Heat (2006 film)

Summary

Heat (Russian: Жара, stylized as "ЖАRА"[nb 1]) is a 2006 Russian teen romantic comedy loosely based on the Walking the Streets of Moscow,[3] directed by Rezo Gigineishvili [ru] and produced by Fyodor Bondarchuk. Heat along with Wolfhound became one of the most expensive Russian films in 2006.[4] Additionally, its budget was one third as compared to the advertising campaign.[5]

Heat
Russian release poster
Directed byRezo Gigineishvili [ru]
Written byRezo Gigineishvili
Produced byFyodor Bondarchuk
Alexander Rodnyansky
Dmitry Rudovsky
StarringAleksey Chadov
Artur Smolyaninov
Konstantin Kryukov
Timur Yunusov
Agnia Ditkovskite
Olga Bolbukh
Mikhail Porechenkov
CinematographyMaksim Osadchy
Edited byIgor Litoninsky
Music byDato Evgenidze [ru]
Distributed byArt Pictures Studio
Channel STS
Release date
December 28, 2006
Running time
95 min.
CountryRussia
LanguageRussian
BudgetUS$5,550,000[1]
Box officeUS$15,710,000 (Russia)[1]

Plot edit

After three years a conscript sailor in the Russian Navy, Aleksey (Aleksey Chadov), comes back from the Black Sea Fleet to Moscow for a meeting with his waiting girlfriend, Masha (Maria Kurkova [ru]), and old classmates. Unfortunately, he finds out that his girlfriend is already married and has a child, then decides to spend the remaining time in a restaurant with his friends—an oligarch's son, Konstantin (Konstantin Kryukov), a beginner actor, Artur (Artur Smolyaninov), and a hip-hop artist, Timati. When their lunch is coming to the end, it appears that no one has money to pay the bill, except Konstantin's dollars which do not accept for payment. The rapper is decided to exchange currency at the nearest money changer, that will cause troubles.

As the former changer belongs to the Armenian (Tigran Keosayan), Timati sets out in search of another, but runs against a neo-Nazi skinhead gang. Saving his own life, the hero hides in the Konstantin's flat, where an Ostap Bender-like[3] swindler, Dani (Deni Dadaev [ru]), in waiting him. Meanwhile, his friends cannot wait anymore, so Artur is sent off. But before he could change the money, he is allured by the film director (Fyodor Bondarchuk) and prepares for shooting, but misses the actor-bus and leaves with gastarbeiters to demolish the Rossiya Hotel. Eventually, Konstantin hands over his last dollars to Aleksey, but he also failed after falling in love with a young traffic victim, Nastya (Agnija Ditkovskytė [ru]). After all that, despaired Konstantin makes a fuss in the restaurant, as a result he gets jailed by the police. Luckily for him, the mates could not abandon their friend and rescue him from captivity.

Cast edit

Production edit

Gigineishvili and Bondarchuk used the same young cast and crew from The 9th Company for their film, set in Moscow during a hot boiling summer, which caused as the title Heat instead of the draft entitled "City Tales" ("Сказки города").[5] Its filming took place in the shortest time period: "the script was written in ten days; pre-production took no more than two weeks; and after four months of shooting, the movie was done."[2][6]

Reception edit

Despite the fiscal success, Heat took in $15 million in the CIS, and about $1 million in Ukraine,[7] the film, mainly, received disapproving responses of critics for the commercial direction. According to the e-poll of Moskovskij Komsomolets, Heat was recognized as the worst Russian film of 2006.[8]

  • Alex Exler. "Heat (Zhara) review". Kinoman Magazine (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  • "Reinvigorating the most important art". RealTime Arts (81): 22. Oct–Nov 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  • Rynska, Bozhena (2006-12-26). Это была "Жара". Izvestia (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  • Mikhailov, Igor (2006). "Heat review" (in Russian). Kinoafisha.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  • Sinyakov, Sergey (2006-12-25). Низ живота наполняется любовью (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  • Korsakov, Denis (2006-12-22). Невыносимая "Жара". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  • Pravda, Elena (2007-01-03). Жара: 10 друзей Бондарчука (in Russian). Kinokadr.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  • F. Rostotskiy, Stanislav (2007-11-27). Москва-УКВ (in Russian). Film.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  • Filatov, Sergey (2007-01-11). ...пока горячо? (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-03-14.

