Reception of Alexander Grin’s Novel “She Who Runs on the Waves” in Russian Cinema (Comparative Analysis)

Based on the novel “She Who Runs on the Waves” by Alexander Grin and its two film adaptations, which were released in 1967 and 2007, this article explores one of the key challenges of contemporary culture: the task of accurately translating literary works into the audiovisual language of cinema. Since literal adherence to the original is usually unproductive, a successful adaptation usually deviates significantly from the original text. However, it must also accurately reflect the spirit of the original. The purpose of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis between A. S. Grin's novel and its adaptations in Russian cinema. It is shown that although both adaptations have some achievements, they cannot be considered successful. In the 1967 film, the philosophical meaning of the original is actually transformed into the opposite. In the 2007 film version, the plot is shortened and some key characters are removed. Not only is the love story simplified and certain characters are simplified, but the philosophical content of the novel is also significantly reduced. Based on the analysis conducted, it is proposed that in order to achieve an adequate reception of the original work, Fresie Grant should be portrayed more realistically on screen, and the love conflicts and the clash of the main characters' worldviews should be depicted in a more vivid and dramatic manner. The results obtained can be used in the process of teaching humanities (philosophy, cultural studies, aesthetics, etc.) to develop students' systemic and critical thinking, skills of comparative analysis, understanding of the language of cinema.