''Mirror for a Hero'' (russian: Зеркало для героя, Zerkalo dlya geroya) is a 1987 Soviet two-part
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Vladimir Khotinenko
Vladimir Ivanovich Khotinenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Хотиненко; born 20 January 1952 in Slavgorod, Altai Krai, Soviet Union) is a Russian actor, film director and designer.
Biography
Born in the Altai Krai, Russian S ...
based on the short story of the same name by Stanislav Rybas.
Plot
Metropolitan psychologist-linguist Sergei Pshenichny (Sergey Koltakov), soon after quarreling with his father (Felix Stepun) on ideological grounds, meets with former mining engineer Andrei Nemchinov (Ivan Bortnik), who recently returned from prison, at a concert by the rock band
Nautilus Pompilius
The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...
.
After the concert, Sergei and Andrei, passing through the city park, see that a film shooting is taking place, about the post-war time. To get a better look at what is happening on the set, they decide to climb over the park fence, but hit some cable lying on the ground and get transferred into the past — in the late 1940s.
But this test for Sergei and his random acquaintance does not end. Every time the night passes and morning begins, the day is always May 8, 1949. They relive the same day over and over again, trying to break the loop. Meanwhile, Sergei gets acquainted with the younger version of his parents (his mother currently being pregnant with him), and Andrei with his 10-year-old self. Eventually the loop breaks and the characters return to the present.
Ivan Bortnik
Ivan Sergeyevich Bortnik (russian: link=no, Иван Сергеевич Бортник; 16 April 1939 – 4 January 2019Avangard Leontiev)
*Viktor Smirnov as director of the mine Tyukin
* as miner Fyodor Petrenko
* as Stakhanovite miner Pukharev
* as policeman Ryabenko
*Elena Kozlitina as Sergei's wife
Production
Filming took place in the city of
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
, and in
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
(villages of Abakumov, Karl Marx, Makeyevka, Kurahivka) and
Voroshilovgrad
Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
(village of Bokovo-Platovo) oblasts.
Music
* At the beginning of the movie, there is the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
version of Smith's Sérénade from ''
La jolie fille de Perth
''La jolie fille de Perth'' (''The Fair Maid of Perth'') is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet (1838–1875), from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the 1828 novel ''The Fair Maid of Perth'' by Sir Walt ...
'', an opera by
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...
(singing
Gennady Pishchayev
Gennady Mikhailovich Pishchayev (russian: Генна́дий Миха́йлович Пища́ев; born July 30, 1927) is a Soviet opera singer, lyric tenor altino. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965).G.M. Pishchayev // Musical Encyclopedia / ed. ...
).
Awards and nominations
The film's screenwriter Nadezhda Kozhushanaya was nominated for the
Nika Award
The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars.
History
The award was established i ...
for Best Screenplay in 1988, while director Vladimir Khotinenko received the Special Jury Prize for the film at the
All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (russian: Всесоюзный кинофестиваль; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and he ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...