Burnt by the Sun
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| Burnt by the Sun | |
|---|---|
 Original DVD poster |
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| Directed by | Nikita Mikhalkov |
| Produced by | Nikita Mikhalkov Michel Seydoux |
| Written by | Rustam Ibragimbekov Nikita Mikhalkov |
| Starring | Oleg Menshikov Nikita Mikhalkov Ingeborga Dapkunaite Nadezhda Mikhalkova |
| Music by | Eduard Artemyev |
| Cinematography | Vilen Kalyuta |
| Editing by | Enzo Meniconi |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) |  May 21, 1994 (premiere at Cannes) 21 April 1995 18 August 1995 |
| Running time | 135 min. |
| Country | France Russia |
| Language | Russian/French |
| Budget | $2,800,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Burnt by the Sun (Russian: Утомлённые солнцем, Utomlyonnye solntsem) is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film received the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among many other honours.
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[edit] Plot
The film opens in 1936, just before Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. General Sergei Kotov (Nikita Mikhalkov), an idealistic Communist and decorated hero of the Russian Civil War, is enjoying life in his country dacha. Alongside him is Maroussia, the former noblewoman who has become his wife (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė). He is also accompanied by his daughter Nadia and members of his wife's large and eccentric family of foppish ex-nobles. The charismatic Kotov, relaxed in his semi-retirement, is held in awe by all who surround him.
Into this idyllic setting walks Mitya, (Oleg Menshikov), a former nobleman who was Maroussia's fiance before his sudden disappearance. It soon becomes clear that despite his humorous, friendly nature he has returned with a secret agenda. Mitya now works for the Secret Police, or NKVD, and has secret orders to arrest General Kotov under false charges of spying for the German and Japanese governments.
This is revenge to some extent, as the reason why he left Maroussia was that Kotov had forced to go abroad to spy on White Russian emigres. Eventually Kotov is arrested and taken away in a black car, but his cool, officer's pride remains unshaken. Certain that he can turn the tables on his captors by calling Stalin's private number, Kotov taunts them about the coming destruction of their careers. However, after a beating received when he tries to leave the car, he realizes that the orders to arrest him have come directly from Stalin and a bloodied Kotov sobs.
A postscript reveals that Kotov was convicted of espionage and shot by the NKVD. Maroussia later died in the GULAG. Both sentences were later overturned during the Khrushchev thaw. Their daughter Nadia is described as having survived and as currently working as a teacher in Kazakhstan. Mitya - as the last scenes of the movie reveal - committed suicide by slashing his wrists.
[edit] Title
The title derives from a popular 1930s song composed by Jerzy Petersburski. Originally the Polish tango Ta ostatnia niedziela, it became popular in the Soviet Union with the new Russian lyrics as Утомлённое солнце (Utomlyonnoye solntse, Weary Sun) and later was performed by Leonid Utyosov. The title also refers to a mysterious orb of light, similar to ball lightning, that appears at various points in the film; the film states at the end that it is dedicated to those "burnt by the sun" of the Revolution ("weary with the sun" in the Russian title).
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography
- [Review of] Burnt by the Sun. by Michel Seidou; Nikita Mikhalkov; Rustam Ibragimbekov. The Interpretation of Dreams. by Andrei Zagdansky; Semen Vinokur in The American Historical Review > Vol. 100, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 1223-1224
[edit] References
| Preceded by Belle Époque |
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1994 |
Succeeded by Antonia's Line |
| Preceded by Faraway, So Close! |
Grand Prix du Jury, Cannes 1994 tied with To Live |
Succeeded by Ulysses' Gaze (award renamed Grand Prix) |
