(MENAFN- Arab Times) MOSCOW Jan 17 (Agencies): Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev's sombre social drama 'Leviathan' may have been nominated for an Oscar but at home the film has sparked heated debate with the arts minister claiming it blackens Russia's image. The film will not even be released in Russia until next month but that hasn't proved an impediment to criticism reminding observers of the Soviet joke about the hate campaign against Boris Pasternak's novel 'Doctor Zhivago': 'I haven't read it but I condemn it.'
'Those who have seen the film and those who haven't seen it are heatedly arguing about it today' wrote Gazeta.ru news website. 'Probably because those who are arguing don't really have opposing views on cinema they have opposing views on the country.' The film which scooped a Golden Globe on Sunday and best screenplay award at Cannes is a bleak portrayal of one man's struggle against the stifling omnipotence of the Russian state. It depicts a car mechanic in a small northern city who struggles against a corrupt mayor's plans to take away his property. Culture minister Vladimir Medinsky a divisive and outspoken figure gave an interview on the day of the Oscar nominations to Izvestia daily in which he personally attacked the director and his vision. The movie has a mood of 'existential hopelessness' and 'there is not a single positive hero' he said. At the same time the characters however much vodka they knock back on screen are not 'real Russians' he claimed. The minister accused the director of cynically exploiting anti-Russian tropes to win festival plaudits. 'What does he love Golden statuettes and red carpets that's pretty clear' Medinsky said sneeringly adding the film 'in its rush for international success is opportunistic beyond belief.' The minister denigrated the film despite the fact that it was partly funded by the state. Due to legislation brought in by Medinsky 'Leviathan' which was already released in France and Britain late last year can only be shown in Russia with swear words beeped out even to adult audiences. It will be released on Feb 5. Acclaimed abroad Zvyagintsev has struggled with accusations of lack of patriotism since his astonishing 2003 debut 'The Return' which swept the board at the Venice Film Festival. His success in the West is held against him by some. In an editorial state news agency TASS wrote the film featured 'typical cliches that are successfully 'sold' by our directors in the West.' It said the film confirmed Westerners' worst fears about Russia so they could say to themselves: 'Look how bad everything is there they admit it themselves.'' A senior Orthodox Church spokesman backed Medinsky's accusations. 'It's obvious that it's made to cater to a Western audience or rather to the Western elite since it consciously repeats popular myths about Russia' spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin told Izvestia daily while admitting he had not seen the film. Activists Some Orthodox fundamentalist activists even called for a ban on the film which depicts clerics as involved in corruption. ''Leviathan' is evil and there is no place for evil on cinema release' Kirill Frolov the head of a group called the 'Association of Orthodox experts' told Izvestia. A pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov tweeted that the film is an 'anti-Putin cinema manifesto'. But many critics and arts figures praised the film saying the accusations against it simply did not stand up. The film a no-holds-barred look at how a corrupt local mayor crushes all who oppose him to arrive at his goals at all cost has even prompted a Russian Orthodox activist to call for it not be screened in Russia. Portrait A portrait of Putin that is often seen looking down on the mayor creates what many see as a link with the Kremlin and the Russian leader's governing style. Putin critics say the story mirrors life in Russia in the 15 years since the former KGB spy first rose to power with corrupt state officials enriching themselves and enjoying impunity. Russia's Culture Ministry co-financed the film but now says it blackens Russia's image just to win international acclaim. 'Films focused not only on criticism of current authorities but openly spitting on them ... filled with a sense of despair and hopelessness over our existence should not be financed with taxpayers' money' Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said in a newspaper interview this week when asked whether the ministry would support similar films in the future. The authors say their film was partly inspired by a story from the United States. Many in the director's home country however see it as aimed directly at Putin's Russia though Zvyagintsev himself has sought to steer away from such links. 