goocharov

[goocharov]

Goncharov: Coda is out now! | Play

Goncharov has everything...except an existence.

An homage and reincarnation of the greatest mafia movie never made, Goncharov: Coda is now playing on internet-enabled devices near you!

Goncharov (1973) stole your heart the very first time you saw it — and now you're living the dream, playing one of your favorite characters in the 2022 remake of the film. With such a weighty legacy hanging over you, every improvised moment punches like Icepick Joe in the beer bottle scene of the original.

“Make meaningful choices,” the director told you. And by God, you will. The future of cinema depends on it.

Featuring music by @caramiaaddio and @nicewizard!

Created for my favourite film ever @cyberpunklesbian's Goncharov Game Jam.

Play on itch.io | BTS/Inspiration Playlist | Tag (tumblr)

[goocharov]

your blog title + description is literally SO valid!! you're so right, they COULD have made it work!!!!

THANK YOU, FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT!!

the whole point of goncharov is how narrowly tragedy could have been prevented, it's not about "it was inevitable" but rather "it was completely evitable, had any of them chosen differently at any point." goncharov and katya's relationship was NEVER doomed from the start and if you think that then you just dont get it, like... their trust and faith in each other is a thing that can only be broken because it existed at some point! you can't break something that was never real, and it was real! for a while it was real!

i don't think goncharov and katya could ever work it out romantically (i do see both of them as bisexual, just mutually disinterested in each other: compulsory heterosexuality is a behavior enforced on all human beings) but that doesn't, like, preclude their marriage working out. marriage is looking at someone and deciding you trust them enough to make them family, the most real family you have in the world. at some point they believed that, and i think, had they the opportunity, they could believe it again.

[goocharov]

the clock scene is overhyped as hell and film bros ignore the importance of the apple scene bc they're afraid of the homoerotic undertones and i WILL die on this hill!

[goocharov]

Mo and Lois discuss Katya and Sofia’s relationship after catching a rescreening of Goncharov at the local indie theater - Dykes to Watch Out For, May 22, 1991

[goocharov]

Since the recent talks surrounding a remake have been going around, I thought it might be fun to do a fan cast, so here is my Modern™ fan cast for Goncharov (2024):

Goncharov: Michael Fassabender

Im not saying he could ever replace Robert De Niro, because truly Goncharov is one of his best roles and he played it so extremely well, but visually Fassabender feels right - plus we've seen him play tortured and lovelorn and morally ambiguous so i think he'd be a good recast.

Andrey Daddano - Oscar Isaac

I dont know, it just feels right- and again, while Harvey Keitel did amazing... just imagine this man in an eyepatch

Katya Michailova - Amy Adams

Who better to play such a complex feminine character than multi-award winner Amy Adams, I feel like she could really provide an incredible take on the character of Katya.

Mario Ambrosini - Keanu Reeves

No one could ever out do Pacino in this role, no one at all but someone I think could at least try is Keanu.

Sophia - Rachel Weisz

now she might be leaning a bit old for the role but i just feel she would give this character its due and she would do it well.

And finally everybody's favorite...

"Ice Pick" Joe - Brett Gelman

I don't know why, but I feel like Gelman could really match the energy we received from John Cazale's performance.

[goocharov]

Listen, you cannot write a full screenplay for Goncharov because the whole conceit of this is that this movie is the GREATEST MAFIA MOVIE EVER and as such it cannot actually exist in any concrete form because perfection can only survive in a thought. It is about the collaboration of being inspired by your fellow fans. It's the ability to not be right or wrong because there is no one true source! It's not about filling in the gaps its revelling in them! Living in them! Creating more of them! Goncharov is a dream you cannot nail it down

[goocharov]

Oh yeah, since I forgot it earlier: here is a link to my take on a Goncharov soundtrack album on Spotify. Essentially I took @caramiaaddio's fantastic main theme (which is on Spotify) and searched for music that is similar enough to it to give a coherent end result.

So it's largely Russian piano music, with a bit of Erik Satie thrown in, with Japan's wonderfully Goncharovian "Nightporter"wrapping it up as the only vocal track. (Okay, there's one Gary Numan instrumental after that since he was a lot into gangsters at one point so he would have liked Goncharov had it existed).

[goocharov]

[goocharov]

Polish movie poster for Goncharov by Waldemar Świerzy. Due to delayed release behind the Iron Curtain, the film started screening year later in 1974, which is also the year this poster was made. A classic example of Polish School od Posters.

[goocharov]

Goncharov (1973) didn't have to include all those visual references to Leyendecker paintings but it DID and I love it for that. So I painted this study of Goncharov and Andrey <3

[goocharov]

Realized after posting this one that I haven’t seen any Heart Locket gifs yet either smh what is this fandom even DOING

I wanna make one for Sofia too but haven’t had much luck finding good quality screencaps of her so if you’ve got any please feel free to share them!

