''Two arrows. Stone Age Detective'' (russian: Две стрелы. Детектив каменного века, Dve strely. Detektiv kamennogo veka) is a 1989 Soviet tragicomic
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Alla Surikova
Alla Ilinichna Surikova ( ru , А́лла Ильи́нична Су́рикова; born November 6, 1940, in Kyiv) is a Soviet and Russian film director, writer, and teacher.
She is a People's Artist of Russia (2000), winner of the Award of the Go ...
.
Plot
The film is set in the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
period. A crime is committed within a tribe: "Gaunt", an intellectual who was to speak at the tribal council, is killed. All suspicions fall on "Eared", a peaceful young man, a dreamy painter. A trial begins during which all witnesses give evidence against Eared. It would seem that everything is clear, Eared is guilty and death awaits him. However, when the accused himself takes the case, acting as a
lawyer of himself, the situation dramatically changes.
It turns out that all the "witnesses" are lying. Moreover, it was they themselves who have committed this crime, for they were consumed by envy and anger towards Gaunt. "Ladies' man" was vying for Gaunt's wife, "Eloquent" envied the orator's glory of the deceased. But the main instigator of Gaunt's destruction was the right-hand man of the tribe's chief - the "Fighting man". This warrior does not need democracy nor justice; he craves absolute power and is ready to do anything to achieve his goal.
As Eared proves his innocence before the tribal council, he himself is fatally shot in the back by the unseen archers. At that, the chief declares that the tribe is doomed because of the infighting, abdicates and walks away. Fighting man becomes the new chief. "Long-nosed", a friend of Eared, raises his voice against the murderers, but is promptly killed as well in the same manner. Just as all dissent seems suppressed, an arrow is shot at Fighting man from behind. He manages to dodge the arrow, but is visibly shaken. Everyone realizes that the days of peace are gone.
Cast
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Alexander Kuznetsov – "Eared", painter
*
Olga Kabo – "Turtle", Eared's girlfriend
*
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan – Head of the tribe
*
Nikolai Karachentsov – "Fighting man"
*
Leonid Yarmolnik – "Long-nosed"
*
Sergey Shakurov – "Ladies' man"
*
Stanislav Sadalsky
Stanislav Yurievich Sadalsky (russian: Станисла́в Ю́рьевич Сада́льский; born 8 August 1951 in Chuvashia) is a Soviet and Russian actor.
Selected filmography
* ''The Twelve Chairs'' (Двенадцать стулье� ...
– "Eloquent"
*
Alexander Ivanov – "Gaunt"
*
Natalya Gundareva – Gaunt's wife
*
Maria Vinogradova – "Elderly"
*
Nina Maslova – mistress of Ladies' man
*
Viktor Ilichyov – "Hurried"
*
Vladimir Nosik – "Long-haired"
*
Oleg Anofriyev – "Drummer"
References
External links
*
1989 films
1980s crime comedy-drama films
Films scored by Gennady Gladkov
Russian crime comedy-drama films
1980s Russian-language films
Mosfilm films
Soviet crime drama films
{{1980s-USSR-film-stub