''Poisons or the World History of Poisoning'' (russian: Яды, или Всемирная история отравлений, Yady, ili vsemirnaya istoriya otravleniy) is a 2001 Russian fantastical absurdist

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

directed by

Karen Shakhnazarov Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov, PAR (russian: Каре́н Гео́ргиевич Шахназа́ров; born 8 July 1952) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the Director General of Mosfilm studios in 1998. ...

Plot

Young family of Volkov's, Oleg and Katya, move to an apartment they bought and get acquainted with their neighbor, locksmith Arnold Sharapov. Right during a friendly dinner Katya cheats on her husband. Frustrated Oleg decides to drown his sorrows in alcohol, but at the bar accidentally meets Ivan Petrovich Prokhorov, pensioner, whose wife in his time was also unfaithful. In a conversation with the nice old man, Oleg learns that Prokhorov punished his wife by slipping poison into her yogurt. And now Ivan strongly persuades Oleg to also kill his unfaithful wife, using a small collection of poisons which Prokhorov constantly carries with him. After some hesitation Oleg decides to do the terrible thing, but random interference from his mother-in-law Eugenia Ivanovna Kholodkova saves the wife of the hapless poisoner. As a result of a family quarrel, Oleg leaves the house and is a guest of Zoya, wife of Arnold, who in turn drove her traitor-husband out of the house. Oleg and Zoya fall in love with each other and decide to live together. But the former spouses of the loving couple, consumed with anger and envy decide to destroy them. On the advice of the insidious mother-in-law Evgenia Ivanovna, Arnold and Katya want to invite Oleg and Zoya to dinner together and poison them by feeding them contaminated burgers. Learning this, Oleg first seeks the advice of experienced poisoner Prokhorov, who offers a number of retaliatory steps brilliant in their deviousness. But in the end Oleg decides to let go peacefully, both couples divorce, Oleg and Zoya begin together an existence full of love and mutual interests ... Throughout the action, under the influence of Prokhorov's stories about famous poisoners Oleg often "daydreams", imagining crimes of these villains. Central figure in Oleg's visions becomes

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

Borgia, the famous medieval poisoner and a victim of his own treachery ...

Cast

* Ignat Akrachkov as Oleg Volkov, actor *

Oleg Basilashvili Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili (russian: Оле́г Валериа́нович Басилашви́ли; ka, ოლეგ ბასილაშვილი, ; born 26 September 1934) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist ...

as Ivan Petrovich Prokhorov, pensioner /

Zhanna Dudanova Zhanna is a given name, Russian form of Jeanne. Notable people with the name include: * Zhanna Agalakova (born 1965), Russian journalist * Zhanna Bichevskaya (born 1944), prominent Russian bard and folk musician *Zhanna Friske (1974–2015), Russi ...

as Katya, Oleg's wife *

Aleksandr Bashirov Alexander Nikolaevich Bashirov (russian: Александр Николаевич Баширов; born 24 September 1955, in Sogom) is a Russian film and theater actor, director and screenwriter. He performed in more than sixty films since 1986. ...

as Arnold Sharapov, locksmith * Olga Tumaykina as Zoya Filimonova, sportswoman, Arnold's wife *

Lyudmila Kasatkina Lyudmila Ivanovna Kasatkina (russian: Людмила Ивановна Касаткина; 15 May 192522 February 2012) was a Soviet and Russian actress who starred in a string of war-related films directed by her husband Sergey Kolosov.

as Eugenia Ivanovna Kholodkova, Oleg's mother-in-law * Andrei Panin as

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

* Nikolay Afanasyev as Cardinal di Carnet * as

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

* Aleksandr Andreevich as

Artaxerxes II of Persia Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...

* Elena Fomina as

Parysatis Parysatis (; peo, Parušyātiš, grc, Παρύσατις; 5th-century BC) was a powerful Persian Queen, consort of Darius II and had a large influence during the reign of Artaxerxes II. Biography Parysatis was the daughter of Artaxerxes I, Em ...

* Veronika Nikolaeva as Stateira, Artaxerxes's wife *

Marina Kazankova Marina Kazankova (born 4 August 1981) is a Russian actress and freediver. She appeared in more than fifteen films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1981 births Living people Russian film actresses R ...

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

* Ekaterina Klimova as

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret ( Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margar ...

* Elena Obukhova as

Madame de Brinvilliers Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers (22 July 1630 – 16 July 1676) was a French aristocrat who was accused and convicted of murdering her father and two of her brothers in order to inherit their estates. After her death, ther ...

* Ivan Lakshin as

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

* Fedor Shelenkov as

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

* Timur Matsiev as Khan

Meñli I Giray Meñli I Giray ( crh3, I Meñli Geray, ۱منكلى كراى) (1445–1515), also spelled as Mengli I Giray, was a ''khan'' of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Struggle f ...

Dmitri Dyuzhev Dmitri Petrovich Dyuzhev (russian: Дмитрий Петрович Дюжев) (born July 9, 1977) is a Russian film and stage actor and singer. In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Dmitri for his support of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukra ...

as Dr. Edme Costa *

Yelena Zakharova Yelena Igorevna Zakharova (russian: Еле́на И́горевна Заха́рова; born 2 November 1975) is a Russian theater and film actress. Biography Yelena Zakharova was born in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, ...

as actress in the theater

Awards

The film was awarded the Grand Prix at the

Kinotavr Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasi ...

film festival in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

. At the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

the picture was nominated for the Crystal Globe and was screened at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

References

External links

* {{Karen Shakhnazarov 2000s Russian-language films Russian comedy films 2001 comedy films 2001 films Films directed by Karen Shakhnazarov