Elem Klimov
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Elem Germanovich Klimov (1933 – 2003) was a Soviet Russian film director best known for Come and See (1985).
Vita
His first film, the 1964 Welcome, or No Trespassing (known in the UK as No Holiday for Inochkin) was a satire on Soviet bureaucracy in the guise of a children's summer camp adventure story. It was almost prevented from being released until Nikita Khrushchev (who was removed from office just 12 days later) saw the film, liked it, and asked why it wasn't being shown in theatres.
Klimov's second film, Adventures of a Dentist (1965), was a dark (and in some ways Tatiesque) comedy about a dentist who is derided (and eventually has his life ruined) by his colleagues for his natural talent of painlessly pulling out teeth. The implication, that society inevitably ostracizes those who are gifted, horrified the censors who told Klimov to change it. When Klimov refused, the film was given the lowest classification: "category three", which meant that it was shown in only 25-78 movie theatres.
Next, Klimov began making a film about Rasputin called Agony. The process took him nine years and many rewrites. Although finished in 1975, the final film was not released until 1984, partly because of its orgy-scenes and partly because of its relatively nuanced portrait of Tsar Nicholas II.
In 1976, Klimov finished a film begun by his teacher Mikhail Romm before the latter's death called And Still I Believe....
In 1979, Klimov's wife Larisa died in a car crash while at work directing a film based on a famous Russian novel by Valentin Rasputin called Farewell to Matyora. His wife's death had a profound impact on Klimov - all his films after this were tragedies. He finished the film that his wife had been working on and also directed a 25-minute tribute to her called Larisa.
In 1986, fresh from the success of his film Come and See, and with the changes brought by perestroika in the air, Klimov was chosen by his colleagues to be First Secretary of the new, revamped Film-maker's Union. His reign saw the belated release of hundreds of previously banned films and the reinstatement of several directors who had fallen out of political favour. However, Klimov was frustrated by the obstacles that still remained in his way. He gave up his post in 1988 to Andrei Smirnov, saying that he wanted to make films again. Plans for an adaptation of The Master and Margarita and a film about Joseph Stalin never materialized, however, and eventually Klimov lost interest in making films, saying that there was no topic left to film. He died on October 26, 2003.
