Utomlyonnye solntsem (1995)

Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov is also the star of this tragic 1994 drama about the last happy season in the life of a Bolshevik hero's family. The year is 1936, and Stalin's purges are in full swing. Despite his reputation and revolutionary record, Sergei Kotov (Mikhalkov) seems to be on the dictator's hit list, as indicated by the insulting arrival of his wife's former lover, an agent of government police. Mikhalkov treats all this as a matter of personal and political intrigue dropping like rotting fruit in the middle of a sunny and loving period for the Kotov clan. The director ingeniously understates the mounting threat until one begins to realize that the Kotovs are only geographically distant from the long, bloody reach of Stalin. By the time we do realize it, the shock of change is almost unbearable. A very fine movie all around, though Mikhalkov's touches of magic realism (particularly the presence of a golden orb that keeps popping into the action) are distracting and a subject of controversy among viewers. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Highest Quality

This excellent movie is beautifully photographed, deeply affecting, intricate but clear, and it illustrates the monstrous abuse a totalitarian government perpetrates upon its citizens and their heroic battles against it. I highly recommend it. September 1, 2008

Most enjoyable....

Enjoyed seeing this film for the third time since it was released.
Nice film for your collection. May 19, 2008

burnt by the fire of the USSR revolution

An homage to those burnt by the Russian Socialist tyranny. All who were there were burnt: the victims, the perpetrators, the bystanders, former heroes included. Ideals were vanquished, dreams were dashed. A heart wrenching look at the devastating effects of political violence. March 27, 2008

Incredible Movie

I thought this moving was engaging and sorrowful. A great picture was painted of Stalinist Russia and all of those who were affected by his dictatorship and paranoia. Great film and great historical lesson. I recommend it for anyone! February 6, 2008

Watch it over and over

I'm really into Russian literature and film and this one is pure cream. Perfect casting, spectacular cinematography, and a great story. This film is never boring and, for Americans, yields an incredible sense of Russian culture under Stalin; however, the tale is not at all limited to misery -- there is no shortage of light humor and very interesting day to day life experience here.
This film tells the story of a (very likeable) major Russian hero, (retired and living at an art camp of sorts), and his lovely family, and how the tide of his life turns as a direct result of Stalin's lunatic madness and paranoia. Now, I want to say up front that I usually hate smooshy script and there's none of that here, albeit, there's a basic underlying love story.
If you can at all tolerate English subtitles, don't miss this one -- it's just super and SO much better than cheesy Hollywood fluff! September 12, 2007

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