"Over the Abyss" by Ivan Okhlobystin, summary Automatic translate

Ivan Okhlobystin’s autobiographical work was published in 2008. It is a frank exploration of the existential fear of death that haunts the protagonist through the years and shapes his unique worldview.

Opening of the Abyss

At the age of ten, a boy experiences absolute happiness. After much persuasion, his mother buys him an "Orlyonok" bicycle. The child fixes the two-wheeler near an old barn. Suddenly, he is pierced by the terrible thought of his own impending death. A wild and beautiful horror overwhelms the boy. A deep abyss instantly engulfs the child’s entire consciousness, and he suffocates from the overwhelming terror.

For three days, he rides at high speed through ravines and hills. The child takes risks and falls, trying to suppress his fear. Soon, the terror subsides. The boy clearly understands the immortality of the human soul. The feeling of the abyss has returned to him periodically since then, in adulthood.

Childhood and origins

The author recalls the remarkable story of his birth. He was born at the Polenovo holiday home. According to family legend, it happened during a screening of a Stanley Kramer comedy. The future actor’s mother, nineteen-year-old student Alevtina Ivanovna, was watching the film while nine months pregnant. She suddenly began having contractions. The hero’s father, sixty-two-year-old military doctor Ivan Ivanovich, delivered the baby on the creaking pier of the Oka River.

His parents separated when their son was five years old. The divorce was peaceful. He went to live with his grandmother and great-grandmother in a military boarding house in the village of Vorobyevo in the Kaluga region. His early memories are filled with stone women rowing oars, deep ravines, and humming high-voltage lines. He calls his childhood the happiest time of his life.

The Path to Art

In ninth grade, a schoolboy watches the film "An Ordinary Miracle." He decides to become a true magician. Realizing the impossibility of this path, he chooses the profession of film director. In 1983, the young applicant applies to VGIK. Master Marlen Khutsiev is recruiting students for the directing course.

During one stage of the exam, director Igor Talankin asks a young man to impress the strict committee. The young man responds with a rude curse: "Are you crazy, maestro? I came here to say something new in art, not to impress you!" The enraged professor throws the applicant out of the room. A few minutes later, the secretary returns him. The committee roars with laughter and admits the young man. During his course, he meets Fyodor Bondarchuk and Tigran Keosayan.

Meeting at the Cinema House

The grown-up hero meets actress Oksana Arbuzova. She is famous for her leading role in the film "Avaria – The Cop’s Daughter." The man immediately realizes she will be the mother of his six children. He approaches her with a straightforward proposition: "Mademoiselle, how about we take a romantic stroll?"

The girl simply asks him to take her home. The couple drives all night through restaurants and the illuminated streets of Moscow. Early in the morning, on Frunzenskaya Embankment, the hero uncorks a bottle of champagne. He boldly proposes to the actress. The girl, whom he affectionately calls Kysa, immediately accepts. They go to his home. Soon, the couple gets married, overcoming all the reservations of Oksana’s parents. For the wedding, the groom wears a tuxedo, and the bride a long, chic dress.

Family and a return to craft

A young family lives in sunny Tashkent for about seven months. The protagonist feels a deep spiritual connection with Asia. The couple has children, cared for by nannies Irina and Dmitry. The family actively interacts with the local clergy. The protagonist plays chess with the archbishop and receives his guidance. Their fourth child, a son named Vasya, is born at the local maternity hospital.

Upon returning to Moscow, the father of many children faces a severe financial shortage. Director Pavel Lungin invites him to play a small role in the film "The Island." The actor hesitates for a long time, considering his profession sinful. A priest he knows advises him to write a letter directly to the Patriarch. An official reply soon arrives blessing him to work to support his large family. The actor accepts the role of Rasputin and returns to film full-time.

Keeper of the Den

The hero confesses his sincere and boundless love for his wife and children. He considers Oksana a woman of indomitable energy. As a father, he strives to be a reliable provider. He sincerely wants to see his children happy and well-off.

At night, that same childhood feeling of a primordial abyss from the depths of his soul returns to him. From this uncontrollable chaos, he draws powerful ideas for his scripts. Fleeing the overwhelming terror, the man takes long walks through the night streets. His hearing and vision become greatly enhanced. His main salvation becomes a quick return home. In the darkness of the room, he sees the rustling, warm tangle of bodies of his sleeping wife and children. The hero fondly calls his home his lair. He mentally covers his family with enormous membranous wings to protect their peaceful slumber.