Nikolai Lavrov Movies

The Chekhovian Zwty Kalenduly is a tragicomedy inspired by The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, which are both written in the style of the "datcha drama" ("datcha" meaning "country house" in Russian). The story takes place in the "datcha" of Protassov, a poet who belonged to the Soviet aristocracy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the poet also died, leaving behind his 80-year-old wife, his daughter Serafima and three granddaughters. Times have changed, and the family must struggle for survival. Serafima is determined to prevent her mother from donating the "datcha" and its property to a minor museum dedicated to the poet. Her three daughters, each from a different marriage, deal with the situation in various ways. One rejects reality, the other wants to immigrate to the U.S., while the third would like to keep the family nest. The potential buyer of the estate is a perfect representative of the 'New Russian'. The story follows the slow death of an aristocratic family using their datcha as the center of the changes in their fortunes; the film describes the life of three generations with intelligent humor and extravagant costumes. Zwty Kalenduly was screened at the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

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, Rovi