Bogdan Stupka Movies

As helmed by director Vladimir Bortko, this Russian-language saga dramatizes the life and experiences of Taras Bulba, a 16th century Cossack leader from Ukraine. Bulba spends his days fighting the Poles, who are oppressing the Ukrainians of the day, and makes his most calculating move by sending his son to study in Poland, so that the boy can learn the ways of the oppressing country. Once there, however, the boy promptly falls in love with a Polish noblewoman. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Cossacks must fiercely stand their ground as Polish armies close in. Bulba's story was previously told in an eponymous 1962 drama by J. Lee Thompson that starred Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The Nika Award winner or Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay, director Dimitri Meskhiyev's unforgiving war drama follows the plight of three German detention camp escapees who seek refuge in a small village while attempting to reveal the trader in their ranks. August, 1941: The Nazis are advancing on the Eastern front as three Russian soldiers seize an opportunity for escape. Former security officer Tolya (Sergei Garmash), Jewish politico Lifshits (Konstantin Khabensky), and sure shot sniper Mitya (Mikhail Evlanov) were being marched to a detention camp when they made a break from the group to try their luck in the countryside. What better place to seek shelter than on the property of Mitya's father Ivan (Bogdan Stupka)? It would have been the perfect plan, if it weren't for the fact that Ivan is a staunch anti-Soviet in collaboration with the German occupying forces. Unable to turn away his own son, Ivan reluctantly takes in the trio, only to incur the wrath of the local police captain (Fedor Bondarchuk), who promptly arrests Ivan's daughters and demands the soldiers' surrender as ransom. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Jerzy Hoffman brings one of Poland's most famous legends to the screen with this tale of a cruel prince determined to hold onto power, and a brave young warrior who longs to marry a beautiful princess. The time was the 9th Century, and various Slavic tribes wandered the land that would later be known as Poland. As opposed to praising a single deity that united them all, each tribe worshipped their own distinct god. Popiel was a cruel prince who, along with his scheming wife, nefariously plotted to find a means of passing control of the land to their sun and heir. Recognizing the crimes that he is ordered to carry out in order to make this transition of power possible, the commander of Popiel's army - a noble soul named Piastun - decides to part ways with the corrupted ruler. But Popiel strikes back at Piastun with such ferocity that the prince's former aid nearly loses his life. Nursed back to health by a young hunter and warrior named Ziemowit Pastowic, Piastun ultimately makes a full recover. Ziemowit has only recently returned to his homeland after years of sailing the sea with Vikings, and now he has fallen for a pretty merchant's daughter named Dziwa. Later, as Ziemowit asks for Dziwa's hand in marriage, he is devastated to learn that her controlling father Wisz is determined to ensure that his daughter will become a high priestess in a local temple. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

French director Regis Wargnier's fifth feature film is a romantic period drama which is also a tribute to the victims of a tragic Stalinist episode. In June 1946, Stalin launched a major propaganda campaign aimed at Russians who had settled in the West, offering them amnesty and an opportunity to be involved in the postwar restructuring of the USSR. Many people who believed Stalin and returned home were executed, interned, or subjected to repression. The protagonist of Est-Ouest, Alexei Golovin (Oleg Menshikov), takes his young French wife Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and son Serioja with him on the long journey back to his native land that he has missed so much. On the board of the steamship taking them to Odessa, people like them celebrate the new life that they anticipate. However, reality strikes when they reach shore. Many people are immediately executed or sent to work camps. Alexei is spared to use his skill as an accomplished doctor. He is sent to Kiev to work in a dispensary and live in a communal apartment. Alexei accepts his fate but Marie dreams of escaping to freedom. Opportunity comes her way when she meets Gabrielle Develay (Catherine Deneuve), a famous French actress on tour, passing through Kiev. Tension mounts as the relationship of Alexei and Marie is put to test. For the script of this co-production between France and Russia, Wargnier had three other collaborators: Louis Gardel, who had previously collaborated with Wargnier on Indochine; Sergei Bodrov, a well-known Russian filmmaker best-known for his award winning S.E.R. and The Prisoner of the Mountains; and Azeri scriptwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov, best remembered for his scripts of Nikita Mikhalkov films. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

In this whimsical Russian romantic thriller two young musicians become involved in intrigue as they fall in love. The film is set in 1957 Moscow. Igor, a university student and aspiring jazz musician, and Michelle, an attractive French secret service agent, meet at an international youth festival. Igor is encouraged by the KGB to seduce her and then go to France with her. The organization is on to her cover and are anxious to send spies into her father's munitions manufacturing outfit. But Michelle is not all she seems to be and she and Igor fall in love. When they meet again at a Denmark concert they decide to head for freedom. The KGB pursues them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi