Three reasons to watch fall 2024

Producer Ponomarev: In “Combination”, the screenwriters featured Apina and Ivanov.

The series “Combination” became one of the hits of the fall of 2024 and successfully continued the trend of musical biopics. The head of Synergy University’s film department, producer Andrey Ponomarev told Dobro.Media whether there are any flaws in the film and why it should be given a chance.

The series was released online on September 6. A total of eight episodes are planned, with the first season finale on October 21. The director is Nikita Vlasov, who directed Lada Gold in 2023.

The plot of the series “Unification”.

Saratov is waiting for a change in the hearts of Soviet citizens in the late 1980s. Complete freedom comes in all spheres of life, especially in culture and its musical part. The uncensored creativity of dozens of groups, which were hardly allowed on the stage two or three years ago, is pleasing to the ears.

The “Unification” series begins with the story of Alexander Shishin, an employee of the OBKhSS (Office for Combating Theft of Socialist Property). He is played by Nikita Kologrivy. Due to his duty, he finds himself at the concert of the Mirage band. He should compare the number of tickets sold with the number of spectators in the hall. Affected by his communication with Bari Alibasov, the hero decides to radically change his life. He undertakes to distribute concert tickets, resigns from the government, quarrels with his wife…

Gradually, he comes to the idea of ​​creating his own team and finds a like-minded person in the person of Vitaly Okorokov (Vladimir Kanukhin). From this moment, the history of the creation of the “Combination” group begins.

Three reasons to watch the series “Combination”.

First. The successful move of director Nikita Vlasov (he is also the co-author of the script) is that the main character of the film was not the soloist, but the band’s producer. With rare exceptions, manufacturers are warriors on the invisible front. They are overshadowed by the fame of their projects. In addition, there are many stereotypes in the profession: people imagine a producer as a respectable guy with a big wallet.

The series partly romanticizes the profession. And yet, it conveys the story of how a simple boy from a provincial town can become famous all over the country, close to reality. All thanks to ideas, patience and work.

I’ve read the biography of the real Shishi and now I’m very interested in how the character will develop from a burning dreamer to a tough producer.

Second. It is interesting to watch the main characters at odds with each other. Writers use the technique of strange friendship, which reveals the friendship of polar opposite characters.

In the series, the main characters Alena Apina (Anastasia Ukolova) and Tatyana Ivanova (Elizaveta Bazykina) are opposite to each other. One is an excellent student and the second is a boy. At first they reject each other, but gradually they grow closer. Perhaps the development of their relationship seems false and does not like the truth. However, in the context of the formation of a group, the technique is quite suitable.

the third. For music lovers of those years, the series “Combination” is worth listening to. Even though I’m not a fan, I know the songs “Accountant”, “American Boy” and “Two Pieces of Sausage” by heart. Perhaps it is nostalgia that prevents a sober appreciation of this aspect of the landscape. But we watch movies just for emotions!

Does the series have flaws?

I can tell you about the characters’ slangs and their clothes. Sometimes the action turns into cranberries. It’s similar to the feeling when adults try to speak the same language as teenagers.

To watch or not?

The “Combination” series is another excursion into the period of change and the history of the musical group. Of course, the topic is trending. Who would have thought that we will watch series and movies about “The King and the Jester”, “Animals”, “Hands Up”.

The work was bright and original. It is definitely worth watching the first two or three episodes, and then decide for yourself: will you play music on your ship, or will you forget about Seryoga and wait for Alyosha on the shore.