In Nalchik, film "Closeness" causes no resonance

In Nalchik, the first screenings of the film 'Tesnota' (Closeness) directed by Kantemir Balagov and awarded the prize of the Cannes Film Festival are held without sold-out notices. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by staff members of a cinema.

An administrator of the Nalchik "Deya" cinema has confirmed that only five tickets were sold for the latest show on August 3. However, he has refused to mention the total number of the tickets sold and referred to a commercial secret.

The film story takes place in Nalchik in the late 1990s. The film is focused on a story of a local Jewish family, from which a young man and his bride were kidnapped. To pay ransom, the family had to sell the business and seek help from the Jewish community. After the incident, the family decided to leave Kabardino-Balkaria, and the eldest daughter, who dated a Kabardian man, left the place together with her parents.

Out of ten people, who saw the film and were interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, seven said they liked the film, and three others treated the film as "heavy."

According to the viewers, some scenes from the film can shock an audience.

"I did not like that Nalchik was shown as a city of slums, and I did not like the inserted documentary shots of cutting of human heads. Those shots cannot be viewed without damage to human psyche and nervous system. Moreover, those shots show real Russian soldiers, who likely had relatives. How will their relatives look at that? How ethical is it?" said viewer Yulia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.