Literary and cinematographic versions of the novel “Woodcocks” by M.Khvylovy: the conflict of specification.

Abstract

The article is devoted to the comparison of the story “Aglaia” by Artem Sokol and the eponymous movie of Alexander Muratov with the novel “Woodcocks” by M. Khvylovy, with the novel’s end, written by the author, obliterated and remained unknown till present. The dialogue of Artem Sokol with his predecessor confirms interest in the writer’s creativity, the attempt to fill the text gaps, caused by the ambivalence of the author, who simultaneously played several roles, writing and at the same time rewriting the novel “Woodcocks” from the temporal distance, which allows to add new accents in the attempt to specify the work.

The film “Woodcocks” is created on the basis of M. Khvylyovy’s novel at the film studio named after O. Dovzhenko, it reflects the typical tendencies of the Ukrainian cinema in the mid1990s. The film’s adaptation of the novel highlights the conjunctural moments due to the actualization of earlier prohibited topics, such as the peasant’s dispossession, repressions, which M. Khvylovy was anticipating and tryed to attract attention to them with his death, leaving the right to decide his fate himself. So, the film is not only an attempt to write, but also rewrite M. Khvylyovy’s novel by means of the cinema, that enables us to regard the film as a sequel.