''The Gadfly'' (russian: Овод, Ovod) is a 1980

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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

Nikolai Mashchenko Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Ethel Lilian Voynich Ethel Lilian Voynich, ''née'' Boole (11 May 1864 – 27 July 1960) was an Irish-born British novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork (city), Cork, but grew up in Lancashire, England. Voynich ...

. Its screenplay was written by Yuli Dunsky and

Valeri Frid Valeri Semyonovich Frid (russian: Валерий Семёнович Фрид, 13 January 1922 – 7 September 1998) was a Soviet screenwriter. Most of his works were made together with Yuli Dunsky. Filmography Writer * 1991 Lost in Siberia * ...

Plot

Series 1. "Memory"

Student Arthur Burton, the son of a wealthy English shipowner from Livorno, is fascinated by the idea of uniting Italy into one country and liberating it from the Austrian Habsburgs. Elder brother James and his wife Julia openly dislike Arthur, and the only person close to him is the rector of the seminary, Bishop Montanelli. Due to the circumstances, Arthur is briefly imprisoned, and after leaving there, he experiences a serious quarrel with Gemma. On the same day, he learns from his brother's wife that his father is in fact Montanelli. Arthur decides to go to South America, and pre-simulates his death…

Series 2. "Gemma"

Many years later, Arthur returned to Italy under the name of Felice Rivares. He is a popular pamphleteer "Ovid", known for his intolerance of ministers of the Catholic Church. Here he meets again with Gemma, who does not recognize him, and he himself does not seek to reveal his secret to her. Despite some controversy, Ovid and Gemma begin preparations for an armed uprising in the Papal States. During one of his business trips, Ovid, disguised as a traveler, meets in the cathedral with his father Montanelli, who has already become a cardinal and is firmly convinced of Arthur's death. Right in the cathedral he was arrested by the guards and sent to prison…

Series 3. "Father and son"

Friends try to arrange for him to escape from prison, which breaks down due to a sudden exacerbation of chronic Ovod's disease. Montanelli comes to his cell for a spiritual conversation, but Arthur does not want to compromise, constantly showing his hostility to the priest. In the end, he reveals his secret to the cardinal, but refuses to accept help from his father. Ovoda is soon shot, and Montanelli goes mad and dies during a service in the cathedral.

Cast

Andrey Kharitonov Andrey Igorevich Kharitonov (russian: link=no, Андрей Игоревич Харитонов; 25 July 1959 – 23 June 2019) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, director, screenwriter. He is best known for roles in films ''The Ga ...

as Arthur Burton (Felice Rivarez) *

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (russian: Сергей Фёдорович Бондарчук, ; uk, Сергі́й Федорович Бондарчук, Serhíj Fédorovych Bondarchúk; 25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian ...

as Cardinal Montanelli *

Anastasiya Vertinskaya Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya (russian: link=no, Анастасия Александровна Вертинская, born 19 December 1944, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress, who came to prominence in the early 1960s ...

as Gemma *

Ada Rogovtseva Ada Rogovtseva (born 16 July 1937) is a Ukrainian-Soviet actress. She has appeared in over 30 films and television shows since 1957. Professor at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, National University of Culture. She won the award ...

as Julie Burton *

Konstantin Stepankov Kostiantyn Petrovich Stepankov ( uk, Костянтин Петрович Степанков, by name of Kostiantyn Petrovich Voloshchuk; 3 June 1928 – 22 July 2004) was a Ukrainian soviet actor. He appeared in more than fifty films between ...

as Austrian Colonel * Kamen Tzanev as Riccardo *

Stefan Dobrev Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

as Giovanni Bolla (voiced by Vitali Doroshenko) * Givi Tokhadze as Father Cardi * Kartlos Maradishvili as Giuseppe (voiced by

Pavel Morozenko Pavel Semenovich Morozenko (russian: link=no, Павел Семёнович Морозенко; uk, Павло Семенович Морозенко; Pavlo Semenovich Morozenko; born 5 July 1939, Snizhne, Ukrainian SSR – died 14 July 1991, Ros ...

) *

Aleksandr Zadneprovsky Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

as James Burton *

Grigore Grigoriu Grigore Grigoriu (4 April 1941 – 20 December 2003) was an actor from the Republic of Moldova, known especially for interpreting the role of horse thief Luiku Zobar from the movie ''"Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven" ''(1975). Biography Grigor ...

as Cesare Martini (voiced 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 ...

) *

Irina Skobtseva Irina Konstantinovna Skobtseva (russian: Ирина Константиновна Скобцева; 22 August 1927 – 20 October 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actress and second wife of Sergei Bondarchuk. Biography Irina Konstantinovna Skobtseva ...

as Gladys Burton *

Vladimir Talashko Volodymyr Dmytrovych Talashko ( uk, Володимир Дмитрович Талашко) is a Soviet and Ukrainian actor. Organizer Leonid Bykov Foundation. People's Artist of Ukraine (2002). Biography Vladimir Talashko was born March 6, 194 ...

as doctor *

Valeriy Sheptekita The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name '' Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The ...

as signor Grassini *

Igor Dmitriev Igor Borisovich Dmitriev (russian: И́горь Бори́сович Дми́триев) (29 May 1927 – 26 January 2008) was a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor who specialized in playing aristocratic characters in costume productions ( ...

as episode

References

External links

* 1980 films 1980 drama films 1980 in the Soviet Union 1980s Russian-language films Soviet television films Films based on Irish novels Dovzhenko Film Studios films Films set in the 1840s {{Ukraine-film-stub