Roman BALAIAN
Роман БАЛАЯН
Roman BALAIAN
USSR (Ukraine), 1977, 77mn 
Colour, fiction
Biryuk
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Бирюк

 

 Biriouk, l'ermite

 Biryuk

 
Directed by : Roman BALAIAN (Роман БАЛАЯН)
Writing credits : Roman BALAIAN (Роман БАЛАЯН), Ivan MIKOLAJCHUK (Иван МИКОЛАЙЧУК)
 
Cast
Yuri DUBROVIN (Юрий ДУБРОВИН)
Mikhail GOLUBOVICH (Михаил ГОЛУБОВИЧ) ...Le garde-forestier
Yelena KHROL (Елена ХРОЛЬ)
Oleg TABAKOV (Олег ТАБАКОВ) ...Barsenev
Aleksey ZAYTSEVA (Алексей ЗАЙЦЕВ)
 
Cinematography : Vilen KALYUTA (Вилен КАЛЮТА)
Production design : Vitali VOLYNSKY (Виталий ВОЛЫНСКИЙ)
Music : Vladimir GUBA (Владимир ГУБА)
Sound : Sofia SERGIENKO (Софья СЕРГИЕНКО)
Production : Studio Dovzhenko
Release date in Russia : 11/08/1977
 

Plot synopsis
Biryuk is a Russian word which has another literal meaning, but also describes a strong and taciturn man who is usually something of a recluse, someone who behaves somewhat rudely. Director Roman Balayan is known for his literary adaptations. This impressionistic film, based on a cycle of stories by Turgenev, called "The Notes of a Hunter," has almost no dialogue and explores the ordinary daily rounds of Foma (Michael Golubovich), a forester and gamekeeper on a nobleman's estate. Neither an aristocrat nor one of the local peasants, Foma's job is to keep the local populace from taking advantage of the timber and wildlife on the estate. The situation isolates him from everyone, except his young daughter and infant son. A peaceable and compassionate man, he rarely punishes poachers, preferring to keep their damage to a bearable minimum rather than eliminating it altogether.
Clarke Fountain, www.allmovie.com
 

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- "Vyborg" Russian Film Festival ''A Window to Europe'', Vyborg (Russia), 2011
- Retrospective Russian cinema at the "Reflet Médicis", Paris (France), 2010
- Berlin International Film Festival : Berlinale, Berlin (Germany), 1978

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