Dear Comrades (Dorogie tovarishchi)
Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky continues his prolific chameleonic streak with his latest project, Dear Comrades, which will feature, once again, the director’s wife, actress Julia Vysotkaya. Konchalovsky famously collaborated with Andrey Tarkovsky on several projects, notably writing 1966’s Andrei Rublev before eventually breaking out as prestigious director with a string of celebrated titles which would lead him to Hollