Владимир, или Прерванный полет

by Vladi M., Марина Влади

Une météorite, atterrie en plein centre de la Sibérie après des millions d'années de voyage, devait symboliser sur la tombe de Vladimir Vissotsky sa brûlante et trop brève vie.

Il n'en a pas été ainsi, malheureusement, mais j'ai appris en 1985 que les astronomes de l'observatoire de Crimée ont baptisé une nouvelle planète découverte entre les orbites de Mars et de Jupiter:

VLADVISSOTSKY

Elle porte le numéro 2374 dans le catalogue international des planètes.

Souvent, je regarde les étoiles et je souris en pensant que parmi cette multitude, un petit point brillant vogue dans l'immensité, que ce corps céleste en mouvement perpétuel est lié à jamais au nom de mon mari.

C'est bien ainsi.

Marina Vlady

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Russia, Memoir, History

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 1987

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was barely ever "officially" recognized. The government would much rather pretend he did not exist. But his raspy voice and tortured guitar were coming from virtually every open window in the Soviet Union.

"One day, we taking a walk along one of the central streets in Moscow. The day is hot, all the windows are thrown open, and your voice is coming from every one of them. It's hard for me to believe this, but there is no doubt: I recognize your raspy timbre, your unique performing manner. You're walking alongside me, smiling ever wider. Now I can see for myself how much you are loved here. You are happy and proud."

Vladimir Vysotsky's life was like a bright star, a crashing meteorite burning in the atmosphere until its flight gets cruelly interrupted. He was an unbelievably talented singer-songwriter, adored by the people and grudgingly tolerated by the officials; leaving behind an incredible legacy of roughly 800 songs, most of whic were released as non-government-sanctioned, 'underground' recordings. He was an incredible poet since so many of his songs are examples of powerful, poignant poetry with deep often hidden meaning - rather than simple entertainment. He was a gifted stage actor, performing "Hamlet" under the direction of the amazing Yuri Lyubimov. He was a movie actor who was usually only allowed to play villains by the Soviet censors - the villains that as a result were loved more than the protagonists. His music spoke to the very heart and soul of the Soviet people. And, like a meteorite, he was burned out and gone prematurely, at the age of 42.

"In the car, we continue to look at each other in silence. Shadows and light alternate on your face. I see your eyes - shining and tender, hair cut short, face unshaven for two days, cheeks sunken from exhaustion. You are not beautiful, your appearance is quite ordinary, but your gaze is extraordinary. Right after we arrive at Max's, you take the guitar. I am amazed by your voice, your strength, your scream. And also - because you're sitting by my feet and singing for me alone. Eventually I begin to understand the meaning, the bitter humor and the depth of your songs. You explain to me that theater is your craft, and poetry is your passion. And right then, without any transition, you tell me that you have loved me for a long time."

Vladmir, or Interrupted Flight is the story of the last 12 years of his life, written by his wife Marina Vlady, a famous French actress of Russian descent. It is written with so much love and admiration for his genius, his larger-than-life personality, for his work ethics - but also without glossing over the difficulties of living with Vysotsky, without toning down the demons that tortured him. You see, for most of his life, Vysotsky struggled with vicious alcoholism, unable to tame and control the vice. In the last years of his life, drugs followed. The battles with addiction colored the years of Vlady and Vysotsky's life together, and I appreciated Vlady's loving honesty which tried to show Vysotsky as he was, an amazing person but still painfully human, without nigh-deifying him as people are prone to do when great ones leave us prematurely.

"Tragedy begins. After a day or two, you try to convince me no matter what that you can drink like everybody else, that a glass or two will not hurt you, that you are not sick - and the apartment becomes empty. Soon, you disappear as well.
And the most difficult part begins: I lock myself in the apartment with you to pry you away from the bottle. Two days of shouting, moaning, threats, two days of stuck in one place, loss of balance, jumps, falls, spasms, puke, insane headache. I pour all the liquor out, but if, unfortunately, there is a mere drop of alcohol anywhere in the apartment, I'm racing you to it to pour that out, too, before you can take a gulp."

Marina Vlady writes this book as if she's speaking to her Volodya, addressing him directly. Her narrative is not linear, meandering a bit, skipping back and forth between significant events in their lives, commenting with sad surprise on the realities of Soviet life that were mundane to Vladimir but strange to a wealthy French beauty.

She gives us the glimpse into Vysotsky's creative process, giving context to some of his well-known songs. She tells us about so many people that came up to Vysotsky completely convinced that he had been in a war with them, that he had been mountain-climbing with them, that he even had been imprisoned with them. It was unbelievable to people that he could write with such passion and truth about things that he hasn't experienced - but that was the unparalleled genius of Vladimir Vysotsky.