[goocharov]

with the swarm of goncharov posting proclaiming the profoundly subtextual relationships of the main four, ive found the results of a lot of new viewers watching the movie for the first time interesting, seeing as there is some disappointment that it is not as outright as older viewers have described, and the posts ive seen on the topic believe they were misled with users reading too far into feelings which are not present there (which, id argue against). though, ive realized that its a product of misunderstanding both from the viewpoint of another culture, and another time; or even just a clear lack of context of an awfully america-centeric perspective on a movie which is interwoven with two entirely contrasting cultures.

i think the biggest point on which people get hung up on is the so called "pet names" between goncharov and andrey; with the two constantly referring to each other as "my dear" throughout the entire movie. which is really interesting, since to any foreign viewers this is considered an undeniably romantic gesture, but to someone who belongs to the same cultural background as them (me having double the slavic heritage), it is perceived in a completely different way.

in russia (or any russian-speaking countries), its typical for men to use [мой] дорогой as a greeting, or when referring to each other in general, and it is most often used with male friends whom you are close with. the direct translation is "my rich (adj.)" or, in words that can be used towards a person "my treasured," but personally i find that most accurate way to translate this—by making it sound more natural within the english language without losing its sentiment—is by using "my dear." the thing is is that english speakers find this phrase inherently romantic, something only used between lovers, which explains the conflicting opinions on the true relationship between the two—both of whom have slavic backgrounds, and as such would likely perceive their choice of words differently.

if the original movie was actually written in russian (though understandably not as italy and the italian culture is just as integral to the story), them calling each other that equivalent of "my dear" wouldn't have batted anyone's eye—any more than it does when my 60-something soviet dad calls his equally aged, equally soviet friends and business partners the same thing.

this isnt to dampen anyones fun, however, if anything i think it adds a lot of layers to goncharovs and andrey's relationship—just in ways that may not be obvious to the common viewer. whats peculiar to me, is that most translations of originally russian movies will try to avoid romantic connotations by simply latinizing it as dorogoi, or alternatively using english variants that sound more casual. goncharov is not originally russian, which makes it more likely that matteo's choice of words for the characters was done tactfully and tastefully, and bids reference to how stark that cultural contrast is when it comes to relationships between men in general. and, if anything, i think the way andrey and goncharov would perceive their choice of words as stated earlier, is almost what makes their use of it playful

it may have changed over time and be different nowadays, but ive found that this is very evident when you see period films set in slavic settings; men will hold a much stronger solidarity with each other, and arent so afraid to show emotion and build deeper bonds within their friendship. it took some time for the concept of toxic masculinity (in the most literal sense) to reach this side of the world, and for a while such affection wasn't nearly as taboo as it is now. and what i feel matteo was trying to paint with those little details in their dialogue, is something that mixes this unapologetically sincere bond between goncharov and andrey, together with how it would be perceived by foreign parties, in a way that complements both.

but even in this context, the names do not erase any previous sentiments which the two have held. instead they evoke a sense of passion and intimacy which neither of them seldom hold with anyone else, at least not in the same way—whether it is romantic or not, is up to the viewer, but what they have in an undeniable infatuation.

one scene where the names are used within a context which accents those undertones, is right before andrey pulls out the gun—and more specifically, when goncharov takes his glove. this really was one of the details which made me admire the amount of themes which quietly interlaced the smallest parts of the movie. andrey extends his hand to goncharov for him to take his glove off in his stead, a subtle and rather unremarkable act, and goncharov complies. a gauntlet thrown, and picked up by the rival; a traditional challenge to a duel. yet here, in the form of a mutual understanding. andrey does not throw the glove to goncharov, he offers it to him—and with it offers the choice to accept his unspoken words. goncharov takes the glove, slipping it off of andrey's hand with a purposeful slowness, and not a moment is spent where their eyes stray away from each other. goncharov knows, he had long since known, and andrey knows as well. the gun which andrey points at him only moments later with the same hand goncharov just held clasped is just something expected. goncharovs lack of shock is not a sign of resignation, but rather an embrace. seconds speak volumes within an unorthodox, gentle metaphor; all packed in a single tender gesture.

i could go on about the intricacies of how cultural misunderstandings are an integral theme of the movie, seeing as its focused specifically on the relationship between two juxtaposed cultures; or how duels are illegal in europe and the reference to one is just one more implication among severeal about the danger of their passion—but thats an essay for another day. if anything, im very curious on how someone with an equally insightful gaze of the culture of italy would be able to interpret characters interactions

(and sorry if this is incomprehensible, i wrote it up after one delirious nap and had to get my thoughts down)

[goocharov]

I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Goncharov (1973) before!!!! I watched it last night and was blown away. Truly ahead of its time.

I got the background text from @beelzeebub ‘s poster :)

[goocharov]

guy who says grace before he does cocaine in a bathroom

[goocharov]

i lied. i don't like sex. put your clothes back on. i'm going to explain to you the whole plot of goncharov (1973) directed by martin scorsese

[goocharov]

time was never on our side

“i dream of you every night. but i no longer remember what your face looks like.”

have some katya & sofia (goncharov, 1973) angst, because how could i not

[goocharov]

i've seen a few posts now talking about the fruit stand scene in goncharov (1974), particularly the presence of the apples and the pomegranates. someone (idk who made the first post) said that they represent fruit that in myth women have not been able to have. early on there's a scene where katya is missing the italian word for pomegranate and calls it an apple, and sofia corrects her. so I can see the interpretation that the apples represent katya and the pomegranates represent sofia, which i don't totally disagree with

but i also think it goes further than that! apples, for instance, represent the original sin - eve in the garden, temptation, disobedience - but they also represent freedom and knowledge. pomegranates, on the other hand, are the fruit of the underworld, representing death and entrapment. in the fruit scene, andrey and goncharov are having what seems like a casual (if not exactly... platonic) discussion, but when you look at what happens afterwards it's clear that this is a pivotal moment for the characters in the film. andrey is essentially offering goncharov an ultimatum, telling him that he has to make a choice. he offers him the apple, which represents danger, sin, and free will while passing over the pomegranates representing death and stagnation. goncharov contemplates the apple while they discuss, but ends up putting it back - a movement that feels incidental in the framing but clearly has a lot of symbolic meaning. we don't see him buy the pomegranates, but a little later when he and Katya are having the breakfast scene and things feel SO tense between them, there's a cut open pomegranate on the table. both of them have eaten the fruit of the underworld and from that point on their fates are sealed