''DAU'' is a 2019

Russian film The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed in the Soviet Union and in the years following its dissolution, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognized. In the 21st century, Russian cinema has become k ...

of the DAU project organised by

Ilya Khrzhanovsky Ilya Andreyevich Khrzhanovsky (russian: Илья́ Андре́евич Хржановский; born 11 August 1975) is a Russian-born film director, screenwriter, film producer and member of the European Film Academy. His father Andrei Khrzhano ...

. The film deals with the life of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning Soviet scientist Lev Landau. The premiere in Paris on 25 January 2019 was in the form of a dozen feature films screened inside an extensive around-the-clock immersive installation. The film is one of Russia's largest and most controversial cinematic projects. An eventual conventional cinematic release of a single feature film is also planned, as are documentaries and a television series.

Cast

Teodor Currentzis, a Greek classical conductor, plays the title role of Dau while Radmila Shchegoleva, the only professional actor in the major cast, plays his wife. Alexei Blinov, technical development lead for the feature film, also acts in it as Prof. Blinov. The cast also included: Gerard Depardieu,

Anatoly Vasiliev Anatoly Alexandrovitch Vasiliev (russian: Анато́лий Алекса́ндрович Васи́льев, link=no; born May 4, 1942, Penza Oblast) is a Russian theatre director. He is artistic director of the Moscow Theatre "School of Dramat ...

, Dmitry Chernyakov, Olga Shkabarnya,

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

, Romeo Castellucci, Adin Steinsaltz,

Carsten Höller Carsten Höller (born December 1961) is a German artist. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.Alice Rawsthorn (January 2012)"Cliff Hanger - The Ghanaian home of artists Carsten Höller and Marcel Odenbach goes above—and beyond" ''W Magazi ...

, Marina Abramović, David Gross, Shing-Tung Yau,

Nikita Nekrasov Nikita Alexandrovich Nekrasov (russian: Ники́та Алекса́ндрович Некра́сов; born 10 April 1973) is a mathematical and theoretical physicist at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics and C.N.Yang Institute for The ...

Carlo Rovelli Carlo Rovelli (born May 3, 1956) is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and, since 2000, in France. He is also currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute, and c ...

, James Fallon, Willem Dafoe,

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

, and others.

Production

The preparation for the shooting for the film began in 2006, whereas the actual shooting started in 2008 and went on for three years. In 2017, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' reported that the film was still being edited and the production company was quoted as saying, NDynamovskayaStrDinamoBassDauDecoration

The film was shot at various sites in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, United Kingdom and Denmark. Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set called "The Institute" in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Maxim Martsinkevich Maxim Sergeyevich Martsinkevich (russian: Макси́м Серге́евич Марцинке́вич, 8 May 1984 – 16 September 2020), better known as Tesak (Russian for ''Cleaver'', ''Hatchet'', ''Hand Axe'', ''Machete''), was a Russian neo ...

. Some actors lived in The Institute in character 24 hours a day. The destruction of the set became an integral part of the story and was shot on 8 November 2011.

Release

The release was scheduled for October 2018 in Berlin (with similar happenings following in Paris and London) as a month-long, full time operating, immersive art installation, featuring a replica of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

. The city ultimately did not approve the plans, as there was too little time for authorities to check for safety for an event of these proportions, with the production company having submitted the plans less than a month prior to the event. The project finally premiered in Paris on 25 January 2019 in the form of 12 separate feature films screened inside an installation evoking ''The Institute'' and spanning the Centre Pompidou and two municipal theaters, the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

and the

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...

. Instead of tickets, entry is by "visas" of 6 hours, 24 hours or an unlimited duration. In the latter two cases, the visit is personalized according to a psychometric questionnaire which the visitor is requested to fill on registration. Audiences walk into an intermediary space, halfway between ruins and a theater set that is both contemporary and Soviet. From dusk to dawn, the three sites are linked in the sky by the Red Triangle, a light sculpture inspired by the Russian avant-garde of the early 20th century. Additional presentations are planned in London and Berlin. In April 2020, the first two films in the series were released for paid online viewing, with an additional twelve films listed on the official website. ''

Tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

'' magazine critic Vladislav Davidzon wrote that with the massive immersive theater project "Khrzhanovsky has built a testament to a great film that will never be—and could never be. DAU is a massive success as a feat of will, but a massive failure of artistry and craftsmanship."

Berlinale premiere controversy

Prior to '' DAU. Natasha'' screening at the Berlin International Film Festival a group of Russian film critics published an open letter to festival leadership, questioning the ethical side of film's participation in Berlinale's competition program citing allegations of violence, both psychological and physical, towards cast members during the making of the film.

References

External links