Vyacheslav Krishtofovich is "A Friend of the Deceased"

iW: What do you see as your connection with Anatoli, the protagonist?

Krishtofovich: I have a standard reply to questions like this. Anatoli is really myself, except younger and better-looking. But speaking seriously, of course nothing like this ever happened to me. But if we were to talk about our feelings and our souls, this is hitting very close to home. And this is not only true about me; this is how a lot of people feel. When we finished working on the movie, and people came to see it, I realized I was right.

iW: I also saw "Adam's Rib," and I noticed that both ended with a minor miracle: one happens to someone old and one happens to someone young. And also, they very much revolved around the expressions of the people witnessing this miracle.

Krishtofovich: I'm very happy that you noticed that. I don't really know how to answer your question. You may have noticed that both of these ending are not simple; there's more to them than meets the eye. It's very hard to determine, in both situations, what's pro and what's con. Of course, the people's reaction is very important, and that's very important for the movie. And the finale of the film is not really the miracle itself, but people's reaction to it. And it's not only the reaction of the characters in the movie, but also the reaction of the audience. I'm far from thinking that I can teach the audience something new. What I'm doing is I'm trying to pose the question, and bring the audience to think about it together with me. What do you think is better: when an audience watches a movie, walks out and forgets about it in an hour -- or maybe they're left with something to ponder. I think that approach is much more noble; it shows much more respect to the audience. I don't look down on my audience.

iW: How do you work with your actors; how does that process works.

Krishtofovich: My standard answer is: I try to be their friends. I love my actors, and I feel that when a director loves his actors, they will do anything for him, and they will do much more than plain professionalism requires. Of course I work with them and I talk to them about what we want to accomplish, but it's extremely important to trust. When an actor brings something of his own into a movie, when he comes up with a suggestion, I agree with him, if I like it. I never had in my experience a situation where I asked something of an actor and he opposed it. We can argue, but this will happen in a cafe, when we discuss the script, but when we're working, we have no problems (knock on wood.)

iW: How did the French co-production effect the film?

Krishtofovich: First of, I want to mention that I'm extremely happy that this is a co-production. Practically, we could find financing in the Ukraine and we could actually get that money from the state. Thanks to our French producers, we could have as much film as we needed, the sound was much better; technically, the opportunities were just totally different. And of course what is most important is that the French co-producers knew how to promote this film in the West. I strongly doubt, if this movie was strictly Ukrainian, we would be sitting here. And since I'm a little spoiled already, especially by "Adam's Rib," I don't really want to give up my habits.

iW: In "Friend of the Deceased," the plot involves a fair amount of sex and violence--there's a prostitute, there's a hit manbut there isn't a lot of sex and violence on the screen.

Krishtofovich: I don't think there are prohibitive subjects in movies. The other question is, what is the purpose, and how well it's done, and how necessary it is. When I'm watching "Pulp Fiction," I don't question the violence, because this is really art. When I'm watching a movie where violent scenes are not justified, and they are only on the whim of the producer. . .

As far as my personal opinion when we speak of love, the most interesting thing is not what happens technically, but what leads to it. In the end really, what happens is the same for everybody, but what gets us there is very personal. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against the results! Maybe it's because I never tried to do it so openly; I never really wanted to. In art, just the same as in love, there should always be something secret, something mysterious.

iW: As far as you can tell, what has the reaction to the film been in America?

Krishtofovich: [Remainder of interview in English:] I know nothing. I just know that I got some letters from the Directors' Guild of America with some propositions. That's all I know.

iW: What are your future plans?

Krishtofovich: I have some plans. I have some scripts, some ideas, I have some discussions with my producers. I don't know what I'll do.

iW: In general, do you think you'll stick with human dramas?

Krishtofovich: Yes, of course. It's forever.

["A Friend of the Deceased" opens in New York on May 1 at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Quad Cinema. Subsequently, the film will have a full release in major cities throughout the U.S.]

[Laura Phipps is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn.]