"As for me, I can only forgive a genius for a poorly constructed poem, and even then not always. Ukrainian poets should be banned for some time from writing national-patriotic poems, then, perhaps, they would rather learn versification, forced to do so by lyrics and translations, and now they rely most on the patriotism of their readers, and not on their own rhyme and measure ."
Lesya Ukrainka
The creators of this movie also hoped for patriotism and national love for Scriabin. A high-quality picture and flat humor are two pillars on which this film was supposed to stand. Instead it staggered, fell, rose and fell again, creaked and screeched like that old car, spewing illogical details, rusty cliche jokes and inappropriate campiness in the face of a gullible viewer. Lowering my expectations in advance, I expected at least a small effort to explore the whimsical bardic nature of Scriabin's genius, but I received a complete misunderstanding of his phenomenon, a complete failure to fall into the obvious archetypes that made up his world. As they say, if you don't know how to make something well, don't do it at all.
Kuzma looks like a brainless schoolboy, a character development is nowhere to be found. As a result, the vinaigrette turned out to be vinaigrette, at most only to be watched once and then with a stretch
Yes, I can also read Russian cinema's influence in this attempt of a film. These sleazy jokes about the Poles, the Germans are shown as some kind of latex fascists, the Turks are also stereotyped.
With Skriabin's popularity and his masterful book filled with wit and humor, the creators of this movie had trump cards in their hands ALREADY. No need to invent a bicycle. But they managed to make it as boring and distasteful as they could, Skriabin persona was used for their marketing purposes.
From pluses: I see good cinematography even though camera work from time to time looked like advertisement in tv. I also see potential in young actors. Styling was pretty good too, even though a bit cliche.
