Izola postcards (3/3) : THE (NAKED) TRUTH IS OUT THERE

the last of three columns written for Dnevni Otok Daily, the newspaper/magazine published by and during the film-festival of Izola, Slovenia (Kino Otok / Isola Cinema)

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“Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.”
Winston Churchill, 1939.

Running my eye down the guest-list for Kino Otok VII, I was particularly pleased to see the name of Alexei Fedorchenko – Russian director of the poetic Silent Souls, which has delighted audiences at film-festivals all over the world since premiering at Venice last year. And I was even more delighted to see Silent Souls included on my list of introductions and Q&As, as it would enable me to shed some light on a cinematic mystery that has bemused and perplexed me for more than half a decade.

It relates to Fedorchenko’s 2005 debut, First on the Moon, a deadpan-hilarious spoof documentary presenting an alternative version of recent history whereby it was the USSR, not the USA, which made the first successful manned journey to our lunar satellite. Largely constructed as a compendium of mocked-up “archive” material – most of it silent – it stars one Boris Vlasov as Ivan Kharlamov, the heroic athlete-Cosmonaut whose name should rank alongside that of Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong among space-travel pioneers.

The fact that it doesn’t is explored and explained in the picture’s second half, which moves into conspiracy-and-coverup territory that owes a certain debt to Peter Hyams’ cheesy classic Capricorn One (1978). Kharlamov’s downfall and disgrace give what has previously been a larkish, jaunty enterprise a surprisingly touching and tragic tone – Fedorchenko’s balancing of light and dark prefiguring his achievement in Silent Souls.

Crucial to the success of First on the Moon is the powerhouse physical performance by Vlasov – all the more remarkable considering that we never once hear him speak a word in the movie, as Kharlamov is only glimpsed in the ‘contemporary’ footage: “a phenomenal performance, especially given the unusual circumstances which in theory should constrict his ability to develop a fully-rounded character,” I wrote on website Jigsaw Lounge after seeing First on the Moon at the Cottbus Film Festival in Germany.

On the same Jigsaw Lounge I maintain a (purely subjective) list of my favourite films and performances, year by year, going back to 1945 – one film and one performance per year (the latter can be male or female, lead or support, or even a cameo). Vlasov still retains the “title” for 2005, ahead of some stiff competition including Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello from my favourite overall movie of the year, David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence.

With First on the Moon, Vlasov suggested he had the makings of a major new charismatic star for Russian cinema (so long as he was able to translate his skills, just like performers in the 1920s, from “silent” to “sound” movies.) But six years on, it remains his only screen credit.

One-off appearances by actors aren’t a remarkable rarity – indeed, my 2002 pick, School Trip’s Steven Sperling, falls into the same category. But Sperling was a teenager in School Trip and, as we know, most “child” performers quickly move out of the profession when they become adults. The ‘Vlasov case’ was much more surprising, disappointing and baffling – so I was keen to see if Fedorchenko could shed any light on the matter.

After the Q+A – during which we were assisted by an interpreter, as Fedorchenko’s English is limited – I asked about Vlasov and what he was up to these days. Fedorchenko’s response had the interpreter convulsed with laughter, piquing my curiosity even further. “He’s very lazy,” she related, “and lives in Chelyabinsk [a city on the eastern side of the Urals] where he fishes in the river and does some acting in the theatre.” And that’s how he makes his living, I enquired. “Ah no,” laughed the interpreter. “Sometimes he works as a stripper.”

Not what I had expected, shall we say – and if anything Vlasov’s air of intrigue and oddness had only been boosted by these tantalising tidbits. Cinema’s loss has evidently been striptease’s gain (I’m presuming Fedorchenko wasn’t indulging in some kind of offbeat Russian humour…) – but it’s encouraging to hear that he hasn’t abandoned “performing” and “showbiz” altogether. I’d like to imagine

Vlasov is part of a popular troupe of flamboyant disrobers – a kind of ‘Chelyabinsk Chippendales’ if you like.
But I’m keen to find out the truth for myself, and will be investigating trans-Ural transport possibilities after I get home. This is the last Festival Daily for Kino Otok VIII, but if the gods of cinema allow we’ll be back next year – and I promise to provide further updates on the elusive Mr Vlasov.
To Be Continued…!

Neil Young
Dnevni Otok Daily, 11th June, 2011

first column (‘Trans-Balkan Express’) is here
second column (‘Don’t Mess With Texas’) is here