Sergei Bodrov Movies

The Russian word morfiy translates as morphine, and that baleful drug with the power of seduction stands at the center of this period drama. Set in 1916, it tells of a young provincial physician, Dr. Mikhail Poliakov, who finds himself drawn into the trap of morphine addiction. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Based on the controversial writings of Russian historian Lev Gumilyov, director Sergei Bodrov's look at the early years in the life of the Mongol conqueror stars Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as Temudgin (as he was then known), Honglei Sun as Mongol chieftain Jamukha, who was both Temudgin's close friend and mortal enemy, and newcomer Khulan Chuluun as his wife, Borte. Born in the year 1162, Temudgen's childhood was marred by tragedy and peril. But a great battle would seal Temudgen's fate forever, and though history often paints him as a brute, the truth is much more complex. Few historians make mention of the role Temudgen's wife, Borte, played in advising her husband and elevating him to greatness. With Borte by his side, Temudgen would rise to become a fearless visionary whose legacy would still prove potent enough to stir controversy centuries after his death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A teenage boy is thrown into a world of love, death, and deception in this powerful drama. Mustafa (Olzhas Nusuppaev) is a 15-year old boy living in Kazakhstan in the early 1990s. Nicknamed "Schizo" by his schoolmates because of several incidents of emotional instability, Mustafa left school and works for Sakura (Eduard Tabischev), his mother's boyfriend, who helps to organize bare-knuckle boxing tournaments for a cadre of bookmakers. Mustafa's job is to find likely fighters for Sakura, and one of the first prospects he brings in is Ali (Gairatzhan Tokhgibakier), who is only a few years older than Mustafa himself. Ali is matched against a large and experienced heavyweight and does not survive the fight; as he lies dying, Ali gives Mustafa all his money and asks him to deliver it to Zinka (Olga Landina), Ali's girlfriend and the mother of his five-year-old daughter. But Mustafa doesn't have the heart to tell Zinka that Ali has died and delivers the money with a story that her boyfriend has gone missing. Mustafa is quite taken with Zinka and begins spending most of his spare time with her; Zinka eventually catches on to the fact Ali is not coming back and persuades Mustafa to set up her uncle Zhaken (Bazkitbek Baimuzhanbetov) in one of Sakura's fights. An experienced boxer, Zhaken wins the fight and splits the purse with Zinka, who decides to accept Mustafa as her new beau. Schizo is the first feature film from screenwriter and actress Guka Omarova. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Sergei Bodrov takes a break from his usual socio-political dramas in Bear's Kiss, a surreal fairy tale following Lola (Rebecca Liljeberg), the 14-year-old daughter of long-time circus employees, and her love affair with a shape-shifting bear who calls himself Misha (Sergei Bodrov Jr.). When her father, Marco (Maurizio Donadoni), is killed in a tragic car accident, the circus caravan travels to Spain, where several gypsy fortune-tellers explain the mysterious art of shape-shifting and the responsibilities it entails. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A gangster finds his professional, family, and romantic lives all taking unexpected turns in this offbeat suspense drama. Oleg (Vladimir Mashkov) is a kingpin in the Russian Mafia who has decided to get out of the business and move to the United States, buying a posh estate in Southern California as a retirement home. Oleg's mother, Anna (Lesley Ann Warren), was once a well-known dancer who was just 14 when she gave birth to him; only a few years later, she fled the Soviet Union, leaving Oleg behind. Today, the much-married Anna is living in California and dating Miguel (Jsu Garcia), a political activist from Peru, though she remains close with her third husband, Michael (Dean Stockwell), and their son, Alex (Henry Thomas). Oleg is also on good terms with Alex, and at a party at Oleg's new mansion, he announces that he'd decided to turn his share of the business over to Alex, much to the disappointment of Anna, who imagined the responsibility (and the money) would be going to her. Oleg soon realizes someone has it in for him, as he begins receiving threatening telephone calls and mysterious packages in the mail; adding to his discomfort, Oleg finds that his new home is overrun with roaches. Oleg calls an exterminating service, and to his surprise, they send over Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an attractive young woman who is to spray the home for bugs. Despite the constant activity around him, Oleg hasn't a wife or a girlfriend, and he finds he's quite taken with Lisa. Throwing caution to the wind, he decides to offer her a sizable tip along with the standard exterminator's fee if she'd be willing to sleep with him. Vladimir Mashkov's performance in The Quickie earned him the Best Actor prize at the 2001 Moscow Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Hollywood wannabes struggle to succeed while striving for relationships that are doomed to fail in this gloomy comedy-drama from writer-director Alexandre Rockwell. Rosie Perez stars as Mercedes, a transplanted New Yorker now living in East L.A. and taxi dancing at a seedy Hollywood strip joint. Mercedes has dreams of achieving stardom as an actress, but her lack of talent means that her goal will probably always elude her. Her travels take her into contact with several eccentric characters including a sage transvestite (Steve Buscemi), a showbiz insider (Sam Fuller), a savvy bartender (Quentin Tarantino), and her useless agent George (Stanley Tucci). Although he won't leave his wife, Mercedes worships her boyfriend Harry Harrelson (Harvey Keitel), once a prominent actor on a TV western whose glory days are long past. In the meantime, Ernesto (Michael DeLorenzo), a faithful customer and gravedigger, falls helplessly in love with Mercedes, but his passion is unrequited, even though he tattoos Mercedes' name across his chest. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, "Greek" (Valery Garkalin) has a pretty pleasant life, running excursion boats with his partner and doing a little professional gambling on the side. Things take a sinister turn when his partner is killed after a big (and inexplicable) loss in a card game. Greek suspects the worst, and vows to track down the cheat and his partner's killer (he expects they are the same person). The outward pleasantness of Russians at play swifly becomes sinister, as more and more people come under Greek's suspicious eye. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

An amateur rock and roll band travels between performances to earn enough money for food and gasoline in this psychological drama. Using a documentary-style approach, the band plays an engagement in a retirement home for the elderly. As a joke, the group puts a cow owned by one of the residents on their bus, and when the cow dies, they try to intimidate the woman who owns the animal into keeping silent about the theft. The experience sparks greater understanding of human needs among the group. A voiceover at the end of the feature declares that one of the group members died in the Afghanistan conflict and asks the rhetorical question "why ?" ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide