The Barber of Siberia (1998)

At the turn of the century, a young Russian cadet falls in love with an American beauty, endangering his career and even their lives.

Director:

Nikita Mikhalkov

Writers:

Nikita Mikhalkov (story), Rustam Ibragimbekov (screenplay)

Stars:

Julia Ormond, Oleg Menshikov, Aleksey Petrenko

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Ormond	...	Dzheyn (as Dzhuliya Ormond)
Oleg Menshikov	...	Tolstoy
Aleksey Petrenko	...	Radlov
Richard Harris	...	Makkreken (as Richard Kharris)
Vladimir Ilin	...	Mokin
Marat Basharov	...	Polievskiy
Nikita Tatarenkov	...	Alibekov
Georgiy Dronov	...	Nazarov
Artyom Mikhalkov	...	Buturlin
Daniel Olbrychski	...	Kopnovskiy (as Daniel Olbrykhskiy)
Marina Neyolova	...	Mat Tolstogo
Avangard Leontev	...	Dyadya Nikolya
Anna Mikhalkova	...	Dunyasha
Robert Hardy	...	Forsten (as Robert Khardi)
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Perepelkina (as Elizabet Spriggs)

Storyline

Douglas is a foreign entrepreneur, who ventures to Russia in 1885 with dreams of selling a new, experimental steam-driven timber harvester in the wilds of Siberia. Jane is his assistant, who falls in love with a young Russian officer, André, and spends the next ten years perfecting the harvester, and pursuing her love, who has been exiled to Siberia.

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Plot Keywords:

russia | siberia | cadet | imperial russia | foreign woman | 

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Taglines:

He's Russian. That explains a lot.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The title as it is shown in the credits uses old Russian orthography, abandoned after the October Socialist Revolution of 1917.

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Goofs

American soldiers wear gas masks, which were not used by troops until WWI. In the US Army, they appeared first in 1917.

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Quotes

Dzheyn: I'm one of those women your mother must have warned you about.

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Connections

Referenced in Comedy Club: Episode #1.4 (2005)

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Soundtracks

March of Saratovasky Regiment

User Reviews

Critics despise it, I loved it!

I must have an extremely bad taste. Most professional critics have written devastating comments on this film. I just loved it, all 180 minutes of it! Of course, according to the books, you should not mix slapstick and serious drama. Mikhalkov does it and the result completely vindicates him, I feel. Critics should not forget that cinema is about entertainment. Critics blame Mikhalkov because he did not make another high brow artistic film like « Burnt by the sun », but "prostituted" his talent by bowing to the Hollywood taste. I liked both films evenly well, different as they are. Critics say Mikhalkov presented a phony image of old Russia. Of course his billboard image of tsarist Russia is not devoid of clichés and camp, but what a glorious camp it is! Mikhalkov is accused of painting a much too rosy picture of old Russia. But are the Russians (and other people) not entitled to some glimpses of the beautiful Russia that could have been, but somehow never seems able to materialize in this century of gloom ? The critics point out that the film has a lot of formal weaknesses. To the heck with the critics ! The film may not have a very deep message, but I think it illustrates, in a poetic way, the difficulty Russians and Westerners have at understanding each other. Either you love this film, or you ‘d better leave it . When you look at the vote results, you see three quarters of those who voted on this film adore it (scores 8-10), while the others loathe it (scores 1-4). Apparently it is a film you can't be indifferent to.

Details

Country:

Russia France Italy Czech Republic

Language:

Russian English French German

Release Date:

20 February 1999 (Russia)

Also Known As:

The Barber of Siberia

Filming Locations:

Aldeia do Meco, Sesimbra, Setúbal, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,634,218

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio Trite, Caméra One, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 275 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1