Film producer Sergey Chliyants has described comments by actor Nikita Kologrivyy about crime movies romanticising criminal life as foolish in an interview with Russian news outlet National News Service.
Chliyants stated that crime films and television series are a normal part of cinema. He argued that successful crime movies do not change society for the worse, even when main characters go unpunished.
His response came after Kologrivyy claimed that crime-themed movies and series do a disservice to society. The actor argued that young viewers primarily see a glamourised lifestyle and the romanticisation of characters on screen, while any punishment occurs only in the finale. Kologrivyy added that audiences often do not watch films to the end and may miss the moral resolution entirely.
Debate over criminal themes in cinema
Chliyants questioned why the public should comment on statements made by actors rather than writers, poets, or philosophers. He asked how he could comment on what he termed foolishness, noting that filmmakers around the world produce crime cinema with great success.
The producer stressed that cinema is multifaceted and is not obligated to follow strict canons or serve an instructive purpose. He noted that numerous acclaimed films feature unpunished criminals without becoming worse works of art, adding that filmmakers should not tell fairy tales framing humanity solely between good and evil or vice and virtue.
Industry background and state funding
Chliyants is a Russian film director and producer who produced the 2003 Russian crime drama film Bumer. Kologrivyy is a Russian actor known for appearing in crime drama series.
In earlier comments to National News Service, Chliyants addressed broader challenges facing young Russian filmmakers. He explained that young directors want to create meaningful cinema but struggle because such projects receive no funding and fail to pass selection for cinema distribution.
As a result, Chliyants said emerging directors are forced to produce budget fillers funded by the state. To resolve the problem, he advocated for restoring the editorial board of Goskino Russia, the state agency overseeing national cinema production.
