Vladimir Gostyukhin Movies
- 2002
Chechen guerilla leader Aslan (Georgi Gurgulia) holds captive two touring actors, John (Ian Kelly) and his fiancée, Margaret (Ingeborga Dapkunaite), along with an injured Russian Captain Medvedev (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) and his sergeant, Ivan (Alexei Chadov). Aslan sets John free to return to Britain and Ivan free to return to Russia; however, he informs John that he must raise ransom money or else Margaret will be gang-raped and killed. John tries frantically to raise the necessary funds, but can only get a fraction of what he needs; meanwhile, he agrees to document his life with a digital camera to make more money. He contacts Ivan for help and they cross the Caucasus and return to Chechnya with a mission to rescue Margaret and Captain Medvedev. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aleksei Chadov, Ian Kelly, (more)
- 1991
- PG
Veteran Russian writer-director Nikita Mikhalkov's film about the impact of modern civilization on an idyllic part of Mongolia won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. A farmer (Bayyartu) and his wife, who live in a rural part of Inner Mongolia, have three children. Chinese population control policies prevent them from having any more. The farmer sets out for the nearest town to obtain birth control. He comes upon a Russian truck driver (Vladimir Gostyukhin) who has ended up in a lake. The farmer takes the man back to his farm, and after initially being appalled at the lack of civilization, the Russian becomes enchanted with the peaceful life of the backwards countryside and decides to stay. But his presence presages big changes for the peasants. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Badema, Vladimir Gostyukhin, (more)
- 1986
Zina (Yevgenia Glushenko) works as a dispatcher of cement trucks for a construction firm. Petrenko (Viktor Pavlov) is a disgruntled truck driver who falsely accuses Zina of sending him to the wrong construction sight. In spite of evidence she was right, Zina is demoted and elects to go on strike in protest. She camps out on a tree stump and vows to remain until Petrenko confesses to his wrongdoing. Her boss' superior arrives but can do nothing to stop Zina in her quest for truth and justice. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yevgenya Glushenko, Viktor Pavlov, (more)
- 1986
Some reviewers mistook this historical drama for a children's film, but it's not exactly a children's film. It's based on a satirical story by 19th-century Russian writer Nikolai Leskov. Though he also wrote a number of serious novels (one of them, Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk was made into an opera by Dmitry Shostakovich), "Levsha" (The Lefty) remains his most well-known and popular work in Russia. The story of Levsha was both a satire on Russian bureaucracy and a celebration of the ingeniousness of ordinary Russian people. In the film, set in 19th-century England, Tsar Alexander I has found a mechanical marvel for his collection of unusual objects from around the world. It is a tiny mechanical flea made of steel -- so small that it can only be properly viewed through a microscope. When its tiny key is wound, it performs a little dance. The next Tsar, Nicholas I, shows the flea to the craftsmen of Russia, with the wish that they might improve on the marvel in some fashion which will highlight Russian genius. A trio of poverty-stricken craftsmen including a man called Lefty agree to take on that task, and soon enough return the flee with their typically Russian improvement: they have put shoes on the flea's feet, with their names engraved on them. These engaging rogues have other adventures as well. The film's director Sergey Ovcharov was awarded at the annual young cinema showcase in Leningrad in 1987. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nikolai Stotsky, Vladimir Gostyukhin, (more)
