Las Meninas (Spanish for The Maids of Honour, ) is a 2008 Ukrainian film directed by Ihor Podolchak. Its title alludes to the well-known painting by Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas. Ihor Podolchak was the producer, screenwriter, and director of this film. Las Meninas was produced by MF Films (a subdivision of Masoch Fund). It was the first Ukrainian film to participate in the Tiger Awards Competition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.Константинова, К. Український «натюрморт» вперше в Роттердамі . «Дзеркало Тижня», № 3 (682) 26 січня — 1 лютого 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2009 As of the beginning of 2011, the film has participated in 27 international film festivals, including 10 competition programs. In 2011, it was included in Top 15 Best Ukrainian films of the 20 years' Independence period.«Підсумки українського кінопроцесу:останній рік, 20-ліття, 100-річчя» nsku.od.ua Retrieved May 13, 2012
Plot
The film is about what the routine of everyday life can do to the human mind and psyche. It also reflects on the importance of the choices we make and how limited these choices are in the first place. The plot evolves around a family of four. They live in the suburbs, in a strange villa that appears, through a complex game of mirrors, to be more like a piece of installation art than a real house. The main character, who hardly appears on screen, is the son, a man in his thirties. Suffering from asthma and eczema since childhood, he uses his condition to manipulate his parents and his sister. Thus the existence of the terrorized family turns into an endless ritual of attempting to satisfy his whims, and always on the alert for yet another one of his "health crises". Las Meninas resembles the scattered pieces of a puzzle. It is up to the viewer to assemble them in order to form his very own picture – something that makes the film itself personal and unique.
Cast Mykola Veresen as Father, Second Father, Young Father Lyubov Tymoshevska as Mother Hanna Yarovenko as Daughter Dmytro Chernyavsky as Son Ilona Arsentyeva as Daughter (girl) Stas Arsentyev as Son (boy) Viktoriya Ulyanchenko as Young Mother Valeriya Ulyanchenko as Young Mother
Production
The idea for the script appeared in 2004, inspired by Doctor Janos Sanocky's account of a case from his medical practice. The dialogue was co-written by the Lithuanian-Russian writer Andrey Levkin. The shooting of the film took place between September 15 and October 24, 2006, in Kyiv. Most of the film was shot through mirrors,Художник Ігор Подольчак та його кіно . format.ua Retrieved November 4, 2009 which caused serious difficulties for the director of photography, since there was a permanent challenge for the crew to avoid getting into the shot. Editing, effects, color correction, and rendering of the film took 14 months. All post-production work except for rendering was done by Ihor Podolchak himself. Las Meninas was the first feature film in Ukraine created entirely with the digital intermediate process.AJA KONA 3 Enables Post Production for Las Meninas aja.com Retrieved November 3, 2009 Most of the music in the film was written for cello and piano by composer Alexander Shchetynsky. Director and composer paid attention to the central role of music as a semantic counterpoint to the dialogue and visual imagery, so the sound level of the film can be viewed as an integral sound installation. American video clip director Dean Karr co-directed the music part of the film.
Releases and Reception Las Meninas had a world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam«Tiger Awards Competition» — 37th Rotterdam International Film Festival Retrieved November 3, 2009 on January 25, 2008. During 2008–2011, the film participated in competition programs of the international film festivals in Brazil,«New Filmmakers Competition» — 32nd Mostra Internacional De Cinema Sao Pãulo . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Croatia,«Features Competition» — Split International Film Festival. Retrieved November 23, 2009 Russia, Poland,«International Competition» — 8th International Film Festival Era New Horizons , Wroclaw. Retrieved November 3, 2009 Slovakia,«Eastern Panorama Competition» — 16th Artfilm International Film Festival . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Spain, Romania, Italy, and Hungary;«Competition» — Mediawave Festival. Retrieved November 3, 2009 in non-competition programs in Germany,Goeast — 8th Festival of Central and Eastern European Film , Wiesbaden. Retrieved November 3, 2009 South Korea, France,36th La Rochelle International Film Festival . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Australia, Greece,14th Athens International Film Festival. Retrieved November 3, 2009 UK,28th Cambridge Film Festival . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Colombia, XXV Festival De Cine De Bogotá . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Estonia,Tallinn Black Nights IFF . Retrieved November 3, 2009 USA,Santa Fe Film Festival . Retrieved November 3, 2009 Sweden, and South Africa.South Africa's Cape Winelands Film Festival, 2011 . Retrieved March 3, 2011 It was also included in the official selections of the Moscow International Film Festival30th Moscow International Film Festival Retrieved November 3, 2009 and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.. Retrieved November 3, 2009
The critics noted the film's "beautiful imagery" and praised the camerawork of Serhiy Mykhalchuk.First, Joshua . «Ihor Podol'chak: Las Meninas (2008)». kinokultura.com Retrieved February 4, 2010 Ukrainian premiere of the film took place on June 9, 2009 at the Festival of the European Cinema in Kyiv.Сьогодні в Києві стартує Фестиваль європейського кіно. ua.korrespondent.net Retrieved November 3, 2009 Theatrical release in Ukraine was on October 5, 2009.Зварич, О. Рамка для інцесту. [lb.ua] «Левый берег», 03 октября 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009 The film received mixed reviews in Ukraine. The critical opinions were polarized – from aversion and accusations of being "artificial" to apologetics and high appreciation of the film's art quality«Менины». «Коммерсант Украина» «Weekend Украина» , № 167(988) от 02.10. Retrieved November 3, 2009 Коцарев, О. Нарешті, більш ніж через рік після офіційної прем’єри «Телекритика», Retrieved November 3, 2009 Підгора-Гвяздовський, Я. Художник і режисер Ігор Подольчак: «Свій новий фільм знімаю лише за власні гроші», «Дзеркало тижня», Retrieved November 3, 2009 and its break with the tradition of the so-called "Ukrainian Soviet cinema".
External links
Las Meninas at Columbia University
Sources Flashback. Українське медіа-мистецтво 1990-х. Ukrainian media art of the 1990s. Catalog. Curators: Oleksandr Solovyov, Solomiya Savchuk. Київ: ДП НКММК Мистецький Арсенал, 2018. — 180 p. pp 16, 24, 40-41, 117 International Film Guide 2009: the definitive annual review of world cinema, edited by Haydn Smith. 45th Edition. London & New York: Wallflower Press 2009 Pethő, Ágnes. The Cinema of Sensations. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015, pp. 155–182, , Бейкер Марія. Роттердам смотрит кино из Украины и Казахстана., Радіо BBC, 23 января 2008 Космолінська Наталка. Ігор Подольчак, Ігор Дюрич: У тому, що Україну представлятимуть галичани, є історична справедливість. , „Поступ/Брама“ — No. 28(686) Корниенко C. Las Meninas. Очень авторский фильм. svobodanews.ru, 19.02.08 Куровець, О. Las Meninas: „Обережно, артхаус!“», «Телекритика», 15-06-2009 Купінська, А. Десять українських фільмів до річниці незалежності, life.pravda.com.ua, 24.08.2011 Ложкина, А. Я мало думаю о зрителе «Top10», Sep., 2009 Плахов Андрій. Роттердамские угодники. «Коммерсантъ», No. 16/П(3833), 04.02.2008 Шпилюк А. Игорь Подольчак покоряет голландские высоты. «Коммерсант Украина», No. 8 от 23.01.2008, СР
References