Zivot a neobycejna dobrodruzstvi vojaka Ivana Conkina (1994)

Set in a small Ukrainian village during the outbreak of war with Germany in 1941 Private Chonkin, not overly endowed with intelligence, is left to guard a downed military aircraft. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Jirí Menzel

Writers:

Zdenek Sverák (screenplay), Vladimir Vojnovich (novel)

Stars:

Gennadi Nazarov, Zoya Buryak, Vladimir Ilin

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gennadi Nazarov	...	Ivan Chonkin
Zoya Buryak	...	Njura
Vladimir Ilin	...	Golubev
Valeriy Zolotukhin	...	Kilin
Aleksei Zharkov	...	Gladisev
Yuri Dubrovin	...	Volkov
Sergey Garmash	...	Miljaga
Zinoviy Gerdt	...	Stalin
Marián Labuda	...	Opalikov
Mariya Vinogradova	...	Granny Dunia
Tatyana Gerbachevskaya	...	Afrodita
Lyubov Rudneva	...	Kapa
Ivan Ryzhov	...	Shapkin
Vyacheslav Molokov	...	General Drynov
Nikolai Marchenko	...	Borisov

Storyline

Set in a small Ukrainian village during the outbreak of war with Germany in 1941 Private Chonkin, not overly endowed with intelligence, is left to guard a downed military aircraft. The authorities appear to have forgotten about him so this leaves him free to work his chams on the village postmistress, Njura, untill the local militia are tipped off.

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Plot Keywords:

military | police | nkvd | controversy | neighbor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

Czech Republic UK France Italy Russia

Language:

Russian Czech

Release Date:

9 November 1994 (France)

Also Known As:

Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Capsule from another age.

Jiri Menzel, director of some lovely, poignant comedies in the 1960s before they were Banned For All Time by the Soviets, films this Czech 'Catch-22' like it was still 1966; the treatment of totalitarian terror as absurdist farce; the hackneyed eccentricity of village life; the amiably bumbling hero with unsuspected sexual prowess. Except 1994 is not 1966, and, the historical or political moment gone, Menzel is exposed, his ideas mouldy, his style threadbare, his comedy and irony as clunkingly gauche as the American 'Catch-22'. Loved the scene with the Jewish shoemaker called Stalin, though.