Genre: Historical Epic
Duration: 116 mins
Format: 35mm
Director: Pavel Lungin
Cast: Pyotr Mamonov, Oleg Yankovskiy, Ramilya Iskander, Anastasia Dontsova, Alexander Domogarov, Alexander Illyn
Facts: Official Selection (Cannes Film Festival 2009)

Set in 16th Century Russia, Tsar looks at one dramatic year from Ivan the Terrible's reign, and the confrontation between the Tsar and his close friend and head of the church, Filipp Kolychev. In a country riddled with riots and conspiracies to dethrone him, Ivan believes he is on a mission bestowed upon him by God: a mission to prepare the country for the end of the world. He establishes absolute power and declares that "those who resist power resist God." It is up to Filipp to stand up to Ivan and challenge this reign of terror. Tsar challenges the "Ivan as nation builder" mythos that was built up in Stalin's reign and as a result has generated much debate not only about how we interpret History as a modern audience, but where we get our History from. Does it come from a book, the web, or the silver screen. Lensed by Clint Eastwood's cinematographer and included in the official selection of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Tsar is a big budget Russian epic.

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