Mournful Unconcern

Mournful Unconcern
Directed by	Alexander Sokurov
Written by	Yuriy Arabov
Starring	Ramaz Chkhikvadze Alla Osipenko Vladimir Zamanskiy Tatyana Yegorova Viktoria Amitova Irina Sokolova Dmitriy Bryantsev Vadim Zhuk Ilya Rivin Andrei Reshetin Vladimir Dmitriev
Music by	Vladimir Persov
Cinematography	Sergei Yurizditsky
Editing by	Leda Semyonova
Distributed by	Lenfilm
Release date(s)	1983 (completed production), 1987
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

Mournful Unconcern (Russian: Скорбное бесчувствие, translit. Skorbnoye beschuvstviye) is the third produced film by Alexander Sokurov, completed in 1983, but the fourth released one, as it was banned by Soviet authorities until perestroika in 1987. The film is a juxtaposition of World War I and an insane asylum, inspired by Bernard Shaw's play Heartbreak House. Professional actors (Zamansky, Osipenko, Sokolova and others) were used alongside amateur actors, like in most early Sokurov films, and many of the trademarks of his cinematographic style were already apparent.

Background

The film sparked controversy and was halted by the Soviet film authorities by cutting state subsidy for the film's budget during the production process, so it took time to find money and complete the film. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival in 1987.^[1]

Cast

• Ramaz Chkhikvadze as Captain Shotover
• Alla Osipenko as Ariadna
• Irina Sokolova as Nanny Guinness
• Tatyana Yegorova as Gessiona
• Vladimir Zamansky as Madzini
• Viktoria Amitova as Ellie (uncredited)
• Dmitri Bryantsev as Hector (uncredited)

References

1. ^ "Berlinale: 1987 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1987/02_programm_1987/02_Programm_1987.html. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 

External links

• Sokurov's website
• Mournful Unconcern at the Internet Movie Database
• Mournful Unconcern at AllRovi