Karen SHAKHNAZAROV
Карен ШАХНАЗАРОВ
Karen CHAKHNAZAROV
Russia, 2001, 106mn 
Colour, fiction
Poisons or the World History of Poisoning
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Яды или Всемирная история отравлений

 

 Poisons ou l’histoire universelle des empoisonnements

 Yady ili Vsemirnaya istoriya otpravleniy

 
Directed by : Karen SHAKHNAZAROV (Карен ШАХНАЗАРОВ)
Writing credits : Aleksandr BORODIANSKY (Александр БОРОДЯНСКИЙ), Karen SHAKHNAZAROV (Карен ШАХНАЗАРОВ)
 
Cast
Ignat AKRACHKOV (Игнат АКРАЧКОВ)
Aleksey_2 ALEKSEYEV (Алексей_2 АЛЕКСЕЕВ)
Aleksandr BASHIROV (Александр БАШИРОВ)
Oleg BASILASHVILY (Олег БАСИЛАШВИЛИ) ...Prokhorov
Dmitry DYUZHEV (Дмитрий ДЮЖЕВ)
Yelena FOMINA (Елена ФОМИНА)
Lyudmila KASATKINA (Людмила КАСАТКИНА)
Andrey PANIN (Андрей ПАНИН) ...César Borgia
 
Cinematography : Vladimir KLIMOV (Владимир КЛИМОВ)
Production design : Lyudmila KUSAKOVA (Людмила КУСАКОВА)
Music : Anatoli KROLL (Анатолий КРОЛЛ)
Sound : Gulsara MUKATAEVA (Гульсара МУКАТАЕВА)
Produced by : Karen SHAKHNAZAROV (Карен ШАХНАЗАРОВ)
Production : Mosfilm, Kurier
Release date in Russia : 19/04/2001
 
Site : IMDb

Awards :
Best actor Ignat AKRACHKOV , Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2001
First prize Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2001

Plot synopsis
Phantasmagoric comedy. Peaceful life of theatrical actor Oleg Volkova and his wife Katya, teachers of music is interrupted by the advent of their new neighbour - mechanic Arnold Sharapov. The love triangle which has arisen as a result of this meeting brings to the Oleg`s acquaintance with Pope Alexander VI Borgia, his son Chezare and daughter Lukretsija, queen of France Ekaterina Medichi, Nero and other well-known poisoners of an antiquity. Directed by a friendly hand of mysterious Prokhorov, Oleg soon decides to follow to their terrible and attractive example.
Source : www.mosfilm.ru
 

Commentaries and bibliography
 
What would you do if your darling wife slept with a worker from the meat factory? Slam the door, start a brawl, drink? Whatever you do, don’t talk to strangers, particularly sweet pensioners who carry a bottle of powerful poison. You might just end up poisoning your wife, her lover, and possibly your mother-in-law. And then…you might find yourself dining with Pope Alexander VI, the Queen of France Catherine Medici and Emperor Nero caught up in a world history of poisoning. All this really happens in Karen Shakhnazarov’s bizarre and fantastical black comedy.
Source : www.russianresurrection.com

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2012
- Retrospective Russian cinema at the "Reflet Médicis", Paris (France), 2010
- Russian Resurrection Film Festival, Different cities (Australia), 2009
- Paris Russian Film Festival, Paris (France), 2009
- Russian film festival in Sweden 'KinoRiurik', Stockholm (Sweden), 2007
- Russian Culture Festival in Essen, Essen (Germany), 2006
- Russian film festival in Sweden 'KinoRiurik', Stockholm (Sweden), 2004
- Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2001
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2001
- "NIKA" Prizes, Moscow (Russia), 2001

Photos and videos
 
Film with English and French subtitles : Film avec sous-titres anglais