'It was worth being born and working': how Eldar Ryazanov's film saved a man's life
'20.11.2020'
Source: Featured
Once Eldar Ryazanov told reporters about one letter of a fan, which touched him especially, writes Featured.
Eldar Alexandrovich had one story of fundamental importance in his life, which he was going to publish, but did not have time. This is a story about a letter from Alma-Ata. And that his cult films literally saved people's lives.
“When The Irony of Fate was shown for the first time, in a few minutes I began to receive the first telegrams about how this film changed the lives of many people: someone found hope, someone again believed that miracles are possible in life. And there was a letter from a woman who wanted to die, she even prepared everything: sleeping pills, a farewell note. But on the TV screen was "Irony of Fate." Maybe she already wanted to turn off the TV, but she was delayed for a few seconds, and as a result she watched the film to the end. In the letter, she thanked that she had changed her mind about taking a terrible step. And it was the "Irony of Fate" that stopped her, - said the director.
But one day a letter from other people appeared in Ryazanov's mail. From Alma-Ata.
There were words of gratitude again. An unknown woman, Tatyana Grigorievna, wrote: "Dear Eldar Ryazanov, your film managed to save my son's life ..." And she told her story.
Twenty years ago, she didn't know what to do: her five-year-old son needed heart surgery.
And how to go to the institute, which is located in Novosibirsk, if she lived with her son in Alma-Ata? There was no Internet then, no e-mail. And it was necessary to find out the name of the doctor who operates on these particular cases, to sign up for him in the queue for an appointment.
The woman had a panic: the child was dying, nothing could be done. The idea was prompted by the same "Irony of Fate".
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It was like an inspiration: why not send letters asking for help to the addresses that are in every city.
Tatiana Grigorievna wrote three letters. One to Lenin Street, another to Mira Street and the third to Pravdy Street. That is, according to the inner message that was contained in "The Irony of Fate", she wrote to the streets that were necessarily in every Soviet city.
They answered her from Lenin Street. Good ordinary people, former front-line soldiers Evtyukhin.
Now Tatyana Grigorievna and her son Pavlik had someone to stay with, they had someone to share their pain with, they had relatives in a foreign city to whom they could come when Pavlik needed a new operation. And he had to do three such operations in Novosibirsk in twenty years.
One day, Eldar Ryazanov asked his wife to bring this letter to show the journalists who came to visit him. They thought that she would be looking for him for a long time, but Emma Valerianovna returned literally a minute later. It turns out that Eldar Alexandrovich all these years kept the envelope as the most expensive relic. But the audience wrote him letters in bags ...
“The fact that my film helped this family is incredible. And when you read such letters, you understand that it was worth being born and working in the art in which I work, ”Ryazanov said.
The letter contained their address. The journalist decided that he would go to these people and make a report about them. And it will be a reportage about a miracle.
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He found their phone number at the address and surname via the Internet. And on the eve of Christmas I flew there to make a story about what miracles occur in our lives.
Pavel and his mother Tatyana Grigorievna set a table for the guests, they even put out champagne. Still, New Year! The journalist dialed Eldar Ryazanov's number on his phone so that they could personally talk to the person who suggested the idea that saved the boy's life.
Tatyana Grigorievna cried into the phone:
“Thanks to you and your film, my son has been alive for 20 years. And when the Irony of Fate begins before the New Year, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude that in our cities there are streets with typical names. "
And the confused Eldar Alexandrovich answered her by phone: "Yes, I have nothing to do with it, you just turned out to be smart and quick-witted spectators."
