Stars: Pyotr Skvortsov, Viktoriya Isakova, Aleksandra Revenko
Storyline
After Venya's mother receives a call from school reporting her son's refusal to participate in mixed swimming lessons, she first suspects her teenager of being shy and derides his claim that it is "against his religion." As Venya is finally exempted by the school's devout principal, he grows confident that his strict and rigorous study of the Bible gives him the ability to manipulate all forms of authority. Challenged by a teacher who refuses to consent to his dogma, he sets out to eliminate her and subdue an entire community. At a time when arguments over the teaching of religion in public schools are prominent in the media, this wildly escalating classroom drama - based on a play by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg - serves as a frightening cautionary tale.
Writers: Kirill Serebrennikov, Marius von Mayenburg, Pyotr Skvortsov, Viktoriya Isakova, Aleksandra Revenko, Pyotr Skvortsov, Viktoriya Isakova, Aleksandra Revenko, Yuliya Aug, Aleksandr Gorchilin, Anton Vasilev, Svetlana Bragarnik, Irina Rudniktskaya, Nikolay Roshchin, , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Pyotr Skvortsov -
Veniamin Yuzhin
Viktoriya Isakova -
Elena Krasnova
Aleksandra Revenko -
Lidiya Tkacheva
Yuliya Aug -
Inga Yuzhina
Aleksandr Gorchilin -
Grigoriy Zaytsev
Anton Vasilev -
Svetlana Bragarnik -
Lyudmila Stukalina
Irina Rudniktskaya -
Irina Petrovna
Nikolay Roshchin -
Otets Vsevolod
Taglines:
I haven't come to bring piece but the sword.
Country: Russia
Language: Russian
Release Date: 3 Jan 2016
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The original Russian title "(M)uchenik", with the 'm' in parentheses, is a play on words, a pun, combining the Russian word "muchenik", which means "martyr", with the Russian word "uchenik", which means "student". Because the Russian pun would not be understood, and there is no way to translate it, the simplified title "Uchenik", or "The Student", was used at the Cannes Film Festival 2016. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
"The Student" – "(M)uchenik" directed by Kirill Serebrennikov is an
attempt to reconsider religious fanaticism in the modern world. The
picture is based on the play "Martyr" by German author Marius von
Mayenburg and it was adapted to the reality of modern Russia.
In a way the problems touched upon in the film are universal and not
connected to one particular religion. An interesting aspect of the film
is the constant quoting of the Bible which shows that any religion can
become an instrument of aggression. The picture is a sharp and humorous
satire. The teachers in the film are very well depicted, they whose
heads are full of self contradictory ideas combining Stalinism,
Putinism, Communism, Liberalism and religion. The school administration
cannot confront a religious fanatic because they themselves do not have
any ideas or principles.
When the biology teacher tries to confront Veniamin, she also looks
into the Bible, which she interprets in a vulgar and primitive way. The
relations between Veniamin and Grigori are interesting; he becomes very
close to Veniamin but we see later that Grigori is gay which is the
real reason why he becomes his disciple.
The film is shot in a minimalistic way in this low-budget production,
but the actors play well and the dialogues are very funny. The ideas of
the picture are important, the film has an open end just as our society
has an uncertain future with growing extremism and radicalism.
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