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Russian Cinema

Early films from the then Soviet Union had a shaky start due to the First World War and the October Revolution in 1917, but Lenin himself and later Stalin recognised the propaganda uses of the medium. At first, with the infrastructure in tatters and virtually no cinemas in which to screen films, shorts expounding communism were carried from place to place often accompanying live speakers. Once Moscow's first cinema was opened at the end of 1921, newsreels became common. But in 1924 Sergei Eisenstein's 'Strike' became the first true Soviet feature. The following year his 'Battleship Potemkin' was launched to great acclaim, highly propagandistic and towing the party line. Tight restrictions on content continued up until Stalin's death in 1953 and it wasn't until the '60s and '70s that seminal Russian film makers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergo Paradjanov and Nikita Mikhalkov began to find their own voice. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the largely state-funded film industry all but disappeared and is only now beginning to find its feet once more. A few gems found their way to Alice's shelves from this period, such as 'Burnt By The Sun' (1994), 'Prisoner of the Mountains' (1996), and our one and only Estonian film is to be found in this section, for want of a better home, the darkly humourous 'Darkness in Tallinn' (1993). 2002 saw the release of 'Russian Ark' (pictured), shot in one take, it is the longest unedited film ever made.

The Legend of Suram Fortress (1985)

7.5/10
Director: Sergei Paradjanov
Starring: Levan Outchanechvili, Zourab Kipchidze, Yuri Goyan, Veronika Metonidze, Levan Na...

THE LEGEND OF SURAM FORTRESS (1985) - Based on an ancient legend, this dazzling film follows repeated efforts by the Georgian people to construct a de... Read more

The Lighthouse (Mayak) (2006)

7.5/10

In the 90s, Lena returns to the home of her grandparents in a tiny, war-torn village in Armenia. Lena begs them to follow her lead and retreat to the... Read more

The Mark of Cain (2000)

6.5/10
Director: Alix Lambert

Alix Lambert's ground-breaking documentary overtly examines the dying art of Russian prison tattooing, while at the same time, more covertly, showing... Read more

The Mirror (1974)

8.1/10
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring: Margarita Terekhova, Philip Yankovsky

Effortlessly blending past and present, dreams, subjective reminiscence and a wider overview of 20th Century Russian history, Andrei Tarkovsky creates... Read more

The Return (2003)

8/10
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Natalia Vdovina

Two teenage brothers, living with their mother, discover that their father has returned home after years of absence without a word of explanation. He... Read more

The Sovereign's Servant (2007)

6.1/10
Director: Oleg Riaskov
Starring: Dmitry Miller, Alexander Bukharov, Alexey Chadov

A.k.a. "Sluga Gosudarev". The action takes place at the time of the Swedish-Russian war of 1709. The King of France, Louis XIV, sends two duellists in... Read more

The Stroll (2003)

7.4/10
Director: Aleksei Uchitel
Starring: Irina Pegova, Pavel Barshak, Yevgeni Tsyganov

A.k.a. "Progulka". Olya (Irina Pegova) steps out of a luxurious car and begins a stroll through the streets of St Petersburg, striking up an acquainta... Read more

The Sun (2004)

6.6/10
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Starring: Issey Ogata, Robert Dawson

In August 1945 millions of Japanese are stunned to hear the voice of their Emperor for the first time, as he commands his people to cease all fighting... Read more

The Thief (1997)

7.7/10
Director: Pavel Chukhraj
Starring: Vladimir Mashkov, Ekaterina Rednikova

This widely acclaimed film is arresting as both an intense drama about a troubling family dynamic and as an allegory about the tension that filled the... Read more

Tulpan (2008)

7.1/10
Director: Sergey Dvortsevoy
Starring: Askhat Kuchinchirekov, Ondasyn Besikbasov, Samal Yeslyamova

Acclaimed Kazakh documentarian Sergey Dvortsevoy's first narrative feature is a gorgeous melange of tender comedy, ethnographic drama and wildlife ext... Read more