Vladimir KHOTINENKO
Владимир ХОТИНЕНКО
Vladimir KHOTINENKO
Russia, 1995, 110mn 
Colour, fiction
Musulmanin
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Мусульманин

 

 Le Musulman

 Musulmanin

 
Directed by : Vladimir KHOTINENKO (Владимир ХОТИНЕНКО)
Writing credits : Valery ZALOTUKHA (Валерий ЗАЛОТУХА)
 
Cast
Ivan AGAFONOV (Иван АГАФОНОВ)
Aleksandr BALUEV (Александр БАЛУЕВ)
Ivan BORTNIK (Иван БОРТНИК)
Yevdokiya GERMANOVA (Евдокия ГЕРМАНОВА)
Vladimir ILIN (Владимир ИЛЬИН)
Yevgeni MIRONOV (Евгений МИРОНОВ) ...Nikolaï Ivanov
Aleksandr PESKOV (Александр ПЕСКОВ)
Nina USATOVA (Нина УСАТОВА)
Pyotr ZAICHENKO (Пётр ЗАЙЧЕНКО)
 
Cinematography : Aleksey RODIONOV (Алексей РОДИОНОВ)
Production design : Aleksandr POPOV (Александр ПОПОВ), Vladimir YARIN (Владимир ЯРИН)
Music : Aleksandr PANTYKIN (Александр ПАНТЫКИН)
Sound : Sergey SASHNIN (Сергей САШНИН)
Production : Roskomkino (Роскомкино)
 
Release date in France : 1996-02-28, Site

Awards :
Best actress Nina USATOVA , Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 1995
Best actor Aleksandr BALUEV , Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 1995
Best Screenplay "NIKA" Prizes, Moscow (Russia), 1995
Best actress Nina USATOVA , "NIKA" Prizes, Moscow (Russia), 1995
Prix du festival de Montréal pour le producteur Vladimir REPNIKOV et le réalisateur Vladimir KHOTINENKO, 1995
Prix du Festival Zolotoi Vitiaz pour le meilleur scénario, la meilleure réalisation, meilleur rôle féminin (l’actrice Nina OUSSATOVA)
Prix du Festival "Kinotavr" pour le meilleur rôle féminin (l’actrice Nina OUSSATOVA) ; meilleur rôle masculin (acteur Aleksandr BALOUEV)1995 Prix NIKA pour meilleur rôle féminin (l’actrice Nina OUSSATOVA) ; meilleur rôle masculin (acteur Aleksandr BALOUEV) ; meilleur scénario, 1995

Plot synopsis
A Russian soldier spends seven years in an Afghan prison. By the time he is released he has become a devout Muslim. This multi-textured Russian drama follows what happens when he finally returns home to his post-Perestroika, Russian Orthodox rural village. Kolya comes from a family of hardworking peasants. His homecoming is joyous as his mother, his older brother and the entire village rushes out to greet him. Things come to a grinding halt when Kolya refuses to drink the proffered vodka. He then informs them of his conversion. The townsfolk are most displeased and he becomes an object of ridicule. The other young men frequently beat him and only Kolya's former lover, Vera, who is more open-minded than the others, tries to accept him. She has a hard time though when he explains the Islamic views on premarital sex. Kolya, himself discovers that he was unprepared for the changes in his village. With newly resurrected free-enterprise, many of the villagers have become materialistic and the town fathers are corrupt. In the story's climax, Kolya finds himself having a final confrontation with a murderous stranger who has come to settle an old score.
Sandra Brennan, www.allmovie.com
 

Commentaries and bibliography
Le cinéma russe, vingt-cinq ans déjà..., Marilyne FELLOUS, kinoglaz.fr, 2010
Le cinéma des années 1990-2000. Images dispersées, Françoise NAVAILH, Russie, peuples et civilisations, La découverte, 2005
 

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- War in contemporary Russian cinema, kinoglaz.fr (France), 2023
- Sputnik nad Polska, Warsaw (Poland), 2012
- International Film Festival of the Commonwealth Countries "Moscow Premiere", Moscow (Russia), 2008
- Nantes Russian Film Festival, Nantes (France), 1998
- Release in France of the film, Different cities (France), 1996-02-28
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 1995
- "NIKA" Prizes, Moscow (Russia), 1995