“I have an idea to create a Russian triptych, three films. The first one will be called The Easy Ride Engineer, which will be my version of Dostoyevsky. Then Gogol, about the dispute between Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich. The third is “Cossacks” by Leo Tolstoy. If you support me, said E. Kusturica.
He also confirmed that he is working on a film about a herbalist who takes monastic vows, based on Yevgeny Vodolazkin’s novel The Lavra, set in medieval Russia.
E. Kusturica said that if he manages to make all these films with Putin’s help, he will complete his career. Before that, the director thanked the Russian dictator for the “personal historical justice” that “the Slavs have always had.”
“What is happening now in Ukraine is our struggle. Those of us who saw what happened to these Banderovci in Croatia when they deported 230,000 Serbs… I think this analogy is very important for everyone,” said E. Kusturica.
Later, V. Putin said that the director’s assessment of Ukraine coincides with his vision of the situation, and made it clear that he would help E. Kusturica.
“It is too early to talk about the end of your career… You have done a lot so far and I think you will do no less,” the president assured.
In the past, the Serbian director publicly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In his view, this was a necessary measure in response to “Western aggression” aimed at “wiping the Russians off the map.”
“This is the war of the Russian-speaking population of Donbass, Luhansk and Crimea, who did not want to stay with Ukraine, which is hostile to them. And in February of this year, Russia practically wanted to end the tragedy that Kyiv has been continuing for eight years, since 2014 to be precise. And it was not Ukraine’s decision, but America’s. “Kyiv only obeyed, bringing most of its armed forces to Donbas,” said E. Kusturica.
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