Genre: Drama

Duration: 98 mins

Format: 35mm

Director: Karen Shakhnazarov

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Oleg Yankovksy, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Yuri Sherstnyov.

Awards: Nominated, Un Certain Regard, Karen Shakhnazarov (1991 Cannes Film Festival) Best Actor, Oleg Yankovskiy (1992 Nika Awards)

Timofeyev (McDowell), a patient at a mental hospital, is convinced that he assassinated Tsar Nikolay II and his family on the night of 16 June 1918. He recounts the events of that horrible night. Dr Smirnov (Yankovsky) concludes that the only way to treat Timofeyev is to enter his fantasies, and so he assumes the role of the Tsar. Past and present blur together in an attempt to find salvation. This Anglo-Russian co-production boasts an amazing array of actors, including Oleg Yankovsky and Malcolm McDowell. Directed by Russian auteur Karen Shakhnazarov the film can be considered a companion piece to his latter Ward No. 6, a Festival favorite from 2009.