Aleksei Balabanov

Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov (; 25 February 1959 – 18 May 2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, a member of European Film Academy. He started from creating mostly arthouse pictures and music videos but gained significant mainstream popularity in action crime drama movies ''Brother'' (1997) and '' Brother 2'' (2000), both of which starred Sergei Bodrov, Jr. Later, Balabanov directed the films '' Cargo 200'' (2007), ''Morphine'' (2008), and '' A Stoker'' (2010), which also received critical recognition.

Life and career

Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov was born on 25 February 1959, in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).

In 1981 Balabanov graduated from Translation Department of the Gorky Pedagogical University of Foreign Languages. He then served in the Soviet Army as an officer-interpreter. After his discharge, from 1983 to 1987 he worked as an assistant film director at Sverdlovsk Film Studio. Balabanov shot his first film in 1987, in the Urals. The script of the film was written overnight. This low-budget work was filmed in a restaurant. Later Balabanov studied at the experimental workshop "Auteur Cinema" (Russian: Авторское кино) of the High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors, graduating in 1990.

Starting from 1990 Balabanov lived and worked in St. Petersburg.

In 1991 Balabanov directed his feature film debut ''Happy Days'' based on the works by Samuel Beckett. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994. In 1994 Balabanov together with Sergey Selyanov and Viktor Sergeyev founded the production company CTV.Прощание с кинорежиссером Алексеем Балабановым в Петербурге прошло тихо и скромно – Первый канал
/ref> The same year he directed the Franz Kafka adaptation '' The Castle''.

His next film, crime drama ''Brother'' (1997) about a contract killer, was a great box-office and critical success. The film featured music by the band Nautilus Pompilus for which Balabanov directed several music videos prior. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. It was a breakthrough film for Balabanov and the lead actor Sergei Bodrov Jr., making them instantly known throughout Russia. The success of the movie led to the creation of the sequel, '' Brother 2'', also directed by Balabanov and starring Bodrov. The film is set in Chicago.

He directed ''Of Freaks and Men'' in 1998 about the emerging pornography business in turn-of-the-century Imperial Russia. The film premiered at the Directors' Fortnight of 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

'' Dead Man's Bluff'' (2005) was Balabanov's first foray into dark comedy.

'' Cargo 200'' (2007), partially based on Faulkner's novel ''Sanctuary'', proved to be controversial among critics and audiences due to the graphic display of violence in the film. Cannes Film Festival programmer Joël Chapron likened the picture to a "snuff film" at the Sochi Film Festival premiere.

Balabanov's last completed film was ''Me Too'' which was screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2012.

Personal life

He was married to costume designer Nadezhda Vasilyeva. He had two sons.

Death

Balabanov struggled to cope with the death of actor and close friend Sergei Bodrov Jr., who was killed during the Kolka–Karmadon rock ice slide while filming of Bodrov Jr.'s later-cancelled film ''Messenger'' in September 2002. Also killed by the mudslide where 41 cast and crew members of ''Messenger'', many of whom had also worked with Balabanov. Balabanov felt guilt over Bodrov Jr.'s death as he had suggested the shooting location to him. Prior to that, in 2000, actress Tuyara Svinoboeva was killed in a car crash during the shoot of ''The River.'' Balabanov's alcohol consumption increased considerably and he died on 18 May 2013 of a heart attack.

Balabanov was buried near his father's grave at Smolensky Cemetery, portraying him as a 'godfather of crime'.

After a fatal car crash on set, Balabanov's film ''The River'' about a leper colony in Yakutia was released as a short film with unfilmed parts of the story narrated by voiceover.

Legacy

Largely due to the popularity of ''Brother'' and ''Brother 2'', Balabanov enjoys a legendary status in Russia, and is frequently cited as one of Russia's greatest ever film directors.

Literature

* Florian Weinhold (2013), ''Path of Blood: The Post-Soviet Gangster, His Mistress and Their Others in Aleksei Balabanov's Genre Films''. Reaverlands Books: North Charleston, SC.

Filmography

Notes

*Aleksei Balabanov was awarded the "Best Director" award for the film ''Me Too'' (Я тоже хочу) (2012) at the Saint Petersburg International Film Festival.

Music videos

Balabanov directed several music videos:

* Three clips for the band ''Nautilus Pompilius'': "A glimpse from the screen" (, 1988), "Pure demon" (, 1992), and "In the rain" (, 1997; soundtrack to his movie ''Brother'');
* A clip for ': "Stratosphere" (, 1989);
* Together with the director Valery Makushchenko, a clip for the band ''Bi-2'': "No One Writes to the Colonel" (, 2000; soundtrack to his film Brother 2).

See also

* Sergei Bodrov, Jr.
* Viktor Sukhorukov

References

External links

*

Biography of Aleksei Balabanov

*Program fo
Crime and Transcendence: The Films of Aleksei Balabanov
(Yale University, Spring 2015)
*MacKay, John. "Balabanov's BROTHER (1997): Cinema as salvage operation.

*MacKay, John. "Balabanov's HAPPY DAYS (1991): Beckett via Realism.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balabanov, Aleksei
1959 births
2013 deaths
Mass media people from Yekaterinburg
Russian film directors
Russian film editors
Russian screenwriters
Russian male screenwriters
High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors alumni
Recipients of the Nika Award
Deaths from coronary artery disease