| CELEBRATING CHEKHOV ON THE RUSSIAN SCREEN |
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To mark the 150th anniversary of the eminent Russian writer's birth in January 1860, the National Gallery is pleased to present seven Russian filmic adaptations of Chekhov's short stories and plays.
Films are shown in the East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW. There is no charge for admission but seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 minutes before each show time. Programs are subject to change.
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An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano
Nikita Mikhalkov, 1977, Russian with subtitles, 100 minutes
Saturday, January 16 at 4:00 p.m.
Invited to the estate of Anna Petrovna for a pastoral retreat, former lovers Sofia and Misha meet again—but for the first time in this fashionable milieu. Borrowing from several early Chekhovian works, including Fatherlessness and The Bear and the play Platonov, director Nikita Mikhalkov succinctly captures the writer's 19th-century society "engaged in endless conversation that covers up its intrinsic, self-pitying paralysis"—Peter Rollberg. (Nikita Mikhalkov, 1977, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 100 minutes)
Ward No. Six
Karen Shakhnazarov, 2009, Russian with subtitles, 83 minutes
Karen Shakhnazarov in person
Russia's nominee for this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar
Washington premiere
Sunday, January 17 at 5:00 p.m.
Provincial asylum director Andrey Ragin becomes an inmate in his own mental ward in this updating of Chekhov's classic story Ward No. Six. The doctor's gradual psychological estrangement in this present-day retelling stems from the ills of a newly materialistic, neocapitalist society. For Chekhov, that estrangement was a metaphor for loss of faith in the promise of science. Ward No. Six is Russia's nominee for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (Karen Shakhnazarov, 2009, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 83 minutes)
Uncle Vanya
Andrei Konchalovsky, 1970, Russian with subtitles, 104 minutes
Saturday, January 23 at 2:30 p.m.
Chekhov's dramatic tour de force of frustrated longing in a family about to break apart was adapted for cinema by Andrei Konchalovsky with his gifted cast that included Innokenti Smoktunovsky as Vanya and Sergei Bondarchuk as Dr. Astrov. "If the film begins with brutal realism, it ends with a soaring camera, a calm omniscient visitor to the country dacha, placing Chekhov's idle rich and the starving masses outside the frame"—Albert Johnson. (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1970, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 104 minutes)
A Hunting Accident (My Loving and Tender Beast)
Emil Loteanu, 1978, Russian with subtitles, 109 minutes
Sunday, January 24 at 4:30 p.m.
Emil Loteanu's haunting adaptation of Chekhov's The Shooting Party—with its exotic aura and sensational plot—created uproar in literary and film circles on its release. "To be sure, The Shooting Party was a curiosity in Chekhov's oeuvre, his only completed novel and a mystery thriller at that. Although Chekhov's authorship of the story was firmly established, it is revealing that he did not include it in any of his collected works…writing it, more than likely, to earn money"—Peter Rollberg. (Emil Loteanu, 1978, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 109 minutes)
The Seagull
Yuli Karasik, 1970, Russian with subtitles, 99 minutes
Saturday, January 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Friction among four characters—the fading actress Irina Arkadina, her lover Tregorin, her son Konstantin, and the ingenue Nina—provide fodder for one of Chekhov's major dramatic works. A sensation when performed at the Moscow Art Theatre's debut season in 1898, The Seagull has been adapted for film several times. Karasik's elaborate production, one of the best, is bolstered by performances from three of the former Soviet Union's finest actors—Alla Demidova, Yuri Yakovlev, and Lyudmila Savelyeva. (Yuli Karasik, 1970, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 99 minutes)
The Lady with the Dog
Iosif Kheifitz, 1960, Russian with subtitles, 89 minutes
Introduction by Peter Rollberg
Saturday, February 6 at 2:30 p.m.
A Moscow banker (Alexei Batalov) and a young woman (Iya Sawina) meet and fall in love on holiday in Yalta but are reluctant to give up their lives at home with respective spouses. This gentle, wistful tale—filmed 50 years ago and filled with thoughtful insight—is a beloved Chekhov adaptation and, in the words of one reviewer, "a rich period portrait and brilliant study of passion deferred." (Iosif Kheifitz, 1960, 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 89 minutes)
Chekhovian Motifs
Kira Muratova, 2002, Russian with subtitles, 120 minutes
Saturday, February 13 at 12:30 p.m.
Kira Muratova's avant-garde approach to Chekhov—combining themes from the one-act play Tatiana Repina (1889) and short story Difficult People (1886)—transfers the action to contemporary post-Soviet times. Exploiting the sinister side of familial and social relationships in a small Russian village, the film "pushes Muratova's style to the extreme, following the entire process of a Russian Orthodox marriage in real time…she seems to be making a statement about the trivialization of spirituality"—Ruslan Janumyan. (Kira Muratova, 2002, digital beta transfer from 35 mm, Russian with subtitles, 120 minutes)
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