Pushkin: Poslednyaya duel

When I started watching the movie I was struck by the character playing Pushkin, because he acted rather contradictory. The movie depicts the situation at the Russian imperial court at the beginning of the XIX-th century, the place were Pushkin lived during his last years. The movie helped me understand better the life of the great Russian poet and his social standing. Finally I got an idea about why Pushkin decided to fight Dantes. Hoever, the movie has a slight bias favoring the idea that Pushkin and Lermontov cared a lot for Russia. It seems a constant bias of the Russian movie producers (see for example the movies about Taras Bulba or Knyaz Dologorukiy). Nevertheless, in the end I remained puzzled. Who was to blame for Pushkin's tragic fate: his wife, Georges Dantes, the poet himself or some kind of aristocratic conspiracy led by the Imperator? Even if the question remains unanswered, still I recommend this movie for all who want to understand the last moments of Pushkin's life.

it is not gives explanations. only old and almost fragile theories. it is not more than picture of a period, exercise to present characters, relations, to create a convincing fresco for the Pushkin life and end. far to be great, it is only a decent movie, out of remarkable virtues but far by huge errors. a sketch, a homage , with same Russian care for details and atmosphere, with subtle science to build an almost touching story. Sergey Bezrukov does an interesting work in lead role and this fact makes the film more than a documentary-drama. but something missing and this lost ingredient is the cause who transforms it only in an other new biographic Russian film. the theme is generous and the subject seductive. in this case, the noble intentions are axis of all. but it is only a beginning.