Burnt by the Sun

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

1994 2h 15m RU

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 215

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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...

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

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Cast

Oleg Menshikov
Dmitry
Nikita Mikhalkov
Sergey
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
Marusya
Nadezhda Mikhalkova
Nadya
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Vsevolod Konstantinovich
Svetlana Kryuchkova
Mokhova
Vladimir Ilin
Kirik
Alla Kazanskaya
Lidia Stepanovna

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Writers: Nikita Mikhalkov, Rustam Ibragimbekov
Languages: Russian
Countries: Russia, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Russia, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Part of the "Burnt by the Sun Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, shot by Vilen Kalyuta. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eduard Artemyev. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Enzo Meniconi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nikita Mikhalkov directs. Vilen Kalyuta behind the camera. Eduard Artemyev scores. Enzo Meniconi cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Russia, France. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
332 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: Russia, France.
5Part of the "Burnt by the Sun Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, shot by Vilen Kalyuta. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Eduard Artemyev. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Enzo Meniconi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Oleg Menshikov and Nikita Mikhalkov and Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "A moving and poignant story set against the corrupt politics of the Stalinist era.".
11IMDB entry: tt0111579 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Released under 22 different titles around the world.