"THIS WISE, ELEGIAC FILM... embraces a view of history that is more far-reaching than the rise and fall of the Soviet Union."
-Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"ONE OF RUSSIA'S SIGNATURE VOICES... with a wry attitude toward life under the Soviet umbrella."
- Michael Atkinson, BOSTON PHOENIX
New York, NY - November 23, 2009 - Kino International is proud to release The Vanished Empire (2008) on DVD. A love-letter to Soviet urban life during the 1970s, the latest feature film by the Russian filmmaker Karen Shakhnazarov's (Jazzmen, Zero City, The Rider Named Death) should be available for prebooking on January 5, 2010. The film's street date is February 2.
Following the film's U.S. premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where
The Vanished Empire closed the director's first comprehensive retrospective in the United States, Kino International releasing Shakhnazarov's contemplation on Soviet youth in over a dozen of U.S. cities. But for those who missed this "beautiful" (Stephen Holden,
The New York Times) film during its theatrical run, Kino's letterboxed DVD offers a second chance for the director's fans.
The Vanished Empire centers on a high-spirited teenage love triangle: childhood friends Sergey Narbekov (Alexander Lyapin) and Stepan Molodsov (aka Styopa, played by Yegor Baranovsky) both fall for the beautiful Lyuda Beletskaya (Lidiya Milyuzina) - and as a result, are forced to re-evaluate their childhood attachments.
Alexander Lyapin as Sergey
In the background of this life-altering romance, Soviet culture (and the Soviet state machine) is at the peak of its power and on the verge of an irreversible collapse. As the three youngsters struggle with the typical teenage discoveries, which include the triad of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, the overarching Soviet ideology that shaped their childhood begins to lose its power in the face of a bigger cultural change.
Stealing antique Russian books and selling them at a used bookstore has become a habit (and means of survival) for Sergey; with the profits, he manages to purchase a new pair of jeans or the latest Rolling Stones' album in the local black market. And while the police actively condemn the illegal exchange of western goods, they seem resigned to simply repress, but not stop, what is already an irrevocable part of Russian daily life.
Winner of two Russian Golden Eagle Awards for Best Director (Karen Shakhnazarov) and Best Supporting Actor (Armen Djigarkhanyan),
The Vanished Empire expertly recreates Brezhnev-era Moscow, captures the hypnotic otherworldliness of the West Asian desert, and crafts a bracingly unsentimental, humorous, and moving portrait of youth and country on the threshold of inevitable change. (The Golden Eagle awards are given by the Russian Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.)
2008 Russia 104 min. Color In Russian w/ English subtitles.
Letterboxed (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs
MOSFILM CINEMA CONCERN presents a film by KAREN SHAKHNAZAROV THE VANISHED EMPIRE
with ALEXANDER LYAPIN LIDIA MILYUZINA IVAN KUPREYENKO EGOR BARANOVSKY YANINA KALGANOVA
cinematography SHANDOR BERKESHI
original music KONSTANTIN SHEVELEV
production design LUDMILA KUSAKOVA
sound GULSARA MUKATAYEVA
screenplay SERGEY ROKOTOV with the participation of EVGENY NIKISHOV
executive producer GALINA SHADUR
producer KAREN SHAKHNAZAROV
directed by KAREN SHAKHNAZAROV
© 2008 Mosfilm
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