The Last Station (2009)

A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.

Director:

Michael Hoffman

Writers:

Michael Hoffman (screenplay), Jay Parini (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helen Mirren	...	Sofya
Christopher Plummer	...	Tolstoy
Paul Giamatti	...	Chertkov
James McAvoy	...	Valentin
John Sessions	...	Dushan
Patrick Kennedy	...	Sergeyenko
Kerry Condon	...	Masha
Anne-Marie Duff	...	Sasha
Tomas Spencer	...	Andrey
Christian Gaul	...	Ivan
Wolfgang Häntsch	...	Priest
David Masterson	...	Reporter
Anastasia Tolstoy	...	Mourning Girl

Storyline

The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.

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Plot Keywords:

russian | countess | leo tolstoy | writing | wealth | 

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Taglines:

Intoxicating. Infuriating. Impossible. Love.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany Russia UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

La última estación

Filming Locations:

Duebener Heide, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£135,368 (UK) (19 February 2010)

Gross:

$6,615,578 (USA) (11 June 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Egoli Tossell Film, Zephyr Films, Egoli Tossell Film Halle

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marks the first joint venture of real-life spouses James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff on a feature film.

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Goofs

When Sofya is looking into Leo Tolstoy's diary it is written in modern Russian orthography which was not used at that time.

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Quotes

Sofya Tolstaya: Oh, Leovochka, why do you insist on dressing like that?
Leo Tolstoy: What do you mean, like what?
Sofya Tolstaya: Like a man who looks after the sheep!
Leo Tolstoy: It wasn't meant to offend you.
Sofya Tolstaya: You're a count, for God's sake!

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to Samantha - Atticus - Phoebe - Olivia Jade - Joseph - Jasper Rosa - Richard - Cathy - Ben - Leo

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Connections

Featured in 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Gente, gente, all'armi, all'armi"
from "Le nozze di Figaro"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Mariano Stabile (as Stabile), Ezio Pinza (as Pinza), Aulikki Rautawaara (as Rautawaara), Esther Rethy (as Rethy), Jarmila Novotna (as Novotna), Virgilio Lazzari (as Lazzari), Angelica Cravcenko (as Cravcenko), Chor der Wiener Staatsoper (as Chorus of the Vienna State Opera)/Wiener Philharmoniker (as Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra)
Conducted by Bruno Walter
Licensed Courtesy of Istituto Discografico Italiano.
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (uncredited)

User Reviews

The return of big cinema

The Last Station is described as a melodrama - and I would say that's a fair description. It's the kind of film they don't really make any more. The spirit of David Lean lives on. It's beautiful to look at, for a start, and the music is genuinely incidental, lushing away in the background. We all know that Leo Tolstoy wrote a book, although few of us have the nerve to actually sit down and get to grips with War And Peace. But there was more to the great man than that - in his time he was regarded as godlike, and enjoyed a fairly big cult following, the Tolstoyan Movement, devoted to goodness, purity and equality - as long as it didn't mean the end of the deferential lower classes.

Tolstoy's young secretary Valentin is dropped into this, at the deep end. The 19th century Russian hippies, the fanatically devious disciple Chertkov who wants the great man to sign away the rights to his work, to the Russian People; the hard-pressed but manipulative wife determined to keep it in the family. And the girl who introduces the young man to the pleasures of the flesh. It's a great cast, headed by the unrecognisable Christopher Plummer, and the always marvelous Helen Mirren. The constant undertone in Tolstoy's saga is the disparity between his wish for a good life for the peasants, and the sight of those peasants beavering away in the background while the upper classes get on with their lives of pampered angst.

It's the growing struggle between the disciple and the wife, with the secretary pulled between new and conflicting loyalties, that will grab your attention. You really will care about these people. And what follows is the melodrama. I will say no more, except that it's a big story, told big. Just what Norma Desmond told us we had lost.