2023-03-02 23:53:46
Night. There are screams under the window – a scumbag beats a girl. There are hundreds of apartments in the house, hundreds of men, but only Yegor came out to intercede (Nikita Efremov, series “Patient Zero”). Fortunately, the police arrived on time, otherwise the case almost took a bad turn – the bully just managed to get a knife. The attacker was tied up, the girl thanks the savior, Yegor is greeted with a standing ovation at work – the incident managed to get into the news. After some time, the hero of the day, as usual, returns home in the evening, and there is a corpse in the yard. It turned out that the night scumbag was soon released from the department, and he completed what he had begun.
From that moment on, Yegor’s life changed irrevocably. He began to despise half measures. Yegor now spends all his free time helping others – volunteering as an animator in the corps of children with cancer, looking for the missing as part of the Liza Alert search squad. Soon he will begin to sell property and take out loans to pay for the treatment of strangers to him. And in parallel, his marriage will burst at the seams and a successful career as a TV presenter will collapse. The worst thing about this whole situation is that a new life full of meaning will not bring Yegor peace, happiness, or certainty. Yes, and justice around, as if, too, will not add.
In terms of the totality of regalia, “Healthy Man” by Pyotr Todorovsky (“Flight”, “Love Story”) is one of the main Russian films of the season. The drama produced by 1-2-3 Production and “Place of Power” by Valery Fedorovich and Evgeny Nikishov took the main prize in the national competition of the Moscow Film Festival, and also won three Golden Eagles: for the script (authorship of the same Todorovsky) and two acting. Irina Starshenbaum (the dilogy “Attraction” / “Invasion”), who played Maya, Yegor’s wife, was recognized as the best actress, and Daria Balabanova (“Karamora”) for the role of volunteer Tanya was named the best supporting actress. Efremov, by the way, was also nominated, but received the award for another project – the series “Patient Zero”.
Well, the winners are judged with particular predilection. While watching “Healthy Man”, the feeling of annoyance does not leave – as if Todorovsky found a treasure, but could not fully dispose of the treasure. The chosen topic is not only relevant – it is also extremely interesting dramaturgically. The volunteer movement is increasingly penetrating the screens, but the search engines of Lisa Alert in Psyche and Dislike are a many-sided rank of knights without fear or reproach. There, with their selflessness and humanity, they highlight the psychological ill health of the main characters. Todorovsky, on the other hand, offered to see what was going on in the head of a particular “healthy person”. How healthy is he really? Are his thoughts so pure?
Film frame
Egor’s case is a good anti-example to follow. Wrong person in the wrong place. Even he himself, apparently, did not fully realize the real motives of his altruism. This is fatigue from the routine (“work, home, rocking chair, drinking on Fridays with the same people”). Plus vanity, the desire to feel better than others. Egor is a sports news anchor, and narcissism is a frequent professional deformation of those who work in the frame. However, that night fight, or rather the death of the rescued girl, aggravated the deformation – Egor feels the moral right to judge acquaintances who collect toys for orphanages: “This is not help. This is a party. The real help is to take and adopt someone.” Yegor himself, however, also did not take anyone from the orphanage, but went to volunteer.
At the reception at the volunteer organization, Egor was asked the right question: “Do you want to help or save?” The words are similar, almost synonymous, but there is a difference – in dedication. A volunteer, in order to help, that is, to benefit systematically, must soberly assess his capabilities. Like the mentioned animator Tanya, Egor’s mentor. She is an accountant by profession, everything is clear for her: she returned home from children with cancer, cried into her pillow at night – and went to work in the morning. “And you are gentle,” Tanya says to Yegor. – Too many unnecessary emotions. That’s why it’s not for you.” And indeed so. Egor wants to save – he is looking for hope and meaning in volunteering, which means he is doomed to a sluggish existential crisis.
Film frame
It is sincerely a pity that the above-described conflict is drawn in dotted lines. A “healthy person” is clearly aware of his social significance, therefore, balancing between the noble propaganda of volunteering and the study of the hero, he constantly sacrifices the latter. Finally, for a psychological drama, the film contains an inexcusable amount of falsehood. This also applies to the general dynamics of the character, and specific scenes – especially those where there are many characters: when Yegor is honored in the office after a fight; when Egor is being interviewed at the volunteer center; when at a party drunken friends convince Yegor that helping strangers is a medical deviation, etc.
Again, a sure sign that the dramaturgy is acting up is that the action is regularly propped up by scenes where they dance or sing in chorus. The song looks organic, probably, only in the finale, when Egor holds the hand of a dying friend. There really aren’t enough words for moments like this.
Social impact entertainment is one of the trends of recent years. And “Healthy Man” so far confirms the rule that successes in this direction often occur not in the cinema, but on streaming – where such hits as “Patient Zero” and “Mutual Consent” have already been released.
#Healthy #person #save