Alexander Bashirov Movies
- 2007
An attractive and independent thirty-something and her younger lover travel to the remote fishing village of Crimea for a romantic holiday, only to find that things operate much differently in the lawless countryside than they do back in Moscow. Despite their ten year age difference, urban professional Irina and her youthful lover Kostik share a connection that seems to be growing more serious by the day. When Kostik was just a young boy he used to spend his holidays in Crimea, a secluded fishing village. These days Crimea seems to exist in some curious twilight zone between the Soviet past and the Ukranian present, and most folks aren't afraid to break the law in order to make ends meet. Shortly after the couple arrives in Crimea, Kostik is seduced by Katya - a smitten figure from his past who still harbors a sizeable crush on her childhood love. When Katya's current suitor finds out about the affair, his anger at the prospect of losing his girl to an uninvited trespasser from the big city threatens to erupt into violence before the quick-thinking country girl comes up with a most unusual solution. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatiana Lutaeva, Dmitry Isaev, (more)
- 2007
Acclaimed director Kira Muratova's "exquisite cruelty" has never been on such potent display as it is in this showbiz drama concerning the death of a respected stage actor. A psychologically penetrating story told in two parts, Two in One's lurid tale of psychotic stagehands, salacious fathers, and vindictive daughters reveals how events that appear banal on first glance can actually be driven by diabolical intent. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bogdan Stupka, Renata Litvinova, (more)
- 2006
Vodka, women, and wandering dreams define director Slava Ross black comedy set in a children's theater and centering on the lives of drunken actors who take the stage each day to perform as pigs, goats, and plants. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Bashirov, Alexei Maklakov, (more)
- 2001
Son of acclaimed Russian director Sergei Bodrov and a popular actor in his own right, Sergei Bodrov Jr. makes his directorial debut with this drama about a pair of sisters thrown together by circumstances. Aged eight and 13, the two half siblings are hardly aware of the others' existence and couldn't live more separate lives. The younger sister lives with her mobster father in a life of luxury including private tutors, music lessons, and fine clothing. The elder, on the other hand, lives with her ailing grandmother and is forced by necessity to take on adult obligations far beyond her years. When a contract is put out on their father's head, the younger sibling finds herself in danger and believes that the only person she can trust is her long lost older sister. Soon a strong bond develops between the two as they flee for their lives. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oksana Akinshina, Katia Gorina, (more)
- 2001
A husband who suspects his wife has been unfaithful is coached in the fine art of murder by some of history's most noted experts in this dark comedy. Oleg (Ignat Akrachkov) is an actor who has noticed his wife's behavior has become a bit odd, and he's slowly become convinced that his wife is cheating on him with a man (Alexander Bashirov) who recently moved into their neighborhood. Oleg becomes obsessed with the affair he's certain his wife is having, and as he tries to decide what he should do about it, he encounters an elderly gentleman (Oleg Basilashvili) who offers to give him some useful advice. The stranger then escorts Oleg to an opulent mansion where a number of history's most notorious poisoners -- among them Nero, Caligula, Cesare Borgia, and Pope Alexander IV -- give Oleg a crash course in the uses of toxic substances for fun and profit. Yady Ili Vsemirnaya Istoriya Otravlyenii was shown in competition at the 2001 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ignat Akrachkov, Oleg Basilashvili, (more)
- 1998
Jack London's The Iron Heel inspired this Russian political comedy-drama set in St. Petersburg where unemployed communist Nikolai Petrovich (writer-director Alexander Bashirov) lectures dock workers on the evils of capitalism, sits around in a tiny bar, and escorts women to his one-room apartment for readings of Jack London's The Iron Heel. He's loved by Assol (Rita Margo), and the two are often tailed by security agents who spy on them. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Bashirov, Rita Margo, (more)
- 1998
