Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina / Анна Каренина (2009) – dir. Sergei Soloviev, starring Tatyana Drubich, Oleg Yankovsky
3 November 2010, 4pm
Soloviev’s stunningly beautiful adaptation of Tolstoy’s well-known classic reinterprets the tragic and heart-rending story of Anna Karenina. The film contrasts sumptuously lavish sets and costumes with serious questions about the role of women in society, as the double standard between the infidelity of men and women is played out with heart-breaking consequences.
The film took 14 years to make and fulfils a life-long wish of the director to see his version of the story on the big screen. The majority of the film was shot on location at Yasnaya Polyana, the beautiful estate and mansion where Tolstoy spent most of his life, where Anna Karenina was written and where he is buried. Soloviev believed that this setting would inspire the cast and crew, and give his film an authentic and stunning location.
The tale has been adapted countless times for the screen before, both in Russia and the west, with Greta Garbo (1935) and Vivien Leigh (1948) both taking the leading role.