What are the critics?

[gans]

Alexander Sokurov about the critics.

V. Pozner: You know, I wonder, given what you said, your attitude to criticism. But I will go before this issue a couple of quotations. There was a great French poet Paul Eluard, who said: "Artist - eye, a critic - it points". But it's pretty cute, he said, but another, equally great poet, but English - his name was Samuel Coleridge - put it this way: "The critics - usually people who would have been poets, historians, biographers, and so forth, if would be able to: they are trying to use their abilities to one or the other, but to no avail, so they become critics ". Generally, major artists are usually like this, not very high opinion of critics. Here's your attitude to criticism?

Alexander Sokurov: is very important to me. It is very important to me because I have because no intersections with the critical interests of the people who are engaged in criticism, no: they do their job, I have been doing their work. This is another artistic creativity. And the critic is able to show me the way sometimes. If a person is well educated, for me it is very important. If this is a sensitive man who feels if a person who tries to understand the product, which he says, but does not illustrate my thoughts, because I'm better than any critic I know that I did not succeed in the movie: My films are composed entirely of flaws .

V. Pozner: And there was a case when the critic has written to you? You may remember this?

Alexander Sokurov: I can say. This is Michael Yampolsky. Unfortunately, he lives in the United States. Well, true, and now his attitude to what I do, in general, strongly changed in the negative direction. But there was a time when this man had tremendous significance for me, this is a man of great education, a unique artistic intuition, just a brilliant man. When he left Moscow, from Russia, for me it was a great loss. Livia A. Zvonnikova - our teacher vgikovsky, which we have read Russian and Soviet literature in VGIK, absolutely brilliant man. And these people ... Actually, I believe is crucial meeting, a conversation with a man who smarter than me, educated me and that something can I open. I am looking for all along it. And I really like it. This is for me a miracle for some.

http://vladimirpozner.ru/?p=554