Burnt by the Sun (1994)

I finally watched "Burnt by the Sun" last week, considered by many the best movie of Nikita Mikhalkov. Who apparently lacking ideas, decided 20 years after shooting the original to make a sequel, trashed by critics. I don't intend watching that. But not because the original was bad...

There are movies which are telling you from start, even if not directly that the ending won't be good. And after doing that, everything tries to make the ending as hard to accept as possible. If the movie is well directed has the best chances to ruin your mood or even bring you to tears. The best example that pops in my mind is Benigni's "La Vita e Bella". Metaphorically speaking you can think on "Burnt by the Sun" as a Russian version of that (minus the Italian verve and exuberance). The movie is set in rural Russia during The Great Purge (years '36-'38) when at Stalin's orders NKVD (the father of KGB and grandfather of FSB) did a "cleaning" of the Soviet Union's political class and high army ranks. The precise context is on an officer, known as bolshevik hero of the Russian Civil war, who spends a sunny Sunday together with his wife, daughter and relatives in the summer residence. An old acquaintance of the wife's family unexpectedly pays a social visit, the reasons for that showing up more and more clearly with each passing hour...

I never had a very good opinion on the Russian cinema. And it's not changed. But I have to admit when I see an exceptionally directed piece. I don't know what's Mikhalkov doing now, and there isn't indeed any room left for a sequel on "Burnt by the Sun" (so the 2nd part = just for $). However, considering the original, I've rarely seen anything expressing so well that there's something bad going to happen, as well as a deceivingly fake optimistic feeling fed with a vain hope despite the clear outcome. This is not a movie to make your mood better, and subjectively I disliked it especially for the (typical and yet again met) slavic/balkanic fate acceptance attitude, even if at some point I almost got fooled there's something else there...

Rating: 4 out of 5