A younger boy falls in love with a tragic girl who flirts with, and manipulates, her older suitors in 1800s Russia.
Acting
Kirsten Dunst at 19 is hypnotic — playful, cruel, impossible to pin down.
Cinematography
Sun-dappled Russian estates that make heartbreak look gorgeous.
Score
Haunting violin that'll live rent-free in your head for days.
Director
Reverge Anselmo
Kirsten Dunst
Zinaida
Nick Stahl
Vladimir
Julie Walters
Princess Zasyekin
Geraldine James
Mother
Nathaniel Parker
Father
James Fox
Old Vladimir (voice)
Paloma Baeza
Mashenka
Kenny Doughty
Denis
Angus Wright
Boris
Robert Glenister
Count Malevsky
Heathcote Williams
Dr. Looshin
Nicholas Rowe
Maidanov
John Benfield
Nirmansky
Michael Higgs
Vasya
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Turgenev's novella 'First Love,' which was semi-autobiographical — the author really did fall for a princess who flirted with his own father.
This film disappeared so completely that most Dunst fans don't know it exists; it never got a proper US theatrical release despite her Spider-Man fame.
US