"You don't like stories about the war, but, just like for every Soviet person, they are a part of your culture. These people, whom you love deeply, find in your songs the echoes of the tragedy that had not spared a single family: twenty million dead, millions of the crippled and orphans, thousands of destroyed towns and villages, annihilated from the face of the Earth.
At your concerns, the adorned with medals veterans cry. The young people are serious and immersed in thoughts. Your songs do more for peace and the memory of the dead than all the movies, documents, monuments and official speeches all put together. But, having been born in 1938, you haven't taken part in the war."

Thanks to Vlady's fame and the interference by some well-connected higher-ups, Vysotsky was finally and reluctantly granted a visa to travel outside the Soviet Union. Vlady shows us his impressions of the great abroad (the one that particularly resonated with me was his disbelief and tears when he saw the way people lived in Germany, the country that was the aggressor towards the Soviet Union and was defeated by it, and still enjoyed the unbelievable to Soviet people standards of living). He loved seeing other places, he enjoyed playing concerts to emigrants and 'natives' alike, but at no time did he ever consider abandoning the Soviet Union for good. You see, he was not chasing some elusive idea of freedom if it meant giving up his roots, the land that he loved, the people whom he loved and who adored him, who sustained him and his creativity. And for this, I admire him and his inner strength and integrity.

""More painfully than other boys of your generation you feel Stalin's directions, slander, conceit, and tyranny. You will condemn all that in your songs. Crushed by the banality surrounding you, marked by the historical situation - 'do not judge the winners' - you are crippled and broken not physically, like your friends, but mentally, in your soul."

I loved this book for allowing me to see the human, often faulty, side of the incredible, fascinating person whose songs I used to listen to as a child, completely blown away, on my parents' tape recorder, whose songs now have a different, incredible, deep meaning to me as an adult. 4.5 stars.
----------------------------------------
Here are some links to Visotsky's music (with subtitles for my non-Russian speaking friends:

“The Ballad of the Fallen Friend“,
“Fastidious Horses”,
and my personal favorite - “I don't like”.

Also, a link to the 1976 60 Minutes video with him, in English.

[Tanya Kaplun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Однажды (года полтора тому), в кинотеатре 5го округа Парижа показывали «Цвет граната» Сергея Параджанова. Вместе со зрителями в зале была и Марина Влади. Они дружили с Параджановым, о чем Марина Влади рассказывала после фильма. Она рассказывала о целой эпохе 60х годов. О Белле Ахмадулиной, Булате Окуджаве, об Иосифе Бродском и больше всего, о своём ушедшем муже - Владимире Высоцком, о реалиях тех лет, которые окружали жизнь поэта. Я тогда смотрела на эту хрупкую, элегантную женщину с затаенным дыханием. И точно также, затаив дыхание, читала её воспоминания о Высоцком, написанные в 1987 году и изданные под названием «Владимир, или прерванный полет». Пишет она талантливо, открыто, эмоционально но не впадая в сентиментализм. Пишет она тепло, с любовью, во всем отмечая величину таланта мужа. Пишет она честно, показывая его и в быту, и на сцене, и за кулисами, и на вечеринках в Голливуде, и на передачах во Франции, в Мексике, в игорных залах, на квартирантках, в гос. учреждениях, в состояниях трезвости и опьянения, в состояниях вдохновения и веселья, усталости и истощенности. Вокруг - действительность СССР, которая на миг обнажает правду о войне, о системе, о медицине, о жизни артистов в этой действительности, и чаще о вынужденном, отчаянном бегстве от или из неё. В то же время, книга не льстит и Западу.
Об отношениях Влади и Высоцкого, наверное, лучше всего написал сам Высоцкий «Я жив, двенадцать лет тобой и господом храним».

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Vladimir Wesocki poetry and songs. They are set so deep in Russian culture and relism of communism era: said, funny alwayes illogical. Wysocki's sarcasm got him in trouble many times. Wouldn't be Marina, his only escape would be vodka... Marina loved him. Different worlds, differents cultures...yet she was his angel. Thank you, Marina. Sposiba. Merci.

[Kinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

przejmująca.

Opowieść o trudnej miłości w okowach niszczącego nałogu. Nie brakuje w niej fragmentów, w których zostają ukazane trudy życia wybitnego artysty i zmaganie się z jego wrażliwym, choć trudnym charakterem. Obraz poświęcenia, cierpliwości i determinacji Mariny Vlady na tle egzystencjalnego dramatu.

[Vlad Mkhitaryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do never recommend reading this book. I don't believe that this bio is true. If you love Vladimir Vysotski, his art, his type, please don't read this book.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet memoir from a French actress about her long distance and essentially destructive relationship with the often misunderstand Russian poet, singer and actor Vladimir Vissotsky. Their love shines through and she writes so tenderly about him and their life together but it was hard and it remains hard to be in love with someone with so many destructive tendencies and addiction. I liked her 'voice', quite down to earth. I also loved hearing about their adventures driving from Russia to France and how life was in the Soviet Union in the 50s and 60s.

