Fyodor Dostoyevsky Movies

A film that examines the relationships between lives on both sides of the proscenium, Petr Zelenka's Karamazovi finds a Prague-based theatrical ensemble arriving in Krakow, Poland - where its members prepare to mount a stage production of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. The central catch behind this unusual production is the locale: the play will be conducted at the local steelworks. Zelenka's central narrative crisscrosses two spheres of reality - the documentary-like sphere of the actors playing the characters, and the more traditional cinematic narrative involving the characters in the play itself. Soon, distinct, haunting parallels between the two begin to emerge. Then, an unexpected tragedy arrives from out of left field that brutally impacts one of the spectators of the play, and further echoes the structure and preoccupations of the tale in the original novel. Throughout, Zelenka explores one central theme: that of intellectuals and their moral accountability to a world that has lost both spiritual faith and a bedrock of ethos. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The title of Saawariya carries a double meaning; it refers to both an epithet for the Hindu god Krishna and to a title sought by many Indian lovers, who wish to reach a state of 'Saawariya,' or overpowering consumption by love. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya weaves the tale of the ill-fated romance between two such individuals: artist Raj, who finds the fulfillment of his soul's yearning when he enters one of the most picturesque rural hamlets in India, and his lover, Sakina, a mysterious young woman whom he spots standing on a bridge. Raj tries desperately to win Sakina's love and devotion, but finds it increasingly difficult to accept the truth of her past. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's evergreen psychological novel Crime and Punishment was given an up-close-and-personal treatment in this two-part British miniseries version, first telecast over the BBC in 2002. John Simm starred as Dostoyevsky's idealistic antihero Raskolnikov, who, secure in his belief that he was a superior being ungoverned by emotions, murdered a hateful pawnbroker and impassively watched as the ensuing criminal investigation unfolded before his very eyes. Police inspector Porfiry (Ian McDiarmid) was fairly confident that Raskolnikov was the guilty party, but rather than immediately moving in for his kill, Porfiry calmly waited for the killer's latent conscience to get the better of him. There was more to the story, of course, and Tony Marchant's teleplay admirably telescoped the Dostoyevsky original into a neat four-hour television package. Eschewing the straightforward approach taken by earlier adaptations of Crime and Punishment, director Julian Jarrold trafficked in tight, uncomfortable close-ups and vertigo-inducing camera angles, virtually forcing the viewer to become as neurotic and unraveled as Raskolnikov. Filmed on location in St. Petersburg in the former Soviet Union, Crime and Punishment was first seen in the U.S. over the Bravo cable network on January 28 and 29, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first film of New York-based French director Raphael Nadjari is an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Gentle Creature, which had also inspired Une Femme douce of Robert Bresson. The Shade is a drama about a mysterious woman and a pawnbroker who meet in New York. The film begins with Simon, who is alone in his apartment with the corpse of his wife, Anna, who has just committed suicide. In his grief, he remembers the first time he met her, a year ago when she walked into his pawnbroker's shop in Spanish Harlem. Mysterious Anna, who seems to come from nowhere, impresses solitary Simon with her sad beauty, and he proposes to her on their first night out. The Shade is a love story with great psychological insight. 52nd Cannes Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of Dostoevsky's novella does an exceptional job of retaining the multi-textured richness of the original story about the intimate thoughts of an anonymous lonely building inspector known only as the Underground Man. Everything about the misanthropic civil servant is dull and unpleasant. His job is boring and his only joy comes in using bureaucracy to spitefully torment contractors and architects who despise him. Realizing that he has no friends, the Underground Man does try to ingratiate himself with acquaintances and only ends up even more lonely and bitter. It does not help that he believes himself intellectually superior to those he encounters. He gets involved with a prostitute, Liza, whom he sees at a local brothel. His relationship with her is as complex as he is. On one hand he inflicts his seething rage and the pain of his isolation upon her; on the other, he cares about her and wants to help her escape her sordid situation. He decides to take her to his home, but once she is there, he finds that he is unable to overcome his misanthropy and ends up making her even more miserable. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This film represents the Peruvian adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment with a special focus upon the religious aspects of the story. This version is set in modern Lima and closely follows the original plot. It centers around Ramon a poor student who makes a startling confession to a priest. While struggling as a student, Ramon encounters Sonia a very young prostitute. Her plight fills him with rage against the injustices of society. He subsequently murders a rich, old woman and her husband. He then has several strange encounters with an almost omni-present police inspector. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this austere, even arid retelling of the story from Feodor Dostoyevsky's novel, all the characters have been transferred to an Indian setting. The "idiot," or title character is an upper-class man who has been transformed by his experiences into someone who takes a close and minute interest in improving the lives of those around him. By the standards of upper-class Russian (or in this case, Indian) society, he has become an "idiot" and is quite literally insane. This unguardedly saintly behavior provokes a villainous response in several characters, who eventually succeed in destroying this very dangerous sort of man. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This international co-production is loosely based on the works of Dostoyevsky (most notably The Eternal Husband) but it is set and lensed in Prague. Musician and incorrigible duellist Milan (Tim Roth) seduces Teresa (Ana Belen), the wife of his unsuspecting friend Franz (Peter Firth). Many years later, after Teresa's death, Franz comes to Milan with a little daughter. Milan suspects that Franz knows about his longtime affair with Teresa and that the daughter might be Milan's own. When the girl dies from a grave illness, Milan challenges Franz, but the latter refuses to shoot him at the duel. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

This political drama is taken from the classic story from Feodor Dostoyevsky, but liberties have been taken and many secondary characters eliminated. The author's condemnation of a godless society and his disdain of those who follow blindly to popular political causes remains intact. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Inspired by Dostoyevsky's famous novel, this engrossing Finnish version of "Crime and Punishment" revolves around an ex-law student in Helsinki (Markku Toikka) who now works in a slaughterhouse. One day the worker searches out the drunk driver that had killed his fiancée and coldly shoots him to death. The worker does not get away without being seen by a woman named Eeva (Aino Seppo), and in spite of the fact that the woman knows everything, including his name (Rahikainen), she says nothing to the police about it. Instead, she and Rahikainen, the murderer, become involved in an affair that cannot possibly have a future. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When a poor student kills an elderly female moneylender, he believes that he is some sort of revolutionary hero. It is quite a comedown for him when he is instead treated as a very ordinary murderer. This movie adapted its story from Dostoyevsky's famous novel Crime and Punishment, changing it to an Egyptian locale, but it otherwise remains remarkably true to its source. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Four Nights of a Dreamer is a loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novella White Nights, with the action transposed from 19th century Russia to modern-day France. One night, Jacques (Guillaume Des Forets), a young man with artistic aspirations, sees a girl (Isabelle Weingarten) trying to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge. When he prevents her from jumping, Marthe tells him that she has become desperate waiting for her lover, who left her almost a year ago but promised to return. Jacques asks Marthe to meet him by the bridge the next night and the girl agrees. They spend the following three nights wandering through Paris, and Jacques tries in vain to cure Marthe of the memories of her elusive lover. The same story was previously filmed by Luchino Visconti as Le Notti Bianche. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide