Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun ★★★ Outomlionnye Solntsem 1994 (R)
Masterful evocation of '30s Stalinist Russia, covering a day in the life of Soviet revolutionary hero Serguei (Mikhalkov) and his family, far from the purges and gulags. Enjoying a country existence with wife Moroussia (Dapkounaite) and daughter Nadia (played by Mikhalkov's daughter), his idyll is disturbed by mystery man Dimitri (Menchikov), and Serguei realizes their fates are bound by the difference between their Communist dreams and reality. Symbolism is a little heavy but film delivers emotionally. Russian with subtitles. 134m/C VHS, DVD . RU FR Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkounaite, Oleg Menshikov, Nadia Mikhalkov, Andre Oumansky, Viatcheslav Tikhonov, Svetlana Krioutchkova, Vladimir Ilyine; D: Nikita Mikhalkov; W: Nikita Mikhalkov, Rustam Ibragimbekov; C: Vilen Kalyuta; M: Eduard Artemyev. Oscars '94: Foreign Film; Cannes '94: Grand Jury Prize.