Four hours of 17th-century Russian trauma? Buckle up, comrade.
Pre-Petrine Russia, Semyon Lazarev, one of the instigators of the “Copper Riot”, is forced to flee, as a result of which he ends up in the army of the leader of the peasant uprising Stepan Razin.
Production
Insane period detail—mud, filth, and authentic despair.
Acting
Ponomaryov's thousand-yard stare could end wars.
Direction
Gurin makes four hours feel like a lifetime. Intentionally.
Director
Ilya Gurin
Andrei Ponomaryov
Semyon
Aleksandr Filippenko
Taisiy
Aleksandr Parra
Patriarch Nikon
Andrey Martynov
Boyar Zyuzin
Irina Tsyvina
Boyarina Malka
Elena Drobysheva
Ulka
Gennadi Frolov
Deacon Ivan
Valentina Fedotova
Sekletaya Petrovna
Boris Nevzorov
Lazar Palych
Arshak Oganyan
Konon
Valentin Pechnikov
Ulka's father
Leonid Yukhin
Serafim
Vadim Zakharchenko
Monk Ankudim
Sergei Plotnikov
Duma boyar
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Copper Riot of 1662 was real—Moscow mob protesting debased currency, crushed by military. This film barely fictionalizes it.
Gurin shot this during perestroika, using Soviet resources to critique authoritarianism while it was still dangerous. The parallels aren't subtle.
SU
