Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

An attempt to show how an ordinary Russian family in the 1930's could be affected by the Stalinist purge of its head; this is certainly a worthwhile goal. But the movie is full of eccentric people, full of sadistic gaiety in the face of what is coming, and is very tedious to watch. I think it is largely a failure and I did not enjoy it one bit.

This is an interestingly broken-backed film. Set during the Stalinist era during one idyllic summer, it begins by contrasting the lives of Dmitriy (Oleg Menshikov) and Sergey (Nikita Mikhailkov) - the one a dilettante musician and pianist, the other a colonel in the Russian army and favorite of the premier. They both have a claim on Marusya (Ingeborg Dapkunaite): Srgey is married to her, and Dmitriy was a former lover of hers. It seems that the film's moral scheme is relatively straightforward: Dmitriy is talented but feckless, while Sergey seems virtually untouchable - not only does he have a great career, but he is happily married as well. However director Mikhailkov turns the tables on our expectations and thereby transforms BURNT BY THE SUN into a penetrating analysis of how dictatorships corrupt everyone around them. Concepts of 'good' and 'evil# no longer prevail: everyone simply does what it takes in order to survive. The ending is both shocking yet predictable. Visually speaking, the film contrasts the idyllic surroundings of Dmitriy's dacha with the behavior of the protagonists - it seems that no one can actively enjoy the delights of glorious summer weather, for fear of being discovered. Life at that time must have been precarious, with no one actually being sure as to what would happen to them next. BURNT BY THE SUN is slow-moving, but Mikhailkov's camera has an eye for telling detail and significant gestures. Definitely worth watching.

Burnt By the Sun is probably one of the greatest films of post-war Russian cinema. It is at first sight a wonderful, joyful, beautiful evocation of the perfect summer. It is filled with wonderful characters, laughter, joy and those small touches that make it a real joy to watch - yet behind this facade lie the darker side of the Soviet dream.The plot of the arrival at the Artist's Commune of a long gone Mitya, who is a talented handsome man with a dark secret, by the end of the film you will be heartbroken, broken, and left to ponder how many contrasts Mother Russia has.An extraordinary film that overbrims with ideas and character Burnt By The Sun remains one of the great films of world cinema that anyone who is in any way serious about film should see - but more than that it is a joy to watch - great, great performances and story and a wonderful film about Russia.

The events shown in the movie are true. Those who are not Russian i.e. do not live in Russia and do not know the subject well, may rate this movie highly. Let them do this, it's not their fault. They do not know the subject well and anything about the movie director and the environment he was brought up in. They do not know anything of the family that he was born in and brought up as well. All his "masterpieces" created after the Perestroika are 100% show off and conjuncture and considered for the European/American audience; however this fact is clear to mostly Russian audience only. Hopefully, this will be recognized by everybody in the world one day.