Burnt by the Sun 2
Encyclopedia
Burnt by the Sun 2 is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by and starring Nikita Mikhalkov
. The film concists of two parts: : Exodus (Предстояние, literally 'Prestanding') and Citadel (Цитадель). It is the sequel to Mikhalkov's 1994 film Burnt by the Sun
, set in the Eastern Front of World War II. Burnt by the Sun 2 had the largest production budget ever seen in the Russian cinema ($55 mln), but it turned out to be Russia's biggest box office flop, and received negative reviews from critics both in Russia and abroad.
), the former Revolutionary hero betrayed by Stalin. He escapes certain death in the Gulag and fights on the Eastern Front as a private.
It has been five years of terror for his wife Maroussia, without the husband she believes is dead and with a daughter who has rejected her. Nadia has spent five years in hiding, proud of her father whom she refuses to disown and whom she believes is alive, despite all reports to the contrary.
Mitya (Oleg Menshikov
)survived his suicide attempt, and reluctantly continues to execute the orders of a regime he holds in contempt. Stalin, with his nation under attack by former ally Adolf Hitler
, recalls many of those whom he has had executed or exiled to the GULAG
. He tries to mobilize the Soviet population - by any means necessary - to rise against the threat of Nazism
.
ning, bad acting and other failures. It was criticized for abruptly breaking with the continuity of the first film, including mysteriously resurrecting characters presumed dead and changing their ages. For example, according to the first film, Nadia would have been 11 in 1941, but she is portrayed as an adult.
Critics panned many provocative episodes, such as a German pilot defecating on a Russian ship, or Kotov's dipping Stalin into a cake. The Russian media reviews were especially hostile to the film, because of its revisionist portrayal of Russian army and Soviet leaders. As web publicist Dmitry Puchkov
noted, "like any other nation, Russians don't want to see their fathers portrayed as shit.". Western critics were mostly negative as well. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt criticized the film for "sticking too closely to the Kremlin's approved version of World War II and for its promotion of orthodox Christianity
." An American film critic likened its portrayal of the madness of World War II to the American Joseph Heller
's Catch 22.
Burnt by the Sun 2: Prestanding had the highest-ever budget for a Russian film ($55 million) but made a very poor box-office showing
, despite heavy promotion that included a premiere inside the Moscow Kremlin
.
The film was screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
and was allowed to compete for awards, although it had premiered before the festival. At Cannes it received a standing ovation
, but no awards.
The Russian opposition activist Valeria Novodvorskaya
said that despite her complete disagreement with the political views of Mikhalkov (who expresses support towards Putin) and despite the film's being "artistically ungifted", she believed it is a good depiction of the first stages of the war against Germany. It shows how badly the Red Army
was prepared for war because of Stalin's poor strategic skills.
A third associated Burnt by the Sun film is expected to open in Europe and the United States in 2011.
In September 2011, the Russian Film Comitee selected Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel as the Russian nominee for Academy Awards. This move was followed with protests and disagreement from many filmmakers, including another Academy Awards recipient Vladimir Menshov
and Mikhalkov's brother director Andrey Konchalovsky.
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
. The film concists of two parts: : Exodus (Предстояние, literally 'Prestanding') and Citadel (Цитадель). It is the sequel to Mikhalkov's 1994 film Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union...
, set in the Eastern Front of World War II. Burnt by the Sun 2 had the largest production budget ever seen in the Russian cinema ($55 mln), but it turned out to be Russia's biggest box office flop, and received negative reviews from critics both in Russia and abroad.
Exodus
The film begins in June 1941. Five years have passed since the lives and destinies of General Kotov, his wife Maroussia, their daughter Nadia, as well as those of Mitia and the Sverbitski family, were irrevocably changed: it has meant five years of incarceration for General Kotov (Nikita MikhalkovNikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
), the former Revolutionary hero betrayed by Stalin. He escapes certain death in the Gulag and fights on the Eastern Front as a private.
It has been five years of terror for his wife Maroussia, without the husband she believes is dead and with a daughter who has rejected her. Nadia has spent five years in hiding, proud of her father whom she refuses to disown and whom she believes is alive, despite all reports to the contrary.
Mitya (Oleg Menshikov
Oleg Menshikov
Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov ; is a Russian entertainer. He is a film and theatre actor, singer and director. He started his film career in the early 1980s playing in the comedy Pokrovskie vorota and in Nikita Mikhalkov's Rodnya....
)survived his suicide attempt, and reluctantly continues to execute the orders of a regime he holds in contempt. Stalin, with his nation under attack by former ally Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, recalls many of those whom he has had executed or exiled to the GULAG
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. He tries to mobilize the Soviet population - by any means necessary - to rise against the threat of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
.
