Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (1998)

Director:

Nikita Mikhalkov

Writers:

Nikita Mikhalkov (story)
Rustam Ibragimbekov (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 February 1999 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He's Russian. That explains a lot.

Plot:

Douglas is a foreign entrepreneur, who ventures to Russia in 1885 with dreams of selling a new, experimental...

Plot Keywords:

Siberia Russia | Moscow Russia | Assassination Attempt | Czar | Revolutionary

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Julia Ormond	...	Jane Callahan
Richard Harris	...	Douglas McCraken
Oleg Menshikov	...	André Tolstoi
Aleksei Petrenko	...	General Radlov
Marina Neyolova	...	The mother of Andrei Tolstoi
Vladimir Ilyin	...	Captain Mokin
Daniel Olbrychski	...	Kopnovsky
Anna Mikhalkova	...	Douniacha
Marat Basharov	...	Polievsky
Nikita Tatarenkov	...	Alibekov
Artyom Mikhalkov	...	Buturlin
Yegor Dronov	...	Cadet Nazarov
Avangard Leontyev	...	Andrei's Uncle
Robert Hardy	...	Forsten
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Perepyolkina

Also Known As:

Сибирский цирюльник (Russia)
Barbier de Sibérie, Le (France)
Barbiere di Siberia, Il (Italy)
The Barber of Siberia (International: English title)

Runtime:

180 min | Russia:275 min (TV version)

Country:

Russia | France | Italy | Czech Republic

Language:

Russian | English | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Aldeia do Meco, Sesimbra, Portugal

Company:

Three T Productions

Trivia:

All the dishes used in the movie were custom made by Czech glassblowers.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a scene which takes place in 1905, a US flag is seen with 50 stars. The correct flag would have 45 Stars.

Soundtrack:

Piano Concerto no. 23

Definitely viewable, warts and all

This is not Mikhalkov's best film. Yet a Mikhalkov film is one that presents a story with a twinkle in the eye. His films come very near to the black comedy genre. Take his swipe at the average American not understanding Mozart's music--if it is taken literally, it will cloud the Mikhalkov perspective of life through cinema. That perspective is poles apart from the filmmaking of his half brother Andrei Mikhalkov Konchalovsky, who is serious and quite a bit of a perfectionist (he worked with Andrei Tarkovsky on his earlier movies), e.g. "Runaway Train" and "Shy People" made in Hollywood or "Siberiade" made in the former USSR.

Mikhalkov makes serious scenes seem light and a lark: the deportation to Siberia marked with opera singing; the dangerous duel that ends with a hero lying wounded in a Quixotic manner; a very tall Czar Alexander (the director) who puts down his queen with a most 'unroyal' remark. Mikhalkov and his half brother are great visualizers and have good ears for music--which is why the film is a treat to watch--natural splendors of Siberia, recreating a "Dr Zhivago" milieu with more authenticity than Mr Lean (who did a great job considering he could not shoot his film in the USSR).

I am a great admirer of good Russian cinema: especially the works of Tarkovsky, Kozintsev, Eisenstein, Konchalovsky, Talankin in that order. Mikhalkov is not the best but all his films are worth a view. But I have one suggestion--never take his films as what appears for there is a layer underneath the obvious--that needs to be seen tongue in cheek. And unlike Konchalovsky--the quality of direction is never consistent in Mikhalkov's works--it varies from the brilliant to the almost stupid.

But Mr Mikhalkov, what a pathetic waste of Richard Harris' talent to merely advertise his name in the credits for an insignificant role in a long movie...