Awards and nominations edit

Award Subject Nominee Result
MTV Russia Movie Awards Best Kiss Aleksey Chadov and Agnija Ditkovskytė Won
Best Comedic Performance Deni Dadaev Nominated
Best Movie Nominated
Best Female Performance Agnija Ditkovskytė Nominated
Best Breakthrough Performance Ptakha [ru] and Agnija Ditkovskytė Nominated

Censorship in Ukraine edit

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Boycott Russian Films activists demanded the Ukrainian Government to ban Russian films in Ukraine after the Donetsk Airport incident with Mikhail Porechenkov. On 31 November 2014, the State Agency of Ukraine for Cinema, on the proposal of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine, forbidden to display 69 Russian films and TV series with Mikhail Porechenkov, including the film Heat.[9]

Soundtrack edit

ЖАRА: Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedFebruary 2007
GenrePop, R&B
Length62:27
LabelCD Land
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NEWSmusic(3/10) [10]

The original soundtrack was released in February, 2007 and included a song of TOKiO [ru], several tracks from Timati's new album Black Star and other musicians.[11]

Track listing edit

  1. "Когда ты плачешь" - TOKiO 4:15
  2. "Летняя Москва" - Karina Koks 3:42
  3. "Город ночных фонарей" - Timati & VIP77 [ru] 3:21
  4. "Жара" - Timati, F. Bondarchuk, NASTY 4:21
  5. "В городской суете" - Basta 3:55
  6. "Жара 77" - Centr 4:03
  7. "Детка" - Timati 4:24
  8. "Всё между нами" - Oleg Chubykin [ru] 4:14
  9. "The Girl of funk" - DJ Smash 2:26
  10. "Groovin" - VIP77 4:11
  11. "Black star" - Timati 4:57
  12. "Лето" - Lomonosov (band) 4:17
  13. "Москва" - VIP77 3:33
  14. "Жара" - DJ Smash 3:10
  15. "Where you gonna be" - VIP77 4:15
  16. "Happy New Year" - Siberia (band) 3:23

References edit

Footnotes
  1. ^ Replacement of the Cyrillic letter Р to the Latin R was an advertising course, confirmed by Rezo Gigineishvili.[2]
Notes
  1. ^ a b "Gross revenue: Heat". KinoPoisk. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  2. ^ a b "Interview with Rezo Gigineishvili". Time Out Moscow (in Russian). 51. 25–31 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b Klingenberg, Olga (30 December 2006 – 5 January 2007). Вместе весело шагать "Жара": Бойцы вернулись в "роту". Zerkalo Nedeli (in Russian). 50 (629). Retrieved 2009-03-12.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Russian Cinema Exhibition Market Overview 2006" (PDF). Nevafilm Studios. p. 2.
  5. ^ a b Zamozhnya, Larisa (2006-12-27). Бондарчук в "Жаре" играет режиссера. Gazeta.ua (in Russian). 281. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  6. ^ Engel, Christine (2007). "Heat review". Kinokultura.com. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  7. ^ Birchenough, Tom (2007-02-04). "Cheer at Russian box office". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  8. ^ Забросим лапоть за Голливуд!. Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian). 2007-12-29. Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  9. ^ Держкіно заборонило 69 фільмів за участю Пореченкова (СПИСОК) (in Ukrainian). Espreso TV. 2014-11-04.
  10. ^ "NEWSmusic review". Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  11. ^ Mozhaev, Aleksei (2007-08-20). "Review: Soundtrack "Zhara"" (in Russian). Rol.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-13.

External links edit

  • Official website (in Russian)
  • Heat at IMDb