''12'' is a 2007

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

film by Russian director, screenwriter, producer and actor

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

. The film is a Russian-language remake of

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976 ...

's 1957 film ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

'', which in turn was based on

Reginald Rose Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s. Rose w ...

's 1955 stage play, '' Twelve Angry Men'', itself based on Rose's 1954 teleplay of the latter's same name. Mikhalkov was awarded the Special Lion at the

64th Venice International Film Festival The 64th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, opened on 29 August 2007, with Joe Wright's ''Atonement'' and closed 8 September 2007. Host of the event was Italian actress Ambra Angiolini. The Golden Lion for Lifetim ...

for his work on the film, which also received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

A 12-men

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England d ...

decides whether a young Chechen boy is guilty of the murder of his stepfather, a Russian military officer. Initially it seems that the boy was the murderer. However, one of the jurors, a foreman, votes in favour of acquittal. Since the verdict must be rendered unanimously, the jurors review the case, and one by one come to the conclusion that the boy was framed. The murder was performed by criminals involved in the construction business. The discussion is repeatedly interrupted by flashbacks from the boy's wartime childhood. In the end the foreman states that he was sure the boy did not commit the crime but he will not vote in favour of acquittal since the acquitted boy will be subsequently killed by the same criminals. In addition, the foreman reveals that he is a former intelligence officer. After a brief argument, the foreman agrees to join the majority. Later the foreman tells the boy that he will find the real murderers.

Cast

* Sergei Makovetsky – 1st Juror *

– 2nd Juror * Sergei Garmash – 3rd Juror * Valentin Gaft – 4th Juror * Alexei Petrenko – 5th Juror *

Yuri Stoyanov Yuri Nikolaevich Stoyanov (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Стоя́нов, ; born July 10, 1957 in Odesa) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor, musician. People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2001). Most famous comedian ...

– 6th Juror * Sergei Gazarov – 7th Juror * Mikhail Yefremov – 8th Juror *

Alexey Gorbunov Oleksiy Serhiyovych Horbunov ( uk, Олексій Сергійович Горбунов; born on 29 October 1961) is a Ukrainian film, television and stage actor. He has been named an Honored Artist of Ukraine (1991) and a People's Artist of Ukra ...

– 9th Juror *

Sergei Artsibashev Sergei Nikolayevich Artsibashev (russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Арциба́шев), less Artsybashev (russian: Арцыба́шев); September 14, 1951, Kalja, North Urals District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, USSR — July 12, 2015, M ...

– 10th Juror *

Viktor Verzhbitsky Viktor Alexandrovich Verzhbitsky (russian: Виктор Александрович Вержбицкий) born 21 September 1959, in Tashkent, Soviet Union (now Uzbekistan) is an Uzbekistani-Russian film and stage actor. He is well known for playi ...

– 11th Juror *

Roman Madyanov Roman Sergeevich Madyanov (russian: Рома́н Серге́евич Мадя́нов; born July 22, 1962) is a Soviet and Russian actor. Madyanov's career in cinema began as a child actor when he starred as Huckleberry Finn in ''Hopelessly Lost' ...

– 12th Juror * Alexander Adabashyan – Bailiff * Apti Magamayev – Chechen boy * Abdi Magamayev – Chechen adult *Ferit Myazitov –

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

Reception

The movie received generally positive critical opinion in Russia and abroad. ''12'' has an approval rating of 77% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 60 reviews, and an average rating of 6.88/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Loosely based on 1957's ''

'', Nikita Mikhalkov's superbly acted ''12'' is clever and gripping like its predecessor, but with a distinctly Russian feel". It also has a score of 72 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

together with the film crew,

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

's president

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov ce, КъадаргӀеран Ахьмат-кӏант Рамзан, translit= (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the ...

and

Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. ...

's president Murat Zyazikov watched the film in Putin's residence in Novo-Ogarevo; after the screening Putin remarked that the film "brought a tear to the eye". Opposition journalist Zoya Svetova labeled the film as pro-Putin, assuming that some of the characters are caricatures of Russian opposition politicians Valeriya Novodvorskaya and

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...

as well as producer Dmitry Lesnevsky.

Awards

''12'' received a special

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

for the "consistent brilliance" of its work and was praised by many critics at the

. The Venice jury defined the movie as "confirmation of his ikhalkov'smastery in exploring and revealing to us, with great humanity and emotion, the complexity of existence". It was nominated for an

for

References

External links

* * * *
TriTe – Mikhalkov Productions

The eXile- Revisiting 12: Mikhalkov's "Oscar-Worthy" Remake – By Yasha Levine
{{DEFAULTSORT:12 (Film) 2007 films 2000s legal films Russian crime thriller films 2000s Russian-language films Chechen-language films 2000s legal drama films Courtroom films Cultural depictions of Mikhail Gorbachev Films directed by Nikita Mikhalkov Films scored by Eduard Artemyev Films set in Russia Films shot in Krasnodar Krai Films shot in the North Caucasus Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Sony Pictures Classics films Juries in fiction Remakes of American films Twelve Films produced by Nikita Mikhalkov Films with screenplays by Nikita Mikhalkov