By the end of the 1970s, Andrei Smirnov had had enough. One of the best and brightest auteurs to emerge from the Soviet 1960s couldn’t stand constant harassment from the authorities anymore, and quit cinema for good. At least as a director; he stuck around as a screenwriter and actor. But then, after 32 years, he returned with Žila-byla odna baba (2011). Now A Frenchman suggests he’s back to stay, and will continue directing.
A Frenchman, the story of a French exchange student’s adventures in late 1950s Moscow, makes us painfully aware what a formidable cinematic mind and soul Smirnov has: discrete, educated, good-humoured, politically poignant while never dogmatic – the kind of public intellectual we perhaps need these days more than ever. Watching this film is like looking at a lost world, in more ways than one.
Film details
Productieland
Russia
Jaar
2019
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2020
Lengte
128'
Medium/Formaat
DCP
Taal
Russian
Première status
International premiere
Director
Andrei Smirnov
Producer
Andrei Smirnov, Elena Smirnova
Screenplay
Andrei Smirnov
Production design
Vladimir Gudilin
Production company
Marmot Film
Sales / World rights holder
All Media Company
Cinematography
Yury Shaygardanov
Editing
Alla Urazbaeva
Sound design
Oleg Tatarinov
Principal cast
Antoine Rival, Evgeniya Obraztsova, Evgeniy Tkachuk, Alexander Baluev