''Taurus'' (russian: Телец, Telets) is a 2001 Russian biographical
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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Alexander Sokurov, portraying
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
. It is the second film in a trilogy by director Aleksandr Sokurov that began with
''Moloch'' about
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and continued with ''
The Sun'' about Japanese emperor
Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
. It was entered into the
2001 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
In the face of illness, the historical personality turns out to be simply a man powerless to change anything in the fate of a country that is not yet under his control, the fate of his doomed awkward family, or the fate of his decaying personality.
Cast
*
Leonid Mozgovoy as
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
*
Mariya Kuznetsova as
Krupskaya
* Sergei Razhuk as
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
* Natalya Nikulenko as Sister
* Lev Yeliseyev as Doctor
* Nikolai Ustinov as Pacoly
Awards
*
2001 Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards:
**Best Film, Best Director (
Alexander Sokurov), Best Female Actor (
Mariya Kuznetsova), Best Male Actor (
Leonid Mozgovoy), Best Screenplay (
Yuri Arabov), Best Director of Photography (
Alexander Sokurov,
Aleksei Rodionov) and Best Art Direction (Natalia Kochergina)
Other awards and nominations include:
* Grand Prix and Award for Leonid Mozgovoy and Mariya Kuznetsova, "Window to Europe" Festival of Russian Cinema at
Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...
, Russia, 2001
* Russian State Prize to Aleksandr Sokurov and Y. Arabov, Russia, 2001
* Gold Griffon Award,
Festival of Festivals, St. Petersburg
The Festival of Festivals in Saint Petersburg is Russia’s largest non-competitive festival of recent outstanding works of international and Russian cinema. It is held annually in June, during Saint Petersburg's White Nights Festival.
Hist ...
, Russia, 2001
* Best Director, Aleksandr Sokurov, and Press Award for the film, at Vivat, Russian Cinema FF, St. Petersburg, 2001
* Best Male Lead, Leonid Mozgovoy,
Listapad IFF,
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...
, Belarus, 2001
* Special Mention, Mariya Kuznetsova,
Sozvezdie (Constellation) IFF,
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...
, Russia, 2001
* Special Prize, Festival of Russian Film in
Honfleur
Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honfle ...
, France, 2001
* Best Fiction Film, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Script, Best Camera, Best Production Design,
Nika Awards, Russia, 2002
* Best Film, Best Director, Best Camera, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Script, Best Production Design, National Award
Golden Ram, Russia, 2002
* Best Film, Best Actor, Best Script, Best Production Design, Bronze Horseman, the Professional Awards of the
Lenfilm Studio
Lenfilm (russian: link=no, Ленфильм) is a Russian production company with its own film studio located in Saint Petersburg (the city was called Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, thus the name). It is a corporation with its stakes shared between ...
, Russia, 2001
References
External links
*
2001 films
2001 drama films
2001 biographical drama films
Russian biographical drama films
Films directed by Alexander Sokurov
Lenfilm films
2000s Russian-language films
Films about Vladimir Lenin
Cultural depictions of Vladimir Lenin
Cultural depictions of Joseph Stalin
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