28 December 1973) is a Russian actor, director, film producer. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1973 births Living people People from ...

as Leonid Gordeev * Sergey Lavygin as Oleg * Gleb Puskepalis as Vano * Ekaterina Ageeva as Marina * Ekaterina Kabak as Yana

Production

Development

The director chose the picturesque

, where many films have been shot recently. The administration of the Krasnodar Territory also supports cinematography. The project was produced by

Fyodor Bondarchuk Fyodor Sergeyevich Bondarchuk ( ; born 9 May 1967) is a Russian film director, actor, producer and TV host. He is also the founder of Art Pictures Studio, a production company. He specializes in action movies, war movies, and science fiction ...

. The action takes place against the backdrop of spectacular landscapes, luxurious nature and the warm sea of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Mikhail Vrubel and Aleksandr Andryushchenko, the producers of the Vodorod Film Company, wanted to continue the traditions of Russian romantic-comedy cinema. The producers knew they wanted to create a film that would contrast with the exact opposite of the film - the northern ones ''Ice'' (2018 film). ''Russian South'' was the perfect film, which, in their opinion, described the modern tourist attraction of Russia - Krasnodar Territory. The film explores the south of Russia, its landscapes, tourism, and generally shooting in this region is a rarity. The film is also produced by Art Pictures Studio, STS Media, and

National Media Group Alina Maratovna Kabaeva (or Kabayeva; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager, and retired individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast, who has been designated Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR and Russia, H ...

Studio.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

of the film began in August 2020, director Anton Fedotov chose the

as the locations: the town of

Gelendzhik Gelendzhik (; Adyghe: Хъулъыжъий, Ḣułəžij) is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk ( to the northwest) and Tuapse ( to the southeast). Greater Gelendzhik sp ...

, the selo of Kabardinka in Gelendzhik District, the selo of

Arkhipo-Osipovka Arkhipo-Osipovka () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') and a Black Sea resort under the jurisdiction of the City of federal subject significance, Town of Gelendzhik in Krasnodar Krai, Russi ...

in Gelendzhik District, and the city of

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

, as well as the territory of a unique natural object - the

Chushka Spit __NOTOC__ Chushka Spit () is a sandy spit in the northern part of the Strait of Kerch. It extends from Cape Achilleion and the town of to the south-west in the direction of the Black Sea for almost . Administratively, it belongs to Temryuksky ...

. The characters will be created based on the

Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

were involved in the filming. They can be found in a mass wedding scene in the selo of Kabardinka, and the background song will be performed by

Oleg Gazmanov Oleg Mikhaylovich Gazmanov (; born 22 July 1951) is a Russian singer, composer and poet, specializing in patriotic and nationalist songs, as well as songs which cover more conventional pop themes. Gazmanov is the lead singer of the pop group "Э ...

Release

Premiere of the film ''Russian South'' was held in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

at the "Karo 11 October" cinema center on February 25, and was theatrically released in the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on March 4, 2021, by Sony Pictures Productions and Releasing (SPPR).

Marketing

The first teaser trailer of ''Russian South'' was released on December 17, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

The review from

Film.ru Film.ru, sometimes known in Russian as , is a Russian web portal dedicated to cinema. The website publishes news, analytical articles, Russian film showtimes, box office performances, film reviews and maintains a film and tv show database.

allows us to consider ''Russian South'' a tragicomedy, which begins with a comedy and ends with a tragedy. A review of the film in KinoAfish explains that “the film is not without flaws. In the end, residents of

will like the film. Maria Tokmasheva wrote for a review of the film at Kino-Teatr.ru: "Although the film seems to be put together from several parts, it is an entertaining southern 'lyrical comedy' that displays the clichés and traditions of the South on the screen." A review of the film noted that "the script is similar to a Russian Odyssey. Only it was not written by Homer, but by

Zhora Kryzhovnikov Zhora Kryzhovnikov (; born 14 February 1979) is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Filmography As director * ''Big Difference'' (2008) * ''A Lucky Buy'' (2010) * ''A Сurse'' (2012) * ''Kiss Them All!'' (2013) * '' The Kitchen ...

and others. Ksenia is Penelope who is being pulled down by the suitors in the middle of the sea." Sergei Obolonkov wrote for a review of the film in Kino Mail.ru: "The secondary character actors, who are the fathers of the groom in the plot, performed well.

and

, who got the roles of fathers of potential suitors, are very colorful."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=13730558 2021 films 2020s Russian films 2020s Russian-language films 2021 romantic comedy-drama films 2020s road comedy-drama films Russian romantic comedy-drama films Russian road comedy-drama films Tragicomedy films Films about weddings Black Sea in fiction Films shot in the North Caucasus Films shot in Krasnodar Krai Russian-language romantic comedy-drama films