''Mirror for a Hero'' () is a 1987 Soviet two-part

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Vladimir Khotinenko Vladimir Ivanovich Khotinenko (; born 20 January 1952 in Slavgorod, Altai Krai, Soviet Union) is a Russian actor, film director and designer. Biography Born in the Altai Krai, Russian SFSR to Ivan Afanasyevich and Valentina Vasilievna Khotinenko ...

based on the short story of the same name by Stanislav Rybas.

Plot

Metropolitan psychologist-linguist Sergei Pshenichny (Sergey Koltakov), soon after quarreling with his father (Felix Stepun) on ideological grounds, meets with former mining engineer Andrei Nemchinov (Ivan Bortnik), who recently returned from prison, at a concert by the rock band

Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...

. After the concert, Sergei and Andrei, passing through the city park, see that a film shooting is taking place, about the post-war time. To get a better look at what is happening on the set, they decide to climb over the park fence, but hit some cable lying on the ground and get transferred into the past — in the late 1940s. But this test for Sergei and his random acquaintance does not end. Every time the night passes and morning begins, the day is always May 8, 1949. They relive the same day over and over again, trying to break the loop. Meanwhile, Sergei gets acquainted with the younger version of his parents (his mother currently being pregnant with him), and Andrei with his 10-year-old self. Eventually the loop breaks and the characters return to the present.

Cast

Sergey Koltakov Sergey Mikhailovich Koltakov (; 10 December 1955 – 7 September 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actor. Biography Sergey Koltakov was born in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He studied at the Saratov Drama School in the actin ...

as Sergei Pshenichny * Ivan Bortnik as Andrei Nemchinov *Felix Stepun as Kirill Pshenichny, the father of Sergei * as young Kirill Pshenichny * as young Lida, the mother of Sergei *Elena Golyanova as Roza * as Sashka the tanker (voiced by

Avangard Leontiev Avangard Nikolaevich Leontiev (; born February 27, 1947, in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor, teacher, professor. People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1995). Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1995) ...

) *Viktor Smirnov as director of the mine Tyukin * as miner Fyodor Petrenko * as Stakhanovite miner Pukharev * as policeman Ryabenko *Elena Kozlitina as Sergei's wife

Production

Filming took place in the city of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

, and in

(villages of Abakumov, Karl Marx, Makeyevka, Kurahivka) and

Voroshilovgrad Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

(village of Bokovo-Platovo) oblasts.

Music

* At the beginning of the movie, there is the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

version of Smith's Sérénade from ''

La jolie fille de Perth ''La jolie fille de Perth'' (''The Fair Maid of Perth'') is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet (1838–1875), from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the 1828 novel ''The Fair Maid of Perth'' by Sir W ...

'', an opera by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

(singing Gennady Pishchayev).

Awards and nominations

The film's screenwriter Nadezhda Kozhushanaya was nominated for the

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. In 2022 nominees were announced, b ...

for Best Screenplay in 1988, while director Vladimir Khotinenko received the Special Jury Prize for the film at the

All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and held regularly from 1964 to 1988. It was held annually fr ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in 1988 and the in Italy in 1989.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt0094371 1987 films 1980s Soviet films 1980s Russian-language films Russian-language science fiction drama films 1980s fantasy drama films 1980s science fiction drama films Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Films based on science fiction short stories Films directed by Vladimir Khotinenko Films released in separate parts Films set in 1949 Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Ukraine Films about mining Soviet fantasy drama films Soviet science fiction drama films Time loop films 1987 drama films 1987 science fiction films 1980s films about time travel