Alexei German directed this French-Russian co-production with atmospheric black-and-white cinematography on snow-covered streets depicting Moscow life of the early '50s. After work, boiler repairman (Alexander Bashirov) walks through the night and into an encounter with Stalin's police. Glinsky (Y. Tsurilo), aka The General, heads a household of his wife (N. Ruslanova), son, twins, grandmother, and servants. Amid anarchic actions at a madcap hospital, the staff turns toady as the General goes about his usual routines. When a KGB plot leads to the General's arrest, he flees only to be caught at the train station. Forced from their apartment, his wife and son move into a seedy rooming house where everyone has their own individual toilet seats. En route to a gulag, the General is gang-raped. Since he's a doctor, he winds up being taken to the country house of the dying Stalin. After a return to his family and the ruins of his home in Moscow, he eventually links up with the boiler repairman. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuri Tsurilo, Nina Ruslanova, (more)
- 1989
In the heady days just prior to the collapse of the Soviet system in Russia, a satirical, anarchistic comedy such as this was just the sort of film to attract huge audiences. Told with the rapid-fire imagery and insistent soundtrack of a music video, it tells the story of Aleksandra (Tatyana Drubich), a self-centered 20-year old girl who escapes from her tiny apartment after she has been locked into by her father it to make her study for her exams. Instead, she parties with her boyfriend Vladimir (Alexander Abdulov) who is perfectly happy to make love to her until he discovers she is pregnant. Nearby, Mitya (Mikhail Rozanov), a suddenly rich fifteen year old boy, shares a flat with his crazed roommate, an Abyssinian given to brewing his own alcoholic beverages. Somehow, Mitya hears of Allesandra's predicament and offers to marry her - which pleases her parents a great deal (after all, he's rich). Most of the fun in this movie comes from in-jokes at the expense of the government's sacred cows, and jokes at the expense of the movie itself and its characters. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatyana Drubich, Alexander Abdulov, (more)
- 1989
While detained in one of the Soviet Gulags (prison work camps), Maria fell in love with and had a child by one of the camp guards. However, in order to save her baby, she was manipulated into a situation where she had to betray her lover. The main attraction of this film is the clear depiction it gives of the harsh conditions of life in these infamous camps. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nataliya Nikulenko, Alexander Bashirov, (more)
- 1989
Originally titled Igla, the Russian The Needle began as a film-school project for aspiring director Rashid Nugmanov. The film stars popular rock singer Viktor Tsoy, here cast as Moro, a young man with a mission. Reunited with his former lover Dina Marina Smirnova, Moro discovers that the woman has become a prostitute and dope addict. He devotes his life to rescuing Dina from her sordid lifestyle. Extremely popular in Russia, The Needle has yet to receive the widespread U.S. release it deserves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viktor Tsoy, Marina Smirnova, (more)
- 1988
This trendy and lively Soviet crime drama is set at a Black Sea resort Yalta in 1980 and centers upon a murderous con man who becomes involved with gangsters after he steals a rare violin. The crook's beautiful mistress accompanies him. Though she is totally in love with him, she befriends a charismatic punk rocker and finds herself attracted to him as well. The rocker falls for her and ends up finding himself drawn into her lover's world of crime. The gangster warns the punk to back off and leave his girl friend alone, but the young rebel refuses to listen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergei Bugayev, Tatyana Drubich, (more)
- 1986
In this intriguing drama, the disenfranchised residents of a small town in Kazakistan in 1946 form the social backdrop for a young boy's awakening to poverty and reality. Vania's father is an artist who came back from World War II with a brain injury and only one arm, both of which take their toll. A woman whom his father loves cannot adjust to a life without her husband (who left her) and succumbs to the effects of depression. Meanwhile, the townspeople have one source of enjoyment: they capture and sell pigeons in a kind of competitive one-upmanship. When Vania finds a white dove, he is especially excited; he has just beat out everyone else with this unusual specimen. But the dove is stolen and the consequences lead to some new lessons for a young boy who is already beset with problems. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Slava Ilyuschenko, Sultan Banov, (more)
