ABSTRACT This article examines Aleksei Balabanov’s unfinished film The American and the various accompanying texts that contribute to our understanding of its place in the filmmaker’s biography. A published script, a court case, unreleased film footage and the memories of participants exist as interpretations of this unrealised project. The American was a contributing factor to the acknowledged demarcation that divides Balabanov’s life and oeuvre into two distinct phases. Given Balabanov’s enduring popularity, it is also germane to discuss the afterlife of The American, as a completed version might add to the filmmaker’s cinematic legacy. The accumulated texts that accompany this unrealised project must also be acknowledged when discussing Balabanov’s other incomplete projects. In so doing, one gains perspective on the filmmaker’s present, and potentially his future, biography as Balabanov’s posthumous legacy remains fluid six years after his death.

中文翻译：

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阿列克谢·巴拉巴诺夫未完成的电影《美国人》的故事

摘要 本文考察了阿列克谢·巴拉巴诺夫未完成的电影《美国人》以及有助于我们理解其在电影制片人传记中的地位的各种附带文本。已出版的剧本、法庭案件、未发行的电影片段和参与者的记忆都作为对这个未实现项目的解释而存在。美国人是公认的界限的一个促成因素，将巴拉巴诺夫的生活和作品分为两个不同的阶段。鉴于巴拉巴诺夫经久不衰的人气，讨论《美国人》的来世也很重要，因为完整的版本可能会增加电影制作人的电影遗产。在讨论巴拉巴诺夫的其他未完成项目时，也必须承认伴随这个未实现项目的累积文本。通过这样做，人们获得了对电影制作人当下的看法，