Morphine

2008 1h 50m RU

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 92

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The year is 1917. We are in the Russian countryside. It is the middle of freezing winter. A pale young, newly educated doctor arrives. Having to deal with one medical challenge after another he soon becomes the center of everyone's attention. To soothe the impressions of human suffering he turns to morphine.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Leonid Bichevin
Doctor Mikhail Alekseyevich Polyakov
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
Anna Nikolayevna
Andrei Panin
Medical Assistant Anatoliy Lukich Demiyanenko
Svetlana Pismichenko
Pelageya Ivanovna
Katarina Radivojević
Ekaterina Karlovna
Aleksandr Mosin
Vlas
Irina Rakshina
Aksinya
Sergey Garmash
Vasily Osipovich Soborevsky

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Aleksei Balabanov
Writers: Sergei Bodrov Jr.
Languages: Russian
Countries: Russia

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 $3.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Aleksei Balabanov, shot by Aleksandr Simonov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Leonid Bichevin and Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė and Andrei Panin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1186366 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Aleksei Balabanov directs. Aleksandr Simonov behind the camera. Tatyana Kuzmichyova cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Russia. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 18 years ago.
4Directed by Aleksei Balabanov, shot by Aleksandr Simonov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Tatyana Kuzmichyova shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Leonid Bichevin and Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė and Andrei Panin carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt1186366 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.