Burnt by the Sun (1994)
"Utomlennye solntsem" (original title)

Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his dacha with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things ... See full summary »

Director:

Nikita Mikhalkov

Writers:

Rustam Ibragimbekov (dialogue), Rustam Ibragimbekov (screenplay),

Stars:

Oleg Menshikov, Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oleg Menshikov	...	Dmitriy
Nikita Mikhalkov	...	Sergey
Ingeborga Dapkunaite	...	Marusya (as Ingeborga Dapkunayte)
Nadezhda Mikhalkova	...	Nadya (as Nadya Mikhalkova)
Vyacheslav Tikhonov	...	Vsevolod Konstantinovich
Svetlana Kryuchkova	...	Mokhova
Vladimir Ilin	...	Kirik
Alla Kazanskaya	...	Lidiya Stepanovna
Nina Arkhipova	...	Elena Mikhaylovna
Avangard Leontev	...	Shofer
André Oumansky	...	Filipp (as Andre Umanskiy)
Inna Ulyanova	...	Olga Nikolaevna
Lyubov Rudneva	...	Lyuba
Vladimir Ryabov	...	Ofitser NKVD
Vladimir Belousov	...	Sotrudnik NKVD

Storyline

Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his dacha with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things change dramatically with the unheralded arrival of Cousin Dmitri from Moscow, who charms the women and little Nadia with his games and pianistic bravura. But Kotov isn't fooled: this is the time of Stalin's repression, with telephone calls in the middle of the night spelling doom - and he knows that Dmitri isn't paying a social call...

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Plot Keywords:

colonel | repression | friend | hero | russia | 

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Taglines:

A moving and poignant story set against the corrupt politics of the Stalinist era.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Studiya TriTe [ru]

Country:

Russia France

Language:

Russian French

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burnt by the Sun

Filming Locations:

Moscow province, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$85,218 (Argentina)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caméra One, Canal+, Studio Trite

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title song is "To ostatnia niedziela" written in 1935 by Jerzy Petersburski with Polish lyrics by Zenon Fredwald. In 1936 the first Russian version was recorded by Klavdiya Shulzhenko. That same year, Aleksandr Tsfasman recorded his version with new Russian lyrics by Iosif Albeck who wrote the opening line: "Utomlyonnoe solntse... " Burnt by the Sun is a loose English translation of the song title, alluding to Soviet dictatorship hoisting Stalin to the sun.

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Connections

Referenced in Pozner: Nikita Mikhalkov (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Vesti la Giuba"
(uncredited) from 'Pagliacci'
Written by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Played by Mitya on the piano

User Reviews

Powerful yet Subtle and Original Look at Totalitarianism

I just watched and loved this movie.

It originally portrays the contrast in character, personality, viewpoint, and the relative consequences of the Revolution upon two people -

a) Mitya, a handsome, charming, romantic, poetic, musical, child-loving man who before the movie began, lived in rural Russia, grew up with a girl who was 7 when he was conscripted into World War I, and deeply loved her parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and the household servants, and

b) Kotov, an older man, military, probably more courageous and less intelligent, bluff and physical, sentimental and less artistic, stronger but simpler, equally child-loving, from a poorer background.

Enemies in the Revolution, their behavior toward each other begins with cruelty by Kotov toward Mitya, Mitya's forced cruelty to others, and a changed and cruel man now (and knowing it) Mitya's cruelty to Kotov. And yes, a woman is also in the mix. The story is told as much through Kotov's eyes as through Mitya's.

And guess what? With all this cruelty, Kotov and Mitya are both people you'd love to spend the day with.

It's beautifully photographed - the same wonderful languor as watching say, Turgenev's A Month in the Country, the child is enchanting, the story is absolutely fascinating - far more original than such other "political" movies as The Conformist or The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. The movie is about social class, temperament, and how freely people make decisions in their lives, about love for the opposite sex, children, and country. It's compelling - you will truly always remember this movie.