The exciting investigation conducted by David Markovich Gotsman, the head of the anti-bandit department, Odessa humor and inimitable talk made the film “Liquidation” one of the most discussed and quoted. The creators took real events as the basis of the plot, and the real person was the prototype of the protagonist. The picture tells about the struggle of the Odessa police with organized crime in the postwar period.
A brief history of making the film
The special interest of the people in the picture was caused by the fact that it was based on quite real events in Odessa after the war. In 1946, the city really experienced the peak of crime, and law enforcement struggled with it as best they could. True, the film is also saturated with a lot of unverified or intentionally invented information, which made it more exciting, but less close to reality. Gotsman David Markovich is also a fictional character, although he also has a real prototype.
The idea to create a film of such content dawned on Oleg Kompasov, creative director of Santa Claus studio, in 2004. Then, shooting his next series in Odessa, he drew attention to the fact how little the city has changed since the postwar years. It was then that the idea came to him to remove something about the difficult time that came after the end of the war.
Upon returning to Moscow, he began reading “Gangster Odessa”, which describes how Marshal Zhukov fought against banditry in South Palmyra. It was Zhukov’s arrival in Odessa and the execution on his order of an operation to eliminate crime in the city that they decided to beat in the film.
David Gotzman: Character Description
In the film “Liquidation,” David Markovich Gotzman appears before us as a fearless crime fighter. Over the course of all 14 episodes, he confidently and purposefully waged a battle with gangster groups in Odessa in general and tried to solve a particularly large case, gradually coming to the conclusion that the head of the criminal operation was working in the city’s law enforcement agencies.
According to the plot of the film, it becomes known that in the past Gotzman was a front-line reconnaissance and combat officer. Having been seriously wounded in the battle, David Gotzman spends about a year in the hospital. His biography is silent about how this valiant fighter for justice spent his years before the start of the war. Although in the future, something to the viewer becomes known from the revelations of Dava Markovich to Nonna. But, as they say, it was, it was, but for now ... The elimination of all Odessa criminals is the only dream that David Markovich Gotzman has in Liquidation. The nickname Akademik, belonging to the large authority of the criminal world, unknown to UGRO employees, causes Gotzman to worry until he finds out who is behind her.
Prototype of David Markovich Gotzman
The creators of the film, apparently, did not want to simply invent a plot and heroes - they wanted to create something more real that could really affect the viewer. Odessa was perfect for this: firstly, thanks to a really big rampant crime, and secondly, the appearance of the city has not changed much since then. To sketch the image of the protagonist, a suitable Odessa police officer of the 40s was carefully searched for.
And such a man was found. Information about him was found in the Odessa Museum of Police (we are talking about a personal diary). The deputy head of the Odessa UGRO, David Mendeleevich Kurlyand (who later replaced his middle name with Mikhailovich), born in 1913, a decent person who loves his city and his work - these, according to the authors of the picture, are the best prototype of Gotsman David Markovich. He began his work in the police in 1934, confidently moving up the career ladder. For active participation in the defense of the USSR, Courland received the Order of the Red Star.
Other prototypes
After careful research, some local historians came to the conclusion that David Markovich is a character who has several prototypes. According to those who served in the NKVD at that time, David Markovich Gotzman embodied the traits inherent in Artyom Kuzmenko, Viktor Pavlov, an operative by the name of Frank, Yankel Fling.
All these people at different times fought crime in Odessa. They are all remembered as courageous and knowing how to behave with criminal persons, police officers. And all of them, according to some biographers, helped the director and screenwriter supplement the collecting image of Gotzman, the main prototype of which is still considered Courland.
Great game Mashkova
Chic David Markovich Gotzman ... Who knows, he would have been so gorgeous, if not for the wonderful game of the actor. According to many, this image is one of the best roles of Vladimir Mashkov. However, it cannot be said that it was given to him so simply - I had to sweat pretty. About a year Vladimir Lvovich lived in Odessa to plausibly embody the image of the native Odessa. He tried to find out everything possible about the Odessa police and crime in the city. And even established contacts with local authorities of the retirement age. And for a detailed acquaintance with the prototype of his hero, Mashkov studied all the materials available about him.
By the way, Vladimir Mashkov was familiar with organized crime firsthand. He calls his childhood gangster, and his youth a criminal one. But if Vladimir studied with gangster jargon from immigrants from the criminal world, then to master the unique Odessa dialect, which became the main highlight of the picture, Mashkov, as well as other actors, had to deal with a linguist. As for the external characteristics, the interesting fact is that Kurland David Mikhailovich has similar features with Mashkov. The gotsman David Markovich (the photo that came to us, confirms this) performed by Vladimir Lvovich, thus, turned out just like a real Courland.
