On April 11, the official screening of the film “Me and Felix”, the adaptation of Artem Chech’s novel “Who are you?”, took place. The film is made in the coming-of-age drama genre and transports you to the 90s.
LIGA.Life shares impressions after watching the movie “Me and Felix”.
Synopsis
“I and Felix” tells the story of the growing up of a boy Timofey in the 90s. In the center of the plot are his relationships with his family, friends, first love and with former counter-intelligence officer Felix, who served during the war in Afghanistan.
The tape was shot based on the book “Who are you?” Ukrainian writer and military serviceman Artem Chekh. One of the main roles was played by Yuriy Izdryk, a Ukrainian writer and poet.
About the cast and director
If the viewer is familiar with modern Ukrainian literature, he can immediately recognize Yuriy Izdryk in the role of Felix. This is a debut role for the poet, but he plays it confidently and with style.
Timofey was played by three actors: Andriy Cherednyk, Vladyslav Balyuk and Volodymyr Gladky. The first is the son of Artem Chekh and Iryna Tsylyk, who ironically (perhaps an “interesting coincidence?”) plays the prototype of the young author in the director’s film adaptation.
For Iryna Cilyk, this is her second feature film and her first feature film. The most famous work of the director is the documentary film “The Earth is Blue, Like an Orange”, which was included in the hundred best films of Ukrainian cinema according to the version of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center.
Photo: Felix and Me Facebook page
Two topics
The main characters of the film are young Timofey and Felix, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Accordingly, the film follows two parallel themes – growing up in times of crisis and rehabilitation and treatment of post-traumatic syndrome after the war. Each of them consistently exists independently, and sometimes intertwines with the other.
Both themes have many similarities: that Timofey and Felix move forward and overcome the obstacles they have to face. Sometimes you have to fight alone, which either hardens you or breaks you completely.
Book and movie. Differences and similarities
In general, it is quite difficult to adapt the script of a book into a full-length film and save all the scenes and characters. It is especially difficult when the primary source has a volume of almost 300 pages.
Iryna Tsylyk removed many details and storylines from the novel. And even so, the story seems quite complete. I was very impressed by the ending, which was rethought and formulated so that the viewer could understand the main emphasis of the work.
The director’s decision to shoot the film in Kyiv was partly disappointing, because a good part of the artistic details is dedicated to Cherkasy, where Artem Cheh spent his childhood. Due to such a move, the city does not create a sense of recognition and loses its likeness, turning into a phantom city X that exists only in this story.
The general atmosphere has also changed. Although one can feel the depression and gloom of the difficult 90s, the degree of cruelty and frankness in the film was reduced: the main characters cursed less, Timofey experienced less physical violence from elders and peers. Also, the issue of sexual maturation was reduced to only hints.
Photo: Felix and Me Facebook page
music
It is equally important to note the soundtrack to the film. This is not just music of the 90s, but a suitable filter that helps to better understand the emotional palette of one or another stage of Timofey. In addition to the expected piano parts, we have time to listen to Eurodance from Ice MC and rap from C-Block and “Entering in Changing Shoes”. The last project is especially known to the Ukrainian generation, which consciously managed to find the underground of the new times of independent Ukraine.
And all this mix of music sounds against the background of gloomy and gray panels, inside an old and at the same time simple-looking apartment, converted into a disco hall of a school gymnasium.
General impressions
In his interview for Suspilne Kultura, Artem Cheh emphasized, that the film itself will not recreate the book in full. Although the film has the same main characters, the same problems, the ending and the development itself are changed. And this approach gave Iryna Cilyk the opportunity to adapt it for a wider circle.
In the film, there is a certain romanticization of the era of early independence of Ukraine: school discos, rusty Soviet public transport, gray and at the same time warm interiors of Khrushchev buildings – all this immerses you in a certain time space, but it is not fully emphasized. Because the most important thing lies in the very story of a difficult growing up and an even less simple rehabilitation after PTSD.
Photo: Felix and Me Facebook page
What will you like?
- The acute and topical issues of the film.
- The originality of the adaptation, which does not reproduce the book one for one.
- Attention not only to visual details, but also to auditory ones.
What may not like
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