The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love! () is a 2018 Russian state-funded film directed by Tigran Keosayan.
Plot
The Crimean Bridge is being built in Kerch, a city in eastern Crimea, during the summer. Two men at the construction site are pursuing an archeology student named Varya: Viktor, a PR man from Moscow who arrives in a white convertible with an American television crew, and Dima, a young and ambitious builder. Meanwhile, Bernard is trying to accomplish his dream of marrying an American and going to Hollywood.
Cast
Aleksey Demidov as Dima
Katerina Shpitsa as Varya
Artyom Tkachenko as Viktor Felixovich Onegin, PR man
Sergei Nikonenko as Talib Nazirovich, Crimean Tatar
Yuri Stoyanov as boss
Irina Rozanova as Lara
Sergei Gazarov as Ashot
Sofya Zayka as Marina
Laura Keosayan as Nika, Bernard's ex-girlfriend
Larisa Malevannaya as Raisa
Aleksandr Dmitriev as Tikhon
Alyona Khmelnitskaya as Tikhon's mother
Aleksandr Ilyin Sr. as Mikhalych
Dmitry Kartashov as Bernard
Yelena Myravyova as Rachel
Yegor Bakulin as Max
Kristina Kucherenko as Aliya
Valentin Samokhin as Oliver Stone
Production
Filming took place in the Kerch Strait and on the island of Tuzla on a construction site where the supports and metal spans of the Crimean bridge were being installed. Actors worked close to engineers, installers and welders. Some scenes were filmed alongside residents of the Crimea and the Kuban.
Reception
The film attracted scathing reviews, and was even the lowest-rated film on several film review aggregators. Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny released a video in March 2020, alleging serious corruption during the production of the film, with at least 46 million rubles in state funds intended for film production being siphoned off to Simonyan's relatives. It flopped at the box office, recovering only 70 million rubles, less than half of its 154 million ruble budget.
Cinemas in Kazakhstan refused to screen this film, citing no interest from local movie-goers.