Cast
- Nikita MikhalkovNikita MikhalkovNikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
as Col. Sergei Petrovich Kotov - Oleg MenshikovOleg MenshikovOleg Evgenyevich Menshikov ; is a Russian entertainer. He is a film and theatre actor, singer and director. He started his film career in the early 1980s playing in the comedy Pokrovskie vorota and in Nikita Mikhalkov's Rodnya....
as Mitya - Mikhail EfremovMikhail Olegovich YefremovMikhail Olegovich Yefremov is a Russian film and stage actor, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation ....
as - Dmitri DyuzhevDmitri DyuzhevDmitri Petrovich Dyuzhev is a Russian film and stage actor, singer.- Early life :Dmitri was born in family of a famous actor Peter Dyuzhev and Ludmila Dyuzheva...
as Vanya - Vladimir IlyinVladimir Adolfovich IlyinVladimir Adolfovich Ilyin is a Russian actor. He was awarded People's Artist of Russia in 1999.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Kirik - Yevgeny MironovYevgeny Mironov (actor)Yevgeny Mironov is a Russian film and stage actor, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation , People's Artist of Russia , State Prize of the Russian Federation laureate . Yevgeny Mironov lives and works in Moscow, Russia.- Early life :Yevgeny Mironov was born in Saratov...
as Izyumov - Nadezhda MikhalkovaNadezhda MikhalkovaNadezhda Mikhalkova is a Russian actress.Nadezhda is the youngest daughter of actor and film director Nikita Mikhalkov and fashion designer Tatyana Shigaeva. Her brother Artyom and sister Anna are also actors...
as Nadya - Andrey Merzlikin as Nikolaj
- Andrey Panin as Kravets
- Sergei MakovetskySergei MakovetskySergei Makovetsky is a Russian movie actor.- Filmography :Films:*1982 - To take live!*1990 - Sons of Bitches*1992 - Trotsky - Lev Trotsky*1994 - Burnt by the Sun - Captain*1996 - Of Freaks and Men*1997 - Three Stories...
as Lunin - Viktoriya Tolstoganova as Marusia
- Angelina Mirimskaya as Lyuba
- Tagir Rakhimov as Cameo
Reception
The film received mostly negative reviews from both Russian and western critics. It was panned for historical inaccuracies, retconRetcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ning, bad acting and other failures. It was criticized for abruptly breaking with the continuity of the first film, including mysteriously resurrecting characters presumed dead and changing their ages. For example, according to the first film, Nadia would have been 11 in 1941, but she is portrayed as an adult.
Critics panned many provocative episodes, such as a German pilot defecating on a Russian ship, or Kotov's dipping Stalin into a cake. The Russian media reviews were especially hostile to the film, because of its revisionist portrayal of Russian army and Soviet leaders. As web publicist Dmitry Puchkov
Dmitry Puchkov
Dmitry Yuryevich Puchkov , also known as Goblin and Starshiy Operupolnomocheniy Goblin, is an English-to-Russian movie and video game translator, script-writer, and author...
noted, "like any other nation, Russians don't want to see their fathers portrayed as shit.". Western critics were mostly negative as well. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt criticized the film for "sticking too closely to the Kremlin's approved version of World War II and for its promotion of orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
." An American film critic likened its portrayal of the madness of World War II to the American Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
's Catch 22.
Burnt by the Sun 2: Prestanding had the highest-ever budget for a Russian film ($55 million) but made a very poor box-office showing
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, despite heavy promotion that included a premiere inside the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
.
The film was screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...
and was allowed to compete for awards, although it had premiered before the festival. At Cannes it received a standing ovation
Standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim...
, but no awards.
The Russian opposition activist Valeria Novodvorskaya
Valeria Novodvorskaya
Valeriya Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya is a liberal Russian politician, Soviet dissident, the founder and the chairwoman of the "Democratic Union" party, and a member of the editorial board of The New Times...
said that despite her complete disagreement with the political views of Mikhalkov (who expresses support towards Putin) and despite the film's being "artistically ungifted", she believed it is a good depiction of the first stages of the war against Germany. It shows how badly the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was prepared for war because of Stalin's poor strategic skills.
A third associated Burnt by the Sun film is expected to open in Europe and the United States in 2011.
In September 2011, the Russian Film Comitee selected Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel as the Russian nominee for Academy Awards. This move was followed with protests and disagreement from many filmmakers, including another Academy Awards recipient Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Valentinovich Menshov is a Soviet and Russian actor and film director. He is noted for depicting the Russian everyman and working class life in his films. Like many other Russian filmmakers, he studied acting and directing at the state film school VGIK, the world's oldest educational...
and Mikhalkov's brother director Andrey Konchalovsky.
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Russian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film