I Loved You...
(Three Romances)
Ya Vas lyubil...(Tri romansa)102 min, Digibeta, b/w and colour
Directed, photographed and edited by Victor Kossakovsky
This trilogy was shot on three different formats which are given below. The first and third parts have been shown and awarded as separate films. "Pavel and Lyalya" is available as a 35mm print and "Kindergarten" on Digibeta.
First Part: Pavel and Lyalya (Jerusalem Romance)
(Pavel i Lyalya - Ierusalimsky romans)
30 min, 35mm, b/w
Second Part: Sergey and Natasha (Provincial Romance)
(Sergey i Natasha -Provintsialny romans)
20 min, Super 16, colour
Third Part: Kindergarten. Sasha and Katya (First Romance)
(Detsky sad. Sasha i Katya - Pervy romans)
52 min, DV, colour
With Lyrics by Alexander Pushkin and Music by Aleksandr Dragomyzhsky
Synopsis
(from the catalogue of the 30th International Film Festival
Rotterdam)
Love is not unequivocal, it is experienced by everyone in different ways ateach moment in life. But it is always intense, it brings beauty, joy andsorrow. Few are able to portray that as strikingly as documentary-makerVictor Kossakovsky. He demonstrates that with his trilogy I LOVED YOU, aboutthe relationships between two old people, two newly-weds and two children.The thread linking the three independent love stories is formed by songssung by Ivan Kozlovsky to lyrics by Alexander Pushkin, about trust, love andbroken hearts. The first part, PAVEL AND LYALYA (JERUSALEM ROMANCE) is themoving story of Lyalya who tends her fatally ill husband Pavel in acheerfully matter-of-fact way and with endless patience. In SERGEY ANDNATASHA (PROVINCIAL ROMANCE), the wedding day of two lovers is filmed. Theyhave chosen each other despite their sceptical families. SASHA AND KATYA(FIRST ROMANCE) is a dramatic jewel about love, treachery andheart-rendering sorrow at the infant school.The images are of a simple and impressive beauty. Kossakovsky has a sharpeye for the non-verbal expressions of the deepest emotions. He looks with somuch love and commitment that there is never any question of voyeurism. Hisinvolvement is sometimes very explicit: twice the director bursts out cryingbehind his camera. However maybe he is not crying, but there are, as Katyasays, "just falling tears".
Press
"An excellent triptych by the outstanding Russian director Victor Kossakovsky, crassly given a late slot ... for its enchanting final section."
The Sunday Times / GB, 31. Dezember 2000
"...quality documentary that wanders into the feature film genre....arthouse masterpiece that scoops loads of awards at film festivals..."
Evening Standard / GB, 31. Dezember 2000
"Victor Kossakovsky’s picture of three different romances is simply stated and moving..."
Daily Telegraph / GB, 2. Januar 2000
"... the film ... embraces extremes of experience and, by focusing on the narrow and particular, expresses the universal. It is an extraordinary experience to see television so demanding, so beautiful and so rich."
The Times / GB, 30. Dezember 2000
Awards
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2001
First Prize for Foreign Film
Montreal International Festival of Cinema and New Media
Best Documentary