Director:
Anna Tchernakova
Cinematographer
Yevgeny Pheliphorov
Alexander Karyuk
Cast
Ranevskaya : Tatiana Lavrova
Lopakhin : Alexander Pheklistov
Varya : Alyona Kolchugina
Gayef : Vladlen Davydov
Firs : Alexander Grave
Charlotta : Evdokiya Germanova
Epikhodof : Pavel Belozerov
Petya Trophimof : Alexander Shpagin
Anya : Mariya Surova
Pishchik : Vladimir Poglazov
Yasha : Maxim Drozd
Dunyasha : Darya Volga
Passer-by : Anatoly Bocharov
Produced in 1992-93, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this film is a fascinating version of Chekhov’s last symbol-saturated play. It exposed aristocracy’s fading grip on Russia at the end of the 19th century, anticipating the revolutions of the years to come.
The film was shot on a 19th-century estate and is an attempt to translate the structure of the play into the medium of film. Describing the movements of the characters beyond what is shown on stage, it explores and interprets the characters in Chekhov’s play free of the restrictions of the theatre.
The house itself becomes an important part of the unravelling drama; a fortress, refuge and protection from the outside world and its anarchy, hatred and death; a symbol of peace and tradition, but also of backwardness.
In this sense the film also becomes a powerful reminder of the changes which shook the Soviet Union in the last decade of the 20th century.
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