The «Modern pastoral» by Viktor Astafyev: from the story «The shepherd and the shepherdess» to the screenplay «I remember you»

The article is devoted to the study of Viktor Astafyev's screenplay «I Remember You» based on the story «The Shepherd and the Shepherdess». The original screenplay is stored in the State Archive of the Perm Region. It has never been published or studied specially before. In this article the screenplay is regard­ed as one of the versions of the story «The Shepherd and the Shepherdess» and compared to the journal and definitive versions of the story. It should be noted that adapting the epic composition for the screenplay, the author still gravitated to the epics. It is emphasised that the rejection of the title «The Shepherd and the Shepherdess» was dictated by the author's perception of the screenplay as a separate piece of art. The analy­sis shows that pastoral-idyllic imagery of the screenplay is not only preserved, but also enhanced, first of all by introducing such additional characters as the disabled shepherd or «barge hauler-shepherds». Both, «I Remember You» and «The Shepherd and the Shepherdess» are examples of the modern pastoral and the dif­ferences between the screenplay and the story does not affect the conception of the work. The main idea of both the screenplay and the story is that the war not only disfigures people in a physical way, depriving them of life, but also causes not less terrible mental injuries, not compatible with life either. In conclusion, it is indicated that the history of creation of «The Shepherd and the Shepherdess» cannot be considered complete without taking the screenplay «I Remember You» into account.