Stanislav Govorukhin Movies

Set in Russia just after the end WWII, Stanislav Govorukhiun's Not By Bread Alone concerns a love triangle that offers a parable for the conflict between communism and individuality. Viktor Sukhorukov portrays Drozhdoz, a powerful local figure who believes the communism allows average people and gifted people to stay on equal footing. His wife (Svetlana Khodchenkova) loses her feelings for him and soon beings a scientist attempting to create inventions. His creations are usually compromised by Drozhdoz. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Stanislav Govorukhin directs this revenge drama that skewers both that country's pandemic corruption and nouveau riche thugs. Ivan Fedorovich (Mikhail Ulyanov) is a former railway worker who served during WWII as a sharp shooter in a crack Voroshilov regiment. Long retired, Ivan lives with his attractive teenaged granddaughter Katya (Anna Sinyakina), while her executive mother chases both business and men abroad. One day, Katya is picked up by a trio of wealthy young "New Russians" who have a taste for expensive cars and violent Western movies. They take her to a neighboring apartment complex, get her drunk, and then take turns raping her. The three boast that she is not the first girl they have ravaged and will not be the last. When Katya staggers home and tells her grandfather what happened, he immediately informs the police. The cops arrest the rapists and beat a confession out of them. Yet before the criminal trial can proceed, the district inspector (Vladislav Galkin), who coincidentally is the father of one of the rapists, orders the charges be dropped. After angrily complaining to a series of unreceptive bureaucrats, Ivan decides to take manners into his own hands using his old marksmanship expertise and a black market rifle. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Reviewers considered this film to be more of a collection of raw material for a more tightly crafted film than a film in itself. It consists of footage shot by the Russian dissident (now an Israeli citizen) Moisei Kalik before 1971, when he left Russia, as well as more recent material. It combines autobiographical material with commentary on Russian history and clips covering the evolution of Russian cinema. The autobiographical material starts by showing a rebellious boy who is eventually exiled to one of the gulags. When he is freed, he enters a state-run cinematography school. There again, his rebelliousness and insistence on speaking the truth get him into trouble. The director's own story is broken up with newreel footage, clips from his films, and clips from Russian classics. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The crime and squalor which pervade the lives of ordinary Russians in the last half of the 1980s is the subject of this documentary , which strongly advocates a beefed up and modernized police force in Russia, built along U.S. lines. In it, the filmmaker contrasts the situation of police in Moscow with their New York icounterparts. He shows that the police in the U.S. are better prepared to deal swiftly with violent and gang-oriented crime. Ordinary people whose lives have deteriorated in the emerging post-Soviet era are interviewed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Kira Muratova made this film under the pseudonym of Ivan Sidorov in 1983, but the official release came in 1988. Taken from the novel by Vladimir Korolenko, this somber drama tells of a judge who is devastated after the death of his wife and is neglectful of his children. His son befriends the children of a street beggar who live in an abandoned, derelict church. After his experience with is new friends, the young boy begins to feel sorry for his father and sympathizes with his loneliness. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

While Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is regarded as one of the true classics of American literature, it has also become a favorite in many other countries around the world and this lengthy screen adaptation of Tom Sawyer was originally produced as a miniseries for Russian television. Tom Sawyer faithfully follows the narrative of the book as Tom (Fedya Stukov) and his friend, Huck Finn (Vladik Sukhachev), find adventure along the Mississippi River and Tom finds first love with Becky Thatcher (Mariya Mironova). For its American release on home video, Tom Sawyer was dubbed into English and the names of most of the cast and crew were Americanized; Fedya Stukov became Fred Stack and director Stanislav Govorukhin is credited as Stan Govorkin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi