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''Burnt by the Sun 2'' (russian: Утомлённые солнцем 2, translit. Utomlyonnye solntsem 2: Predstoyanie) is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by and starring
Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...
. The film consists of two parts: ''Exodus'' (2010; ''Предстояние'', literally 'Prestanding') and ''
The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...
'' (2011; ''Цитадель''). It is the sequel to Mikhalkov's 1994 film ''
Burnt by the Sun ''Burnt by the Sun'' (russian: Утомлённые солнцем, translit. ''Utomlyonnye solntsem'', literally "wearied by the sun") is a 1994 film by Russian director and screenwriter Nikita Mikhalkov and Azerbaijani screenwriter Rustam ...
'', set in the
Eastern Front of World War II The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
. ''Burnt by the Sun 2'' had the largest production budget ever seen in Russian cinema ($55 mln), but it turned out to be Russia's biggest
box office flop A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, and received negative reviews from critics both in Russia and abroad.


Plot


Exodus

The film begins in June 1941. Five years have passed since the lives and destinies of Colonel Sergei Petrovich Kotov, his wife Maroussia, their daughter Nadia, as well as those of Mitya and the Sverbitski family, were irrevocably changed: it has meant five years of incarceration for General Kotov (
Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...
), the former
Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
hero betrayed by Stalin. He escapes certain death in the
Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
and fights on the Eastern Front as a private. It has been five years of terror for his wife Maroussia, without the husband she believes is dead and with a daughter who has rejected her. Nadia has spent five years in hiding, proud of her father whom she refuses to disown and whom she believes is alive, despite all reports to the contrary. Mitya (
Oleg Menshikov Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков, link=no; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova Thea ...
) survived his suicide attempt, and reluctantly continues to execute the orders of a regime he holds in contempt. Stalin, with his nation under attack by former ally
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, recalls many of those whom he has had exiled to the GULAG. He tries to mobilize the Soviet population – by any means necessary – to rise against the threat of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
.


Citadel

Kotov is now fighting at the front. Nadia, who has survived an attempted rape by German soldiers, is now a nurse risking her own life to save others.


Cast


Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from both Russian and western critics. It was panned for historical inaccuracies,
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
ning, bad acting and other failures.Kirk Honeycutt, "Exodus – Burnt by the Sun 2 – Film Review"
''Hollywood Reporter'', 25 May 2010
It was criticized for abruptly breaking with the continuity of the first film, including mysteriously resurrecting characters presumed dead and changing their ages. For example, according to the first film, Nadia would have been 11 in 1941, but she is portrayed as an adult. Critics panned many provocative episodes, such as a German pilot defecating on a Soviet ship, or Kotov's dipping Stalin into a cake. The Russian media reviews were especially hostile to the film, because of its revisionist portrayal of Soviet army and Soviet leaders. As web publicist
Dmitry Puchkov Dmitry Yuryevich Puchkov (russian: link=no, Дми́трий Ю́рьевич Пучко́в; born August 2, 1961), also known as Goblin (russian: Гоблин), is a Russian media personality most known for his humorous English-to-Russian film ...
noted, "like any other nation, Russians don't want to see their fathers portrayed as shit." Western critics were mostly negative as well. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt criticized the film for "sticking too closely to the Kremlin's approved version of World War II and for its promotion of
Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
." An American film critic likened its portrayal of the madness of World War II to the American
Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...
's ''
Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...
''. According to the critic Oleg Zolotarev, "The reasons it has flopped are psychological ot artistic Mikhalkov is no longer seen as a director but as a state bureaucrat." ''Burnt by the Sun 2: Prestanding'' had the highest-ever budget for a Russian film ($55 million) but made a very poor box-office showing, despite heavy promotion that included a premiere inside the
Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
.Harding, Luke
"Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun 2 becomes Russia's most expensive flop"
''The Guardian''.
The film was screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and was allowed to compete for awards, although it had premiered before the festival. At Cannes it received a
standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
, but no awards. The Russian opposition activist
Valeria Novodvorskaya Valeria may refer to: People * Valeria (given name), a female given name * The gens Valeria, a family at Rome * Valeria (ancient Roman women), a name used in ancient Rome for women of the gens Valeria * Saint Valeria (disambiguation), several ...
said that despite her complete disagreement with the political views of Mikhalkov (who expresses support towards Putin) and despite the film's being "artistically ungifted", she believed it is a good depiction of the first stages of the war against Germany. According to her, it shows how badly the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
was prepared for war because of Stalin's poor strategic skills. In September 2011, the Russian Film Committee selected ''Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel'' as the Russian nominee for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
. This move was followed with protests and disagreement from many filmmakers, including another Academy Awards recipient
Vladimir Menshov Vladimir Valentinovich Menshov (russian: Влади́мир Валенти́нович Меньшо́в; 17 September 1939 – 5 July 2021)Andrey Konchalovsky Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (russian: link=no, Андрей Сергеевич Михалков-Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian ...
.Russian critics brand Burnt By the Sun 2: Citadel 'inappropriate' for Oscar nomination race
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
The film was not included in the Oscar's short list.


See also

*
List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Awar ...
*
List of Russian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Russia has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1992. Prior to that, Russian films were strongly represented among the films submitted by the former Soviet Union. The Foreign Language Film award is hand ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnt By The Sun 2 2010 films 2010 war drama films 2010 drama films 2010s historical drama films Russian historical drama films Russian war drama films 2010s Russian-language films Films directed by Nikita Mikhalkov Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Films scored by Eduard Artemyev Films shot in the Czech Republic Articles containing video clips Eastern Front of World War II films Russian sequel films Russian World War II films Films produced by Nikita Mikhalkov Films with screenplays by Nikita Mikhalkov