[Floris Meertens]

Vladimir Vyssotsky was een fascinerend mens, maar zijn geliefde, de France actrice Marina Vlady, is helaas geen goede schrijver. Ondanks de gloeiende beschrijvingen van zijn muziek, zijn passie op het podium, zijn wilde inspiratie en werkdrift, werd ik nooit echt warm van deze hagiografie.

Ik werd wel weer geïnspireerd om de Wolvenjacht te luisteren, en man, wat is dat een geweldig nummer. De taalkloof maakt het moeilijk om veel van Vyssotsky's muziek achter elkaar te waarderen, maar dat lied blijft grandioos.

[Dawid Cygan]

Opowieść o Włodzimierzu Wysockim, moim ukochanym poecie rosyjskim, którego poezji zawdzięczam ukształtowanie części swojej tożsamościi odkrycie w sobie zamiłowania do sztuki. Książka jest napisana z perspektywy żony poety. Widzimy obraz dramatu, ale cierpliwie w ciszy znoszonego przez otoczenie Wysockiego. Obraz trudnej, ale wielkiej miłości ludzi całkowicie kulturowo różnych.

[Maria Kasyanchik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Цікаво і боляче і чутливо.Читаєш,розумієш частину того життя яким вони жили ,уявляєш все все.Нвписано не дуже класним стилем ,але загалом мені хотілось читати і я дізналася багато про життя висоцького і ссср в той час

[Elena Klubnikina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking love story complicated further by the intricacies of breaking the iron wall, restrictions and censorships that came with. Many thanks to Mme Vladi who had courage to put this memoire together.

[Astartiée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très fort en émotions , ce livre fait la biographie d'un artiste méconnu en Europe mais à l'immense succès russe : Vladimir Vissotsky, écrivain, acteur, chanteur, et surtout poète.

[Lazaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Лучшая книга написаная про Высоцкого! По книге можно преподавать написание сочинений в школе! 5 балов по всем параметрам!

[Ego..te · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neesmu Visocka (un arī Vladi) daiļrades cienītāja, vienīgais, ko zinu, ir Žiglova loma filmā "Tikšanās vietu mainīt nedrīkst". Un tajā viņš bija labs. Krieviete Marina Vladi (kura uzdodas par francūzieti, lai gan ir krievu emigrantu pēctece, kuras dzīslās nav ne puskapeikas franču asiņu) izstāsta savu subjektīvo stāstu par savu vīru- aktieri, dzejnieku, dziesminieku Vladimiru Visocki. Beigās pat apšķebināja nodaļas, kurās bija strīds par kapu pieminekļa dizainu. Marina savu žulti netaupīja.

[valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

поразительная, трогательная и такая искренняя история о периоде жизни, не побоюсь этого слова, великого и неповторимого Владимира Семёновича Высоцкого, рассказанная от лица его прекрасной жены Марины Влади, с момента их знакомства до последних минут.

она поделилась и не утаила как моменты бескрайнего счастья, так и моменты слез, ссор, проблем, борьбы с зависимостями Владимира Семёновича, предательств, многочисленных попыток договориться со властью. она показала настоящую любовь и ее, и народа к этому талантливейшему человеку. показала, как многие лишались должности, чтобы помочь Высоцкому. показала его безграничную любовь к России, к своей Родине, его злость за несправедливость, испытываемую советскими людьми, его отдачу на каждом выступлении, его любовь к любимому делу, его искренность, глубину его души, его талант.

на страницах книги описаны знакомства с известнейшими деятелями зарубежного кинематографа и культуры, а также дружба с выдающимися актёрами, певцами, поэтами и другими талантливейшими людьми советского союза.

у меня нет слов, чтобы описать, как сильно я восхищаюсь Высоцким, его неповторимым голосом с хрипотцой, его стихотворениями с той преданностью, честностью и любовью, которые он вкладывает в каждую строчку; и Мариной Влади, талантливой и любящей, готовой на все и испытавшей многое.

в книге очень много моментов из жизни Владимира и Марины, о которых мало, кто знает. и я не смогу посчитать, сколько раз по моему телу бежали мурашки и по моим щекам текли слёзы.

браво!

[Pavlína Konečná · Rating 5 out of 5]

V češtině vyšlo pod názvem Vladimír, aneb zastavený let

[Pieter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pour compléter les écrits de Vlady et les chansons de Vissotski, ces images de documentaire https://youtu.be/MCnEp2wy7Lo?list=PL3...

[Julia Turivna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Без ідеалізації, але з великою любов'ю.
Написано щиро та без зайвих слів