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How good it is that she is finally coming to Israel: "Katrina" is rude, wild and captivating - Walla! culture

2021-11-25T22:40:50.139Z


The black comedy about Russia's great empress treats historical accuracy as a recommendation, paints the Russian psyche with great precision, and manages to be vulgar and violent but also full of grace and charm.


How good it is that she is finally coming to Israel: "Katrina" is rude, wild and captivating

The black comedy about Russia's great empress refers to historical accuracy only as a recommendation.

This freedom actually helps her to paint with great precision the Russian psyche, the relationship between rich and poor and men and women, and to be vulgar and violent but also full of grace and charm - with heroes who never stop changing

Ilan Kaprov

26/11/2021

Friday, 26 November 2021, 00:08 Updated: 00:24

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Trailer for the series "Katrina" (The Great) (Hollow)

An old Russian joke tells of two workers standing together in a long line. One of them turns to his friend angrily, and says, "I'm tired, save me the place, I'm going to shoot Gorbachev." Two hours later he returns, and takes his place again. His friend asks if he has completed the craft. "No," the first one explains to him, "the line there was longer than the line here."



It is difficult to explain the essence of Russia to those who are not locals. One can talk about its enormous size (four times the territory of the whole of Europe), the many natural treasures in its territory, the rich culture and the countless thinkers, writers, poets and scientists who came out of it - but the meaning of the Russian psyche is the kind of thing only locals understand. A tough and abrasive country, with a history of detached and indifferent leaders to human life, is often cruel, life is hard and satisfaction is few, but equally evokes in its natives feelings of brotherhood, identity and patriotism almost inconceivable to outsiders.



These values ​​are too complex to be expressed in most popular works dealing with Russians or Russia, mainly because for decades, and under the auspices of the Cold War, it was easy to present the people of Russia as one piece: villains seeking to lock the world behind a cruel iron curtain.

And here, actually, "Katrina" (originally "The Great". A classic case of uninspired Hebrew translation that the series finally receives upon its arrival in Israel - its two seasons will take a bite on December 23), a black historical comedy that did not mean it at all - manages to capture the spirit Russian and be entertaining, witty and fun without being condescending to its protagonists.

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Her journey to the destination is the material from which the series prepares delicacies.

Al Fanning as the heroine of "Katrina" (Photo: Hollow)

The story of "Katrina" begins with a play written by Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara (Oscar nominee for "Favorite") for theater about the Russian Empress, and who is considered one of the most important controllers in its history, the great Katrina. After being modified and adapted to the 18th-century England story for "Favorite," McNamara returned to the original story and turned it into a series on the Hollow network. Catherine (Al Fanning, "Super 8"), a native of a German aristocratic family, travels to Russia to marry the emperor, Peter III (Nicholas Holt, "Angry Max"). She is naive and full of noble ideas, falls almost immediately in love with her new country and seeks to make it more modern and advanced. The encounter with reality in the palace courtyard and in the country itself, and no less with the unwillingness of Russia and its leaders to change - lead it to recalculate its moves.



From the very name of the series and the character, and without spoiling anything, it is clear that Catherine will one day become in control of herself. But her journey to the destination and her way from the moment she achieves it, are the ingredients from which Katrina makes delicacies. McNamara describes himself as not a big fan of historical dramas, in which everything is too polite and correct. This attitude is reflected in the opening subtitles that present "Katrina" as a "true story for episodes". Like "Fargo", in this case too any connection between the statement and reality is absolutely coincidental. The series deviates significantly from the historical documentation, but if it deviates - the most prominent motif in it is its vulgarity. The characters of "Katrina" are not only full of passion, violence and bluntness, they do not restrain themselves even for a moment to the patterns of the period. The result is a murderous rhythm of laugh-out-loud rudeness that one viewing will not be enough to absorb and appreciate all of them.



Although "Katrina", as mentioned, draws a completely different plot trajectory from the original, she manages to capture within her frenetic and kicking humor the essence of Russia.

