Patriarch Kirill’s spokesman says the church will refrain from official evaluations of Alexei Uchitel’s film.
Priest Alexander Volkov, rector of Moscow’s Church of Sergius of Radonezh, says the head of the Russian Orthodox Church thinks the church shouldn’t interfere with culture. He noted that the Church cannot give a clear-cut review of Alexei Uchitel’s film at the moment.
“We all should wait patiently until the film is released to evaluate it objectively. We must be determined to accept the evaluation and remember that the church is not a homogeneous structure,” Patriarch Kirill’s spokesman said in an interview with RT.
He highlighted the idea that the official church shouldn’t influence cultural processes and use its position in society to evaluate cultural phenomena. The priest drew a clear line between the sphere of culture and the sphere of the church.
“It’s important that the evaluation of the film and any other artwork shouldn’t come from the church, from the ambon. A priest at the ambon mustn’t say during the sermon: ‘This artwork is good, but that artwork is bad. Don’t watch this film, go and set movie theatres on fire,’” Alexander Volkov said.
Matilda focuses on the relationship between future emperor of Russia Nicholas II and ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. The film will premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in Moscow on October 6. The wide release is scheduled for October 26. Polish actress Michalina Olszańska plays ballerina Kschessinska, German actor Lars Eidinger plays Nicholas II. The film also stars famous Russian actors, among them Sergei Garmash and Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė.
Earlier, Russian MP Natalya Poklonskaya filed a complaint to a prosecutor’s office, asking to ban the film. She referred to conclusions by experts who said that the movie distorts the image of Emperor Nicholas II canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church and insults the religious feelings of believers. The Duma’s committee on ethics noted that Poklonskaya’s appeal was lawful as the MP had received a lot of complaints from citizens who were concerned about the film. The film was criticised by the Russian Orthodox Church, and notorious archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin warned the film screening would cause Russia’s death. Alexei Uchitel responded to criticism from the Russian Orthodox Church and said Natalya Poklonskaya’s complaints were a manipulation of public opinion. Filmmaker Sergey Aliyev shoots the documentary Matilda’s Lies to challenge the image of Nicholas II in Uchitel’s film.
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