'It did not matter in what setting the events of this drama unfolded. The story of conflict between the individual and the authorities is universal' Zvyagintsev's website says. Medinsky began complaining about the film last year when 'Leviathan' received favourable reviews at the Cannes film festival one of cinema's most prestigious events. He said he did not like the film's excessive profanity. In an interview published on Thursday he complained to Izvestia newspaper which is sympathetic to the Kremlin that 'Leviathan' had no positive characters. He said the story was not specific to Russia and could have been played out anywhere. Too white and too male. That is the charge facing the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after it unveiled its nominations this week for the 2015 Oscars race. The phrase #OscarsSoWhite soared up the Twitter trending topics within minutes of Thursday's nominations for the Oscars the climax of Hollywood's annual awards season. Not a single non-white actor or actress was shortlisted in any of the four main acting categories although the Martin Luther King Jr movie 'Selma' did make it into the best picture race. The drama starring Oprah Winfrey and Britain's David Oyelowo as the Nobel Peace Prize-winning black civil rights leader has been judged best film of the year by the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator website. The movie released just as huge protest rallies were held across the United States over the shooting of unarmed black teenagers by white police officers had an exceptional 99 percent positive rating on the website. That is better even than the 98 percent for coming-of-age drama 'Boyhood' which topped wins at the Golden Globes last weekend and earned six Oscar nominations. 'To nominate it only for best movie and best song that is disgraceful' said Tom O'Neil founder of the Goldderby.com website which keeps close tabs on all the main movie industry prizes. It is only the second time since 1998 that not a single African-American actor was nominated. 'It's due to the lack of diversity of (Oscar) voters themselves 93 percent of whom are white 77 percent male and with an average age of 63. This is not representative of the real world' O'Neil told AFP. Sasha Stone of Awardsdaily.com said the Academy was way behind the rest of the industry. 'It's very frustrating to work in a business that seems so stuck in the past' she said. Among those left out were acclaimed screenwriters and authors Gillian Flynn and Cheryl Strayed whose book was adapted into the film 'Wild' starring Reese Witherspoon both seen as favorites before Thursday. 'It is a shame to see the Academy pass up the opportunity to honor the first black woman director' Stone said referring to 'Selma' director Ava DuVernay. 'They also passed up the chance to honor the female writer for 'Gone Girl'' she added referring to Flynn. ''Selma' was an excellent movie that acted and directed itself beautifully' joked actor Joshua Malina. Tom Nunan of the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television noted that last year the Academy gave its best picture prize to '12 Years a Slave' along with best supporting actress for Lupita Nyong'o who is black and best screenplay. Stone added: 'There is the sense that they paid their dues last year when '12 Years a Slave' won this. They now feel ok about choosing the subject matter that suits them usually period pieces featuring white British men.' Some have nonetheless defended the Academy stressing that it elected an African American Cheryl Boone Isaacs to head its Board of Governors and that actors like Forest Whitaker Jennifer Hudson Octavia Spencer and Mo'Nique all black have won Oscars in recent years. 'I have not seen the evidence of closed doors based on people's color' said Nunan noting that 'Friends' star Jennifer Aniston failed to score a nomination for her 'role of a lifetime' in 'Cake' while animated favorite 'The Lego Movie' was also left out. 'I certainly do not believe there is any kind of racism in approaching who gets attention and who doesn't at the Academy' he added. But he said: 'There should be more work done to involve more diversity.' African-American lobbyist and leader Al Sharpton meanwhile commented: 'The movie industry is like the Rocky Mountains: the higher you get the whiter it gets.' Responding for the first time to the firestorm that erupted over the lack of diversity in this year's Oscar nominations film academy president Isaacs says the all-white acting slate inspires her to accelerate the academy's push for more diversity. The first black president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spoke out Friday night in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press about the Oscar nominations and the widespread criticism that followed. All 20 of this year's acting contenders are white and there are no women in the directing or writing categories. After the nominations were announced Thursday morning the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite started trending on Twitter. Boone Isaacs said the academy is 'committed to seeking out diversity of voice and opinion' and that outreach to women and artists of color is a major focus. Diverse 'In the last two years we've made greater strides than we ever have in the past toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization through admitting new members and more inclusive classes of members' Boone Isaacs said. 