Wanted: Russian-language movies in Ukraine
Published 06 July, 2008, 14:19
Dozens of Ukrainian students have come to Moscow to watch a Russian-directed movie called ‘Wanted’. They’ve travelled to the capital in protest at a Ukrainian law that bans films in Russian in Ukraine.
About a half of the Ukrainian population speak native Russian, but the authorities are actively trying to ban the use of this language in its territory. In 2008, a law came into power forbidding the Russian language in Ukrainian cinema.
“We've come here to watch the Russian-directed movie, ‘Wanted’, in Russian. Some of us tried to watch it in Ukrainian – but it's impossible. The translation simply kills it,” said one of the long-distance film-buffs.
And it’s not only the viewers who seem to be unhappy with the situation. Anton Pugach, Multiplex Theatres Director in Ukraine, says: “Pirates will capitalise on those films which can't make it to the big screen. It's unacceptable. In two or three months we'll lose 70 % of our customers.”
Moreover, it appears that watching the movies which do hit the Ukrainian cinemas is often a very different experience compared to watching them in Russian.
Denis Davidov said: “I watched the movie and my Ukrainian friends saw it as well. And it appeared that we understood it completely differently. They even had many scenes cut away. So we invited them to see our fuller version.”
Even though that sounds like fun, for many of those who’ve come to catch the original vision of the Russian director, the Ukrainian language struggle looks likely to continue.
“Going to Moscow as a movie tourist is very nice, but costly. I think my generation will keep on trying to achieve our right to watch movies at home in the language that we want,” said Sergey, a Ukrainian.
Until the Russian speakers get their way, the options for viewers in Ukraine are limited: either stay lost in translation or empty your pockets and visit the Russian capital.
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