''Sons of Bitches'' (russian: link=no, Сукины дети, translit. Sukiny deti) is a 1990 Soviet

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 ...

directed by

Leonid Filatov Leonid Alekseyevich Filatov ( rus, links=no, Леонид Алексеевич Филатов, p=lʲɪɐˈnʲit əlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ fʲɪˈlatəf, a=Lyeonid Alyeksyeyevich Filatov.ru.vorb.oga; 24 December 1946 – 26 October 2003) was a ...

. It was entered into the

17th Moscow International Film Festival The 17th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 July 1991. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Soviet-German film '' Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea'' directed by Karen Gevorkian. Jury * Oleg Yankovsky (Soviet ...

Plot

The plot of the film is based on real historical events in Taganka Theater, when its leader

Yuri Lyubimov Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (russian: Ю́рий Петро́вич Люби́мов; 5 October 2014) was a Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the internationally renowned Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964. He was on ...

left the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(1984), and made a number of anti-Party statements, after which he was removed from the management of the theater and deprived of citizenship. ''Sons of bitches'' tells how the troupe has apprehended these events and the pressure the state put on them, and also shows events that have not happened – the actors' strike, the hunger strike, the threat of self-immolation. A functionary is sent to the theater from the Ministry – Yuri Mikhailovich, who is to restore order in the rebellious cultural institution. The story ends in tragedy – with the death of one of the protesters.

Cast

* Vladimir Ilyin as Leva Busygin *

Larisa Udovichenko Larisa Ivanovna Udovichenko (russian: link=no, Лариса Ивановна Удовиченко; born 29 April 1955, Vienna, Austria) is a Russian actress. People's Artist of Russia (1998).

as Tatyana, Busygin's wife * Aleksandr Abdulov as Igor Gordynsky *

Evgeni Evstigneev Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev (russian: Евгений Александрович Евстигнеев; 9 October 1926 — 4 March 1992) was a prominent Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre pedagogue, one of the founders of the ...

as Andrey Ivanovich Nanaytsev *

Liya Akhedzhakova Liya Medzhidovna Akhedzhakova (russian: link=no, Лия Меджидовна Ахеджакова; born 9 July 1938) is a Soviet and Russian film, stage and voice actress who received the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1994. She received two ...

as Ella Ernestovna, Nanaytsev's wife * Vladimir Samoilov as Pyotr Yegorovich, Theater's Director *

Yelena Tsyplakova Yelena or Jelena is a feminine given name. It is the Russian form of Helen, written Елена in Russian. Notable people called Yelena * Yelena Afanasyeva (born 1967), former Russian athlete who competed in the 800 metres *Yelena Vladimiro ...

as Lidiya Nikolaevna Fedyaeva *

Tatyana Kravchenko Tatyana Eduardovna Kravchenko (russian: Татья́на Эдуа́рдовна Кра́вченко; born 9 December 1953, Stalino (since 1961 — Donetsk), Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress, People's Artist of R ...

as Serafima Mikhailovna Korzukhina * Nina Shatskaya as Elena Konstantinovna Gvozdilova * Sergey Makovetskiy as Borya Sinyukhaev

Production

At first,

refused to play the scene where she undresses totally nude in front of the official, played by director

himself, and in the episode of seduction she starred partially dressed (photos were left from the filming). But then, as Larisa Udovichenko recalled, "Lenya came to me with his wife Nina Shatskaya and on his knees begged me to be naked. Otherwise, the shock that his hero should experience does not work." Filatov promised that everything will be filmed delicately. "Lenya did not deceive me: there was no vulgarity. But all the same, I felt bad after that - I was ashamed in front of my parents, daughter, close friends," Udovichenko said.

References

External links

* 1990 films 1990 comedy-drama films 1990 directorial debut films 1990s Russian-language films Soviet comedy-drama films Films based on actual events {{1990s-drama-film-stub