Irina Apeksimova Movies

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Mumu: 1999

In Mumu, Lyudmilla Maksakova plays Mistress, a wealthy landlady in 19th Century Russia who has a large population of serfs in her grasp -- and she happens to enjoy squeezing them every once in a while. She's always searching for new ways to emotionally manipulate her underlings, her favorite having herself pronounced dead so she can see how people would react to her passing (she's tried this more than once). Into this picture comes Gerasimo (Alexander Baluev), a bearded mountain of a man who happens to be mute. Most men regard him as a simpleton and toy with him (which they usually come to regret), while women are often charmed by his gentle yet masculine nature. Gerasimo soon finds himself in the first stages of romance with a lovely blonde serf and adopts a small dog, which he names Mumu (one of the only sounds he can make). However, Mistress is not happy with either of these developments and puts a stop to both -- which earns her Gerasimo's wrath. Based on a story by Ivan Turgenev, this historical drama ironically became the first Russian film to have its own promotional website (mumu.park.ru). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Starring:: Lyudmila Maksakova, Alexander Baluev, (more)

The Saint: 1997; PG13; Add The Saint to Queue Add The Saint to top of Queue

Based on the popular novels about that other suave, globe-trotting man of action, this genre picture from director Phillip Noyce mixed romance and character development with dangerous stunts, geopolitical intrigue, and a variety of elaborate disguises, resulting in an uneven stew of a spy thriller. Val Kilmer is Simon Templar, a classy, cunning master thief and "man of a thousand faces" who cribs his phony names from those of obscure saints and sells his illegal services to the highest bidder. Hired by an ambitious Russian politician (Rade Serbedzija) to steal the formula for cold fusion, Templar falls in love with Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue), the frail Oxford scientist who has unlocked the secret of the process. Back in Moscow, the thief debates whether to betray his new love or the powerful madman who is paying him millions, until he discovers that his client is concealing oil reserves that could save his freezing people. Often seen as an also-ran to the legendary James Bond, Templar, the creation of author Leslie Charteris, in fact predated the first Bond novel by decades and probably inspired Ian Fleming in his creation of the debonair agent. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Starring:: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, (more)

Muzhskie Otkroveniya: 1996

Starring:: Irina Apeksimova, Kseniya Kachalina, (more)

Odinokiy Igrok: 1995

Starring:: Valery Nikolaev, Andrei Sokolov, (more)

Limita: 1994

The hectic, materialistic lives of Russian nouveau riche provide the framework for this Russian thriller. The two protagonists, Ivan and Misha are two rubes who came to Moscow to participate in the perestroika economic boom. They are definitely limitas, Russian for hicks. Ivan becomes a wealthy computer code-breaker. The story really begins when he is given a disk to decode. It is an incredibly difficult code to break. Just as he is breaking it, he discovers that the code was set by Misha who is a technical specialist for a bank. Wanting to protect his friend he stops the decoding program. Because Misha is the only one with the disk key, Ivan's action accidently causes him to be killed. Ivan seeks revenge but when he discovers that the information on the disk has involved him he becomes bitter and cynical. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi