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Amazon.com Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov is also the star of this tragic 1994 drama about the last happy season in the life of a Bolshevik hero's family. The year is 1936, and Stalin's purges are in full swing. Despite his reputation and revolutionary record, Sergei Kotov (Mikhalkov) seems to be on the dictator's hit list, as indicated by the insulting arrival of his wife's former lover, an agent of government police. Mikhalkov treats all this as a matter of personal and political intrigue dropping like rotting fruit in the middle of a sunny and loving period for the Kotov clan. The director ingeniously understates the mounting threat until one begins to realize that the Kotovs are only geographically distant from the long, bloody reach of Stalin. By the time we do realize it, the shock of change is almost unbearable. A very fine movie all around, though Mikhalkov's touches of magic realism (particularly the presence of a golden orb that keeps popping into the action) are distracting and a subject of controversy among viewers. --Tom Keogh ... Read more Reviews (46) 
wow!
this is a great movie for anyone with the patience to watch it develop. at the same time cheerful and ominous, it is deeply moving. the acting is superb - menshikov and the two mikhalkovs form a brilliant trio. though it moves slowly and it takes some time to figure out how all the characters are related, it is more than worth the wait. i don't speak russian, but i forgot i was reading subtitles by the first half hour. "burnt by the sun" is extremely accurate when it comes to the many arrests ordered by stalin. some background of the bolshevik revolution is needed, but even without it, the movie captures viewers. the emotions come through clearly, and the sets are beautiful. oleg menshikov isn't so bad looking either . .
A Pretty Movie
"Burnt by the Sun" is a nice movie, quite similar in thematic content to the recent "Life is Beautiful", and shot on snazzy, high-quality, expensive film (those of you who have seen earlier Russian films will heave a collective sigh of relief). Ah, the advantages of capitalism. It's just too bad that the fall of communism in Russia had to bring along some less auspicious consequences. Unlike their predecessors, films made in Russia after 1991 had to actually make money. This resulted in an overall "Westernification"--a slicker package at the expense of complex themes and poetic photography. "Burnt by the Sun" is a perfect example of this. You won't be struggling to comprehend all of the different levels of meaning in "Burnt by the Sun" the way you might in "Andrei Rublev". Things are spelled out quite clearly here, and the plot is easy to follow and takes precedence (somewhat of a rarity in "highbrow" Soviet films--compare this one to "The Color of Pomegranates"). There's also very little of the wonderful symbolism you find in the earlier films--in "Burnt by the Sun", water is just water. It is by no means a bad movie--in fact, quite good by Hollywood standards--but I can't help but wonder what might have become of it had it not been made under the commercial pressures of capitalism. If you're in the mood to be entertained (and, perhaps, made to cry) by a good foreign film that doesn't require an inordinate amount of mental input, "Burnt by the Sun" is for you; if you want to see Russian film at its height, better go look up Tarkovsky or Eisenstein.
Under the Shadow of Stalin
Mikhalkov always had a flair for Chekhovian drama, and he doesn't disappoint the viewer in this movie, which essentially updates "The Cherry Orchard" to Stalinist Russia. What we get is a tumultuous day in the life of a theatre group in a tranquil rural community, lorded over by the proud Commander Kotov, as the small town prepares for the celebration of Stalin's first ride in an air balloon. Mikhalkov deftly mixes humor with pathos, the hallmark of all his movies, as the bucolic life is broken by the return of Mitya (impeccably played by Oleg Menshikov). We slowly get to learn of Mitya's mission with a profound sense of foreboding. The acting is purposely staged to give the scenes their rich theatrical air, yet there is a naturalism too, as Mikhalkov has such a fine eye for detail. To reveal too much of the movie is to give away its stunning climax. It was one of the first films to emerge from the post-Soviet era and gave Mikhalkov a broader international audience, earning him an Oscar in 1994.
Heartbreaking
This is one of the most powerful movies I can remember seeing. In many movies about the Holocaust or the gulags, the focus is on the suffering in the camps. This movie shows the idyllic life ripped apart by the paranoia of Stalin and his overwhelming cult of personality. The whole movie rings true with everything that i have read about the Soviet Union during the purges. The pace is slow, but the acting is brilliant, the cinematography gorgeous, and the ending packs a punch.
Uh... I thought this was the band, burnt by the sun!
Okay, i bought this thinking it was about burnt by the sun the grind/metal band...Well, i was wrong ! Anyways, i got a change to actullie read the book & i was quite impress better then any other book i've read before. Interesting plot and it has the best ending! Buy it now !
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