The nineties for the canonical directorRoman Polanski can not be called fruitful, at this time the director shoots only three films: "Bitter Moon" (1992), "The Virgin and Death" (1994), and in 1999 - a mystical thriller about the temptation of the philistine Lucifer, actors. "Ninth Gate" many critics called a boring and unequivocally academic film demonstrating how much the thinking and perception of a European differs from the consciousness of a US citizen.
Many leading film reviewers considered the project66-year-old director manifestation of senile senility, others, singing the mastery of the creator, saw in him the truth and worldly wisdom. In general, the European mystical thriller Polanski recognized the collection of all the axioms of quality cinema. "Ninth Gate", the actors of which have now gained worldwide fame and popularity, have not lost their artistic value to this day.
To the novel Polanski originally fell into the hands ofa script written by the playwright Enrique Urbizi on the work of Arturo Perez-Revert "Club Dumas". The script captured the director so much that he took up the original. According to Polanski, he immediately determined the highest degree of cinematography of the novel. The wise director has seen in the literary source the tension, the comic and the bright characters. The director even approximately imagined which of the characters will be embodied on the screen by the actors familiar to him. The "Ninth Gate" has its own cliches, which are also present in the novel, but Polanski tried to present them in a new light, writing his own version of the script in collaboration with his constant partner John Brownjon. The screenwriters decently reduced the plot, retaining only the main line, which directly concerned the "Ninth Gate".
Let's talk about the film "Ninth Gate", actors andwhose roles are magnificent. The narrative begins with the acquaintance of the viewer with the main character, specialist in rare editions of Dean Corso (actor Johnny Depp), who hardly makes ends meet. Second-hand book rarities are not so in demand. In a moment of despair, he receives a generous offer from the bibliophile millionaire Boris Balkan (performed by Frank Langella). He wants to hire Corso for a thorough check on the reliability of the recently purchased copy of the book of the XVII century "The Ninth Gate of the Kingdom of Shadows." The author of the work is Aristide Torchia, however, according to the legends, the real creator is the devil himself. The book has nine mysterious engravings, according to the legend, if you decipher them, you can call Satan. In total, there are three books in the world, and the millionaire suspects that there is only one of the three editions. He sends Dean to Europe to the owners of the other two copies for peer review and purchase of the original.
The actors of the film "The Ninth Gate", who performed the main roles, fully realized the director's idea, creating vivid, memorable images.
Johnny Depp, having met in 1997 ona film festival in Cannes with Polanski, literally took the director by the measure. Having learned in the project, he tried to convince the director that he could translate the image of Corso, despite the fact that he was only 34, and the hero was supposed to be over 40. Depp and more experienced actors invited to the project doubted. "Ninth Gate" nevertheless became for Johnny star movie, and the role of Corso is called one of the best in his film career. In the thriller, the character of Depp is incredibly charismatic, attractive even in style: the kind of coat that has been seen, the cigarette clamped casually in his teeth, ambitiousness, self-confidence and skepticism mixed with irony. Burton's favorite actor, public darling and sex symbol justified Polanski's hopes.
Actress and model Emmanuel Sénya got the roleBabylonian harlot and the need to embody the game element in the movie "Ninth Gate". Actors and the role of the film were chosen to each other in such a way as to realize the numerous hints of the creator. Although Polanski is a convinced agnostic, in the project he saw interesting opportunities for playing with the beholder. As a result, Lucifer in the thriller was almost always in front of the viewer's eyes, but was skillfully disguised as a floor and impressive beauty.
Actress Senie was brilliant beforeculminating moment to hide the true essence of his heroine. The granddaughter of the famous French actor Louis Sienier is the wife of Roman Polanski. Nevertheless, during the filming she had no special privileges, none of what the other actors were deprived of. "The Ninth Gate" did not become a significant milestone in her creative career. Szene received nominations for the Cesar film award for participating in the projects "Vendome Square", "Venus in Furs", "Life in Pink".
The premiere of the thriller took place inSan Sebastian at the film festival. According to the jury of the festival, Polanski's project, beginning as a mystical thriller, underwent mutations during the time-keeping and became a true metaphysical parable about the true nature of evil. The main irony of the picture was also highly appreciated - while all the characters were busy in an active search for Lucifer, he did not think of hiding from anyone. This director's reception was immediately appreciated by the actors involved in the shooting. The "Ninth Gate" was awarded the European Film Academy Prize in 1999.
