Andrei Sokolov Movies
- 1994
Oleg (Oleg Basilashvili) is in for a really strange time, that much is clear. Of course, just the fact of his desire to visit a gypsy fortuneteller in the first place is an indication of that. He's well past middle age, in his 50s, and is an established, well-known writer. When the fortuneteller told him the same thing (you will have an unusual time), he didn't really believe her. However, when he runs into a 25-year old man in his apartment claiming the same parentage, profession, name and birthday - as well as having a scar over his eye identical to the one older Oleg has, it seems like the prediction has already come true - but it is just beginning. Oleg the younger (Andrei Sokolov) says he's leaving for Israel in the morning, but between then and now, he's at Oleg the older's disposal. For some reason, the presence of this near-doppelganger lends the older man courage and recklessness unlike anything he ever had before, and as he sets things right and gets revenge for previous slights, strange adventures abound. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oleg Basilashvili, Irène Jacob, (more)
- 1990
In the new Russia, everyone is seeking "hard" currency -- that is to say, cash in a form that is reliably worth something, instead of rubles which cannot easily be used overseas. In this film, a pimp who is reputed to have a large supply of that kind of money gets kidnapped. However, in this action movie, more than one underworld group wants that cash, so plots and counterplots meet up with betrayals and untrustworthy alliances while the pimp, no good guy himself, seeks his freedom. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrei Sokolov, Igor Volkov, (more)
- 1989
In this farcical dark comedy/melodrama, Lena (Natalya Negoda) manages to lose her place at college by virtue of throwing a minor hissy-fit when she catches her erstwhile boyfriend in bed with another girl. Instead of penalizing the boy for his behavior, Lena gets stuck with a court appearance and must pay a small fine, in addition to losing a boyfriend, her college career, and an apartment. Lena belongs to a film club which occasionally hands out awards, and the membership of it decides to send her into the Russian hinterlands to hand out an award to an obscure filmmaker. Once there, she is the object of many (married) men's attentions, which leads to one of the funnier moments in the film. Throughout the film, Lena has been associated with a bizarre con man named Stepanich (Alexei Zharkov) who, when his cons fall through, comes to her in the distant town she has gone to seeking her help in committing suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexei Zharkov, Natalya Negoda, (more)
The title character of the Russian Little Vera is a headstrong teenage girl, played by Natalya Negoda. To the dismay of her parents, Vera lives only for the moment, making no provision for her future. She'd rather hang out at local cafes in garish makeup and provocative clothing. A chance meeting with handsome student Sergei (Andrei Sokolov) develops into a sexual relationship. Her parents send out Vera's brother (Alexander Alexeyev-Negreba) to talk some sense into her, which proves to be doubly dicey when it turns out that the brother is an old acquaintance of the rebellious Sergei. Vera lies, saying that she's gotten pregnant by Sergei, so he obligingly marries her and moves in with her family, which serves only to make matters worse, as Vera's drunken father (Yuri Nazarov) ends up stabbing his son-in-law. Persuaded to lie about the incident to keep her father out of jail, Vera takes her family's side. A last-minute tragedy is barely averted, but the audience gets the distinct feeling that Vera's problems with her family in particular and her life in general are far from over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalya Negoda, Andrei Sokolov, (more)
