Attraction (film)

Attraction (Russian: Притяжение, romanized: Prityazhenie) is a 2017 Russian science fiction action film directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk. The plot tells about an extraterrestrial spaceship that crash-lands in the Chertanovo district of Moscow. The Russian government immediately introduces martial law, as the locals grow increasingly angry at the unwelcome guest.[2] The film stars Irina Starshenbaum, Alexander Petrov, Rinal Mukhametov and Oleg Menshikov.

Attraction
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFyodor Bondarchuk
Produced by
  • Fyodor Bondarchuk
  • Dmitriy Rudovskiy
  • Mikhail Vrubel
  • Gabriel Klement
  • Aleksandr Andryushchenko
  • Anton Zlatopolskiy
Screenplay by
  • Andrey Zolotaryov
  • Oleg Malovichko
Starring
Music byIvan Burlyaev
CinematographyMikhail Khasaya
Edited byAleksandr Andryushchenko
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Sony Pictures Releasing
Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • 26 January 2017 (2017-01-26) (Russia)
Running time
132 minutes
CountryRussia
LanguageRussian
Budget$6.3 million
(380 million RUB)
Box office$19.4 million[1]
(1,073,381,680 RUB)

According to Bondarchuk, the movie is a social allegory. The script writers stated that it was inspired by the 2013 Biryulyovo riots.

The project became the fourth Russian film transferred to the IMAX 3D format.[3] The premiere of the film in Russia was on 26 January 2017.[4][5] Attraction became a box office hit, grossing more than 1 billion rubles[6] and becoming the highest-grossing Russian sci-fi movie. It was also a pretty good critical success with the Russian media. The film received mixed reviews from western critics.

A sequel, Invasion, premiered on New Year's Day 2020.

Plot

The storyline revolves around Colonel Valentin Lebedev, who is in charge of the military operation, his daughter Yulia, who develops a romantic relationship with the alien Hekon, and her former boyfriend Artyom who is the main antagonist.

Hekon is a representative of a technologically-advanced humanoid race who travels to Earth incognito for research purposes. While traveling through the Solar System, his spaceship is damaged by a meteor shower. The Russian Air Force mistakes his spaceship for a NATO military spacecraft and damages it by firing missiles into it, causing it to crash into several buildings in Moscow and kill hundreds of people. It is on that same day when Yulia and Artyom have finished attending a meteor-watching event, that Yulia's friend Svetlana is killed while watching some meteors.

The Russian government decides not to enter into contact with the ship and let it fix itself on its own. The area around the landing site is evacuated and cordoned off; Moscow is then placed under a curfew. Meanwhile, Yulia, Artyom, and his friends Khariton, Ruslan, and Piton sneak into the crash site to investigate the alien: after they beat him up and cause him to crash down a building, they retrieve his armor before an army patrol may find them. On another day, Yulia sneaks again to retrieve the alien, placing him with a nerdy classmate known as "Google" to help the alien recover. While examining his body, she notices a wristband forming on her right wrist, which manipulates water.

The alien, who introduces himself as "Hekon", was initially unsure about Earth and its people, but tells them that he is looking for a device known as "Shilk", that allows him to travel through space without destroying his body. Shilk, like the spaceship, appears to be attracting water. As he goes out to the streets to look for the device, the police mistake him for a drug addict and send him off to a police station to be interrogated.

Meanwhile, Artyom and his friends drive in their car to inform Colonel Lebedev about the alien's armor that they had hidden in their garage. They stumble upon a crowd who are angry over rationed water, as the spaceship appears to absorb water in order to repair itself. Ruslan decides to provoke the crowd into becoming a disorderly riot. Artyom is hit by a policeman's baton as he tries to convince people to stop rioting, and is taken to the police station but he forgets to tell Colonel Lebedev about his discovery.

In order to get Shilk, Yulia goes to see her father, who interrupts his meeting with his officers when she informed him that she is pregnant with Hekon's child. She actually says this to distract him, so Hekon can disguise himself as a scientist and take Shilk from its container, and also because she was upset that he did not spend much time with her after her mother died.

Yulia confesses her true feelings for Hekon in a phone call to Artyom, while Artyom arrives with his friends to beat up the alien. Hekon fights back, and when one of Artyom's friends tries to shoot Hekon, Ruslan is shot by accident instead. Artyom and one of his friends flee before the police would arrest them. He reports this incident to gather many supporters and form a group to attack Hekon's spaceship, and avenge Ruslan's death, for which he blames the alien. In spite of his initial support, Piton sometimes expresses doubt on Artyom's goals.