'And personally I would love to see and look forward to see a greater cultural diversity among all our nominees in all of our categories.' She declined to address whether she and the academy were embarrassed by the slate of white contenders instead insisting that she's proud of the nominees all of whom deserved recognition. She explained that all voting is individual and confidential. Each branch comes up with its own criteria for excellence she said and each nominates its colleagues. For instance only directors can suggest best director nominees and only actors can nominate actors. But the entire academy membership can submit suggestions for best picture. 'There is not one central body or group of people that sit around the table and come up with nominations' she said. 'It really is a peer-to-peer process.' Formula Last year's decade-high ratings for Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars hosting gig could be a very hard act to follow. After mixed attempts to court younger viewers with the likes of Seth MacFarlane Jon Stewart Chris Rock and the disastrous pairing of James Franco and Anne Hathaway it turned out the most winning formula for the Oscars wasn't mimicking MTV but offering family-friendly gags. And Ellen got a boost from a movie slate that included a smattering of blockbusters: 'Gravity' 'The Wolf of Wall Street' 'American Hustle' and 'Captain Phillips' all of which went on to gross more than $100 million not to mention Idina Menzel crooning the movie anthem of the century 'Let It Go' from Disney's 'Frozen.' Producers for this year's ceremony have tapped Hollywood's recidivist awards show host Neil Patrick Harris for his first whack at the Oscars. This in theory could make for entertaining TV like Hugh Jackman and Billy Crystal Harris can sing and dance and improvise with the audience. If the stars look like they're having fun so do viewers which is why Ellen's selfie and pizza-delivery skits were such hits. But Harris might already be scrounging around for material because the Academy has managed to nominate one of its least-commercial best picture slates ever: six indie films ('Boyhood' 'Birdman' 'The Imitation Game' 'The Theory of Everything' 'Whiplash' and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel') and two studio features ('Selma' and 'American Sniper') that have yet to open in wide release. So far the highest-grossing movie of the best-picture nominees is 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' at a modest $59 million domestically. These titles don't exactly come with immediate name recognition and make up the lowest box office since 2009 when the Oscars expanded the category in an effort to include more popular films. In 2011 the nine best picture nominees boasted a combined gross of $519 million on the day of nominations and that was considered weak. This year that total is at $203.1 million according to Box Office Mojo or put another way the eight best picture nominees have a combined audience that's smaller than 'The Lego Movie.' Couldn't the expanded best picture category have made room for David Fincher's 'Gone Girl' which only landed a lone nomination for Rosamund Pike a well-crafted crowd-pleaser that grossed $167 million Or Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' perhaps his best film yet which prompted lots of sniffling at the New York premiere last year 'Unbroken' would have guaranteed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's attendance and it's a B+ in my book (solid if not great). 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (which got a WGA adapted screenplay nom) and 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' are nearly perfect works of mass entertainment. Even Disney's 'Into the Woods' which received a Golden Globe nomination could have helped popularize the mix of this year's best picture contenders. Actually the Academy should have nominated 'The Lego Movie' for best picture. At least it's a sure-bet for the consolation prize: best animated film. Oh wait. Another route to attracting viewers especially younger ones is through the best song category. There was a wealth of performers to choose from that would have made the Grammys jealous but voters thought differently. Who wouldn't tune in to see Lorde croon 'Yellow Flicker Beat' from 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' These other acts also won't be at the Oscars: Lana Del Rey (on the soundtrack for 'Big Eyes') Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar ('The Amazing Spider-Man 2') Sia ('Annie') Coldplay ('Miracles') and the Muppets who would have been singing a duet with Celine Dion (not exactly hip but it would have been oddly compelling nonetheless). Adam Levine will perform 'Lost Stars' from 'Begin Again' but as much as I love the song it's not one that people have heard on the radio. And one mainstream pop artist can't carry an entire awards show.
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