He became a cult film director for the youth of the late 1980s. Drama, comedy, “adventurous” cinema – it looks like Solovyev is good at any film genre, from screen versions of Russian classical literature to “sketching from nature” of the present days.

Sergei Aleksandrovich Solovyov was born on August 25, 1944 in the town of Kem’ of Karelian region.

From 1960 to 62 he was a worker at Leningrad television; after graduating from the film directors’ faculty of VGIK (workshop of Mikhail Romm and Aleksandr Stolper) he started his creative activity at the cinema studio Mosfilm. In 1970 Sergei Solovyev debuted as a film director with the feature Semeynoe schastye (Family Happiness) after Anton Chekov’s stories. It was followed by the screen versions of Maxim Gorky’s play Yegor Bulychyov i drugiye (Yegor Bulychyov and Others) (1971) and Alexander Pushkin’s story Stantsionnyy smotritel (The Stationmaster) (1972).

In 1975 Solovyov released a touching, amusing and wise children’s film under the title Sto dney posle detstva (One Hundred Days After Childhood), for the first time starring Tatyana Drubich, his future wife. In 1976 the film director presented Melodii beloy nochi (Melodies of a White Night) about meetings of a Japanese pianist girl and a Russian composer. Tatyana Drubich appeared again in Solovyov’s film Spasatel (The Rescuer) (1980), which, however, passed unnoticed. Another joint work of Solovyov and Drubich followed soon. It was Naslednitsa po pryamoy (Direct Heiress) (1982), and in 1983 after filming together Izbrannye (The Chosen Ones) they got married.

The year 1986 saw the release of Chuzhaya belaya i ryaboy (aka Wild Pigeon) after Boris Ryakhovsky’s story, telling about the post-war time and childhood of the main character.

Solovyov’s film Assa (1987) made an important event in the cultural life of the Soviet Union of the late 1980s. For the first time it was featuring on screen the legendary rock musician Viktor Tsoy and Sergei Bugayev (aka “Africa”), a well-known avant-garde figure in underground circles. Many scores for the film were created by Boris Grebenshchikov. Sergei Solovyov developed his collaboration with the leaders of Russian rock culture in his next two movies: Chyornaya roza - emblema pechali, krasnaya roza - emblema lyubvi (Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love) (1989) and Dom pod zvyozdnym nebom (House under the Starry Skies) (1991).

In 1994 Solovyov directed Tri Sestry (The Three Sisters) after Chekhov. His next work Nezhnyy vozrast (The Gentle Age), a story of a lad who has seen much in the course of his life, is starring Dmitry Solovyov, the film director’s son. In 2004 Solovyov again turned to the classic: his film O lyubvi (About Love) (2004) is based on Chekov’s stories.

For the time being the film director has two films at hand to offer to the viewers: Anna Karenina, the work on which lasted for 15 years, and the sequel of his most famous film Assa.

The screen version of Tolstoi’s “Anna Karenina” was supposed to be shot in the early 1990s, but it turned too expensive for the state financing. According to Solovyov, he did not want to spend his administrative resource and the film was postponed.

“I was stealing years and roles from actors” – Solovyov says about the film Anna Karenina “However, actors were growing older and better, becoming more and more suitable for their roles (though some of them just did not live to see the screening). When screening Anna I fill myself Count Tolstoy’s confidant, his interpreter for the mass viewer.”

As for Assa 2, “it is not a strained sequel, but a natural continuation of the first film. My daughter is 21 years old…she was born after the release of Assa.”

Along with his major professional activity Sergei Solovyov teaches at VGIK and runs the creative association “Krug”.

Resources:
    persona.rin.ru
    artoz.org

Photos
    mk.ru
    ruscourier.ru

Vera Ivanova and Mikhail Manykin