The Uzbek cinema art not once turned to the best samples of the national art heritage. In a course of its development and difficult aesthetic searches the cinema based on national creativity, a rich potential of its art experience and traditions.
Influence of epic traditions traced everywhere: in solution of personages, conflicts, in compositional methods and in style features. Talent of many film directors, actors and the other cinema men entirely and brightly has revealed in a number of remarkable films done upon epic literature.
Organic ties with national folklore are typical of the work of outstanding Uzbek film director N. Ganiev. His films have in a basis the folklore and occupy a proper place among with the best pieces of national literature and music. The national tradition brightly showed in his film “Takhir and Zukhra”. This revealed in the characters of the film and in such aroma of national painting and musical art, which here played not just decorative function but represent the integral element of the film composition. Plenty of art producing finds, examples of pictures from a national life – a distinctive feature of the film “Nasreddin’s Adventures” about the national favourite hero – Khodja Nasreddin.
Elements of poetics, national creativity, its motives and personages organically penetrate N. Ganiev’s films. Close ties of the artist with the folk art and those actual forms, which could find integrity in his art, are substantially determined by conditions in which has been forming his individuality, by features of his biography and temperament.
“The nature has been generous to this child of a simple butcher, – wrote Kh. Abul Kasymova in her book about Ganiev. – Very early little Gani revealed his ability to form rhymes of the words, to catch quickly and precisely a melody and immediately to reproduce it on dutar. Two – three touches of kalaym were enough for him to draw a neighbour – mullah. He gave much pleasure to everybody imitating friends to his father!” His childhood and young years in many respects determined the originality of his creativity integrally connected with elements of national folklore.
In the films “Takhir and Zukhra” and “Nasreddin’s Adventures” N. Ganiev opened the richest layer of national art in the Uzbek cinema. He enriched it with new characters and true national character. Traditions of “Takhir and Zukhra” and “Nasreddin’s Adventures” in reproduction of deep realistic characters, which had absorbed the national and historical originality of the Uzbek people’s life, later were continued and developed by K. Yarmatov in the film “Alisher Navoi”.
“Takhir and Zukhra” is one of the favourite legends of the Uzbek people. Each of its characters was close and clear to N.Ganiev. Lyrics and romantics of a plot and entire compositional structure of the legend deeply imposed upon his poetic nature. For a film director searching for material to apply all his creative potential, this fairy tale enabled to glorify a national genius by means of the modern art. Having solved a number of dramaturgic difficulties, the film director managed to overcome resistance of the traditional approach, to reveal colour and original roots of the ancient legend.
Done on motives of widespread oriental dastan, the film was made by means of realistic art. The film director and scenarist in many respects have receded from habitual canons of oral folk art in which a main place belongs to love feelings of characters and the other romantic experiences. The folklore does not set as a purpose the detailed psychological development of characters. Its characters are usually monumental and, as a rule, developed in their deeds and actions. “Preserving the pathos of the legend about Takhir and Zukhra, penetrated by wisdom of the folk and pathetics, the film makers have created precise and expressive plot, carefully and realistically have developed episodes and characters, – thinks professor D.Teshabaev. – The film director was searching and has found the capacious cinema details having metaphorical sense which the laws of cinema required.”
The character of the annalist and poet, Nazim who opened and then finished the story about the lovers became one of such details in the film. Nazim has a colourful costume on. Solemn and wise, he as if came from a medieval miniature. He also sets an epic tone of the narration. He is who knows a price of happiness experienced by the main characters, and who foresees the tragic final, which is waiting for rebellious lovers.
The character of vizier became an actual success of the film makers. The vizier (actor A.Djalilov) – a true guard of interests of powerful persons. He is an irreconcilable enemy of love of Takhir and Zukhra. He thinks, the love of the plebeian and khan’s daughter can shake foundations of a political system. The image of vizier became an important step of the Uzbek cinema on a way of the realistic interpretation of a historical theme. It had initiated a tradition, which later received further development (for example, in K.Yarmatov’s film “ALISHER NAVOI”).
In casting for the roles of Baba-khan, Sardor, Takhir and Zukhra N.Ganiev revealed a true insight. The director was not afraid to invite the young, just starting actors even for key roles. By material and theme, the film “Takhir and Zukhra” is a film – legend, at the same time, by scenarios form, direction, by graphic solutions and actor playing this is the first experience of original historical drama in the Uzbek cinema.
For a long time N.Ganiev had been bearing a desire to cinematize the monumental epos “Alpomysh”, an epic poem about the rebellion Namoz, to create a new film about Khodja Nasreddin. From all these plans, he could realize just the last.
A student of Y. Protazanov, he refused to follow blindly the lessons of his teacher whose works were grotesque and of fast tempo. Ganiev preferred quieter rhythm, narrative installation of which enabled to work out some scenes and fragments in details and to reveal comic talent of Uzbek actors. In the film dominates bright improvisation, a plenty of genre and household scenes, sharp rude comedy, the various tricks going from time immemorial – traditions of kyzykchy and maskarobozy.
A part of Nasreddin performed by the actor R. Khamraev is very original. By appearance, he is very similar to former Nasreddin – Sverdlin. However, the approach to the character interpretation in a new film has many accents typical of the vision of N.Ganiev. His Nasreddin – is softer, wiser and more philosophic. Here he is not a careless merry fellow and joker. Khamraev’s personage – first of all, a teacher and instructor. In many episodes with his participation, the ethic element is obvious and well felt.
Unlike Nasreddin, the other personages, especially negative, are depicted with expressive sharp lines. The actor A. Djalilov with the help of the director created the image of Agabeg in sharply satirical form. It found reflection in the image of a greedy rich man. Lanky, with loose-hanging lips and a big key for the lock locking a sluice, from the first scenes causes a feeling of disgust. Such features reaching a caricature, the people give to characters of bloody-minded snakes personifying the evil in fairy tales. Among the actors especially brightly expressing stylistics of the film, it is worthy to be noted R. Pirmukhamedov. His Beardless, thanks to talent of the actor, by its art value is beside Nasreddin. The comedian actor by destiny, since young years absorbing an originality of folk theatre, he is “bathing” in cheerful episodes of the film .
N.Ganiev’s film “Nasreddin’s Adventures” occupied a special place in history of the Uzbek cinema. It was brave and fruitful experiment of the Uzbek film director, which risked continuing a theme of the famous film of J.Protazanov in his own style.
In his films, Ganiev with a high skill used cinema-language in reproduction of the life on the screen. Deep expressiveness of splicing is typical of his works. Dramaturgic function plays music as well – it became an important element of creation of personages and atmosphere of action. Truthfulness, beauty and harmony are the important properties of graphic solutions in his films. National colour transfers with fine taste and gently. It fills up every scene and detail: clothes of characters, their speech and interior. But the most important in N.Ganiev’s films is true and art entire exposure of national characters of the people what always makes his works topical.
Author: Nigora Abdullaeva