Relatives of the latter expressed their opinion on how successfully Mashkov managed to embody the converted image of David Mikhailovich. The grandson said that Gotzman turned out to be strikingly similar to his grandfather. But the assessment of the son was the opposite: according to him, the image of the father was greatly distorted. Although, most likely, the creators of the picture did not seek to create a complete copy of Courland.
Mashkov awards for the role of Gotzman
The role of an employee of the Odessa post-war UGRO brought Vladimir Mashkov not only pleasure and material reward, but also popular and official recognition. For the best male role, he received the national film award of Russia. The Golden Duke was awarded to him for his contribution to the cultural life of Odessa. No less than the actor must have been pleased with the award of the title of honorary citizen of Odessa, who was also awarded Mikhail Zhvanetsky.
By the way, in 2010, Mashkov became a people's artist of the Russian Federation, in his piggy bank about twenty prizes. Vladimir often acts not only as an actor, but also as a director. His acting career began in 1984, and the peak of popularity came in 1994-1995. For his participation in the movie The Thief, he was even nominated for an Oscar.
Oh, Odessa!
The inimitable talk and the witty, somewhat unusual expressions for a Russian person with which David Markovich Gotzman shines (quotes from the film immediately went to the people), undoubtedly, made the picture vivid and memorable. But, despite the fact that during the year Mashkov studied the local dialect with the native speakers themselves, and even worked diligently with the linguist, some critics claim that the speech of the protagonist, like everyone who surrounds him according to the script, is transmitted by False Odessa accent.
So, they pay attention to the incorrect intonation of the actors, claiming that a completely new dialect was created on the set. In addition, Odessa "sho" actors constantly transmit as "sho". Critics have noticed many other linguistic mismatches. Despite the fact that David Gotzman’s speech certainly differs from the dialect spoken by Courland, the viewer incredibly liked it and gave the picture an unforgettable flavor.
Brilliant phrases
The number of Odessa humor and taunts in the film, according to experts, is just going through the roof - the indigenous people of the city do not say that. Apparently, the scriptwriters decided that not a single expression or joke obtained during their stay in Odessa should be wasted. The audience immediately remembered “oil painting”, “cases for tonsils”, “for tomorrow - we'll talk tomorrow” and “don’t comb my nerves”. True, many critics agree that not all expressions were popular with the inhabitants of Odessa at that time , and some did not exist at all.
For example, Gotzman’s phrase “gepnu in the face” is devoid of rational meaning, since “gapnu” means to fall. And the expression of Fima "throwing his head at the dung" Odessa residents began to use much later than the 40s. Instead of the Odessa word “hell” sounds “heat”, instead of “bosyavka” - “bosota”, instead of “shirmach” - “pinch”. And the expression "I’ll take the take-off run from Duke" should be changed to "Now I’ll take the acceleration from the bridge to the slaughter." In a word, the film “Liquidation” is not quite suitable for judging by the speeches of his characters about the colloquial speech of Odessa citizens. However, the pleasure of watching it from this is no less.
Monument to David Gotzman
In 2008, the unveiling of a monument to Gotzman was timed to coincide with the Police Day . Impressed by the “Liquidation” order to install the monument gave Yuri Lutsenko. The monument was erected on Evreyskaya street near the administrative building belonging to the Odessa regional police.
In the process of creating the monumental building, one unexpected and rather important question was born: what should it look like? It was discussed whether it is necessary to give the figure the facial features of Vladimir Mashkov or whether it is better to recreate Kurland's face from the surviving photographs.
As a result, the work of the sculptor does not have the features of any particular person. According to many, the monument looks quite interesting: a policeman goes down the steps protruding from the wall, holding food on his open palm, on which four pigeons flocked. Others are perplexed: where are the characteristic features by which you can recognize Davout Markovich? If you don’t know who the monument is dedicated to, the sculpture, which is beloved by many spectators, is not reminiscent of the head of Odessa UGRO.
In conclusion
David Markovich Gotzman became a collective image, the prototype or prototypes of which were valiant police officers. Although not everything in this picture is believable, there is no doubt one thing - in the history of Odessa there were such courageous and conscious guardians of the law. It is hoped that the monument erected on Evreyskaya Street will always remind modern law enforcement officials of Odessa that peace in the city is largely dependent on them.