Artyom's group breaks through a police barricade, triggering several other robotic suits to come out and fight against the mob. Yulia and Hekon drive through the police barricade and the mob using an armored car to return him and Shilk back to their ship, while fending off against Artyom, who angrily rampages using Hekon's suit. Hekon defeats Artyom, but Artyom shoots him and Yulia with a dropped rifle. Saddened by this, Colonel Lebedev follows several walking suits as they carry Yulia and Hekon to the spaceship, where its machinery uses water to nurse Yulia's injuries. The spaceship's computer also responds to Lebedev's questions about Hekon's mission to observe the Earth, as its warlike civilizations and history had made it very unsafe for interstellar contact. However, Yulia's love for Hekon, and her willingness to protect him, have caused the computer's authorities to rewrite the results of their study on Earth.

Yulia, her father, and everyone else return to their daily lives, as the spaceship departs and releases excess water. Meanwhile, Artyom is arrested and presumably sent to a prison camp.

The moral of the movie is vocalized by Yulia at the end: The truth is that one alien from far away trusted us more than we trust ourselves.

Cast
  • Irina Starshenbaum as Yulia 'Yulya' Lebedeva (English: Julia)
  • Alexander Petrov as Artyom 'Tyoma' Tkachyov (English: Tom)
  • Rinal Mukhametov as Hekon / Khariton (English: Hakon)
  • Oleg Menshikov as Colonel Valentin Lebedev, Yulya's father
  • Nikita Kukushkin as Ruslan "Rus"
  • Yevgeny Sangadzhiev as Python
  • Aleksey Maslodudov as Yevgeny 'Zhenya'
  • Yevgeny Mikheev as Gleb Karakhanov "Google", a classmate and friend of Yulya
  • Anton Shpinkov as student Mironov, a classmate of Yulya
  • Yevgeny Koryakovsky as teacher
  • Darya Rudenok as Svetlana 'Sveta' Morozova, a classmate of Yulya
  • Lyudmila Maksakova as Lyubov 'Lyuba', Yulya's grandmother
  • Mikhail Mironov as correspondent of TV channel "Life News"
  • Denis Karasev as general
  • Aleksandr Nikolskiy as boat captain
  • Sergey Shatalov as Mishkin, senior lieutenant
  • Oleg Novikov as lieutenant protection
  • Leonid Lefterov as security guard
  • Nikita Tarasov as State Duma deputy Mikhail Poleskin
  • Maksim Evseev as officer of RKO
  • Sergei Garmash as Deputy Prime Minister
  • Yuriy Sazonov as doctor

Production

Casting

During the filming, the actor Alexander Petrov cut open his leg with glass and damaged his tendons, after which he was forced to remove his cast and use an understudy.[7] In addition, Fyodor Bondarchuk expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the close relations between the main characters in the roles of actress Irina Starshenbaum and actor Alexander Petrov create difficulties in the production of the film.[8][9]

Filming

Principal photography began in November 2015.[10] The shooting took place in strict secrecy in different regions of Moscow, mainly in Chertanovo, and at the facilities of the Ministry of Defense with the participation of the latest military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces. The shooting involved armored personnel carriers, helicopters, Uranus-6 robots, drones, armored vehicles GAZ Tigr, Typhoon (AFV family) and the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.

Post-production

The visual effects involved 255 artists of the Russian company Main Road Post, which until that time worked on the films Metro (2013 film), August Eighth (2012 film), Wanted (2008 film), Stalingrad (2013 film) and The Duelist (2016 film). It took about a year and a half to work with effects. The most difficult effects are considered the moment of the fall of the spacecraft.[11]

Soundtrack

The music for the picture was written by composer Ivan Burlyaev.

The soundtrack includes 34 tracks.[12] To record the soundtrack, the latest musical workstation (synthesizer) Yamaha Montage 8 was used at that time, which, according to the composer, was not sold anywhere else.

On January 26, the soundtrack for the film was released on Yandex Music,[13] and on January 27 in iTunes.

Release

Attraction was released in Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on 26 January 2017 and Vietnam on 27 January 2017.

Reception

The budget of the film was 380 million rubles, or, according to other sources, 520 million rubles including film marketing.

Box office

Attraction was a commercial success. It grossed 44 million RUB on its opening day,[14] and held on the top of Russian box office for several weeks. By the end of its theatrical run, Attraction grossed more than 1 billion RUB,[15] approximately three times the movie's budget.

Critical response

Attraction received significant positive reviews in Russian media, including Afisha,[16] Kommersant,[17] Mir Fantastiki,[18] KG-portal,[19] and The Hollywood Reporter.[20] According to review aggregator Kritikanstvo.ru, out of 58 reviews, 10 were negative (among them, a very harsh review from the popular video blogger BadComedian), and the average rating of the movie was 6.4 out of 10.[21] Attraction was praised for its social commentary, visuals and acting (Oleg Menshikov's performance in particular), but some reviews criticized the movie's negative portrayal of Russian youth and certain inconsistencies in characterization.

Attraction has an approval rating of 36% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 4.90/10.[22]

Sequel

According to co-producer Aleksandr Andryushchenko, in case of commercial success, the continuation of the film will be shot.[23] According to the director Fyodor Bondarchuk, the script for the continuation has already been written.[24]

Filming of the movie Invasion began in July 2018; the tape was released on January 1, 2020.

References
  1. "Attraction (2017)". Box Office Mojo.
  2. Tsulaya, Dariko (October 5, 2016). "Пришельцы в Чертанове: Что известно о секретном фильме Бондарчука" [Aliens in Chertanovo: What is known about Bondarchuk's secret film] (in Russian). KinoPoisk.
  3. Afanasyeva, Anna (January 24, 2017). "У IMAX заело пленку" [IMAX stuck film] (in Russian). Kommersant.
  4. "Олег Меньшиков — главная звезда нового фильма Федора Бондарчука" [Oleg Menshikov - the main star of the new film by Fyodor Bondarchuk] (in Russian). Business portal BFM.ru. April 18, 2016.
  5. "Список самых ожидаемых кинопремьер января 2017 года" [List of the most anticipated movie premieres in January 2017] (in Russian). KinoTime.org. January 14, 2017.
  6. "Зрители почувствовали "Притяжение"" [The audience felt the Attraction] (in Russian). Kommersant. February 8, 2017.
  7. Grozdanov, Felix (January 27, 2017). "Актер фильма "Притяжение" получил серьезную травму" [The actor of the film Attraction was seriously injured]. Dni.Ru (in Russian).
  8. Migulina, Katerina (January 30, 2017). "Федор Бондарчук был против романа Петрова и Старшенбаум" [Fyodor Bondarchuk was against the novel of Alexander Petrov and Irina Starshenbaum]. Sobesednik.Ru (in Russian).
  9. Aleshina, Elena (January 24, 2017). "Петров женится на Старшенбаум" [Petrov marries Starshenbaum]. Dni.Ru (in Russian).
  10. Pakshin, Oleg (November 23, 2015). "Любовь на фоне хаоса: журналисты попали на съемки самого засекреченного российского фильма" [Love amid chaos: journalists got to shoot the most classified Russian film] (in Russian). Vesti.ru.
  11. Meerov, Konstantin (January 28, 2017). "Как делали спецэффекты в "Притяжении"" [How did special effects in Attraction] (in Russian). kinometro.ru.
  12. "Вышел официальный саундтрек к фильму Фёдора Бондарчука "Притяжение"" [The official soundtrack for the film by Fyodor Bondarchuk Attraction]. THR Russia (in Russian). January 27, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. ""Притяжение / Attraction", саундтрек" [Attraction, soundtrack] (in Russian). indarnb.ru. January 26, 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  14. "Фильм "Притяжение" собрал в прокате 413,4 млн рублей" [The film Attraction has collected at the box office 413.4 million rubles]. ТАСС (in Russian). January 30, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  15. Polezhaev, Mikhail (February 28, 2017). ""Защитники" выигрывают, а "Притяжение" зарабатывает миллиард] — Новости" [“Guardians (2017 film) win, and Attraction earns a billion - News] (in Russian). kinobusiness.com. | Кинопортал Кинобизнес сегодня
  16. Dolin, Anton (January 25, 2017). ""Притяжение" Федора Бондарчука: Москва в иллюминаторе (спойлеры!)" [Attraction by Fyodor Bondarchuk: Moscow in a window (spoilers!)] (in Russian). Afisha.
  17. Trofimenkov, Mikhail (January 26, 2017). "Ъ-Газета - Добро и НЛО" [Kommersant - Welcome and UFO] (in Russian). Kommersant.
  18. Shepelov, Dmitriy (January 26, 2017). ""Притяжение": стоит ли смотреть фильм? Обзор" [Attraction: is it worth watching a movie? Overview] (in Russian). Mir Fantastiki.
  19. Bratchikova, Anna (January 25, 2017). "Рецензия на фильм "Притяжение"" [Review of the film Attraction] (in Russian). kg-portal.ru.
  20. Zabaluev, Yaroslav (January 26, 2017). ""Притяжение": Однажды в ЮАО" [Attraction: Once in the Southern Administrative District] (in Russian). The Hollywood Reporter.
  21. "Рецензии на фильм Притяжение (2017), отзывы" [Reviews of the movie Attraction (2017), reviews] (in Russian). Kritikanstvo.ru.
  22. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/attraction_2017
  23. "В случае успеха создатели фильма "Притяжение" снимут продолжение" [If successful, the creators of the movie Attraction will remove the continuation]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). January 24, 2017.
  24. ""Притяжение" Фёдора Бондарчука может получить продолжение: сценарий написан" [The Attraction by Fyodor Bondarchuk may be continued: the script is written]. OK Magazine!.Russia (in Russian). January 24, 2017.
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