It presents the inhabitants of the palace as completely dull to the suffering and hardships of their subjects.

One example of many, is a scene where Catherine goes out to a military camp, pompous and equipped with a basket of macaroons, only to find that some of the soldiers at the front do not even have enough limbs to hold the prestigious snack.

The characters of "Katrina" stab, shoot and kill with a wave of the hand, dismissing and uplifting people as they wish and without batting an eyelid.

And although all of this sounds like a recipe for a cold and detached work, it is precisely this contradiction between the Russian spirit and the Russian heart that allows us to fall in love with its protagonists.

Even those that seem downright unbearable at first.

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Best of all emphasizes its dimensions.

Nicholas Holt as Peter, "Katrina" (Photo: Hollow)

Catherine is the easy part of this equation. Fanning is full of charm and grace, and inspires in her character a winning combination of arrogance and empathy, ambition and compassion, which clash with the ignorance and cruelty she encounters throughout the kingdom. But the one who best emphasizes her virtues - for better and for worse - is Peter. At first glance, he looks like a villain born with a golden spoon in his mouth and a whole circle of liqueurs and vested interests who reinforce his evil ways - but as the series progresses, so does the inner child within Peter, for his tragic and funny parts. Holt is responsible for most of the entertaining moments in the series, and the lightness with which he conducts himself on the way to them is captivating and entertaining. Mostly, when it comes to reading "Cheers" (Huzzah), which will become the most addictive thing you've come across in the series in years. The choice of the British expression over the Russian one (Urah) makes it easier for him to roll on the tongue, and actually become a barometer of the situation in which it is said. Yes, you'd be surprised, "cheers" doesn't have to be a joyous cry. At least in the universe of this series.



This very successful duo is surrounded by a gallery of figures representing the different faces of Russia: the drunken and despised general Valmentov (Douglas Hodge, "Joker"), the cunning and slick Archie (Archie Bigley, "The Crown"), his good and tormented friend Of Peter, Gregor, who is forced to watch and hear him sleep with his wife Georgina in every way imaginable - and in some ways not; Peter's aunt, Elizabeth (Belinda Bromillo, "Doctor Who"), who is a center of intrigue and direction in the yard and more. They all enrich the story with little tales, which paint in intriguing colors and with a great deal of laughter the protagonists and the whole country. In the second season, Gillian Anderson also joins the cast, in a role that simply steals the show. This is how McNamara navigates brutally and wittily between his protagonists and their stories.



The central idea that accompanies "Katrina" is the gap between the aspiration for change and the chance that it will actually happen.

While there is of course a saying here about how Russia has become addicted to its own narrative, this game about the ability to change and break patterns allows the series and its protagonists to grow.

The change of course does not always take place in the desired way, and sometimes quite the opposite of the intention - but the way each of the characters reacts to the consequences, allows the series to repeatedly tell what seems obvious to us.

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Did not exhaust the stick.

"Katrina" (Photo: Hollow)

The comedy that presents hour-long episodes has not yet been born, and manages to avoid dead moments and less successful stories, and there are such in "Katrina" as well. But as it progresses, so do the charges and plots woven during it, and converge into suspenseful and surprising stories, allowing the characters in it to transcend expectations of them. The lack of commitment to the historical aspect, allows even those who know the original story to assimilate into the adventure. And most of all, she corresponds wisely and without pathos with modern human challenges and weaknesses, like an intelligent and ambitious woman trying to navigate her way in a world that is in absolute masculine dominance.



I admit that I personally feared at the end of the first, and very successful, season that "Katrina" had largely exhausted her stick. But without expanding too much, the second season proves that the series not only retains its advantages and strengths and promotes each of the characters well, but that its charm and charm are stronger than a passing gimmick. And for that, from Russia to Israel,She deserves a glass of vodka and a determined call: "Cheers."

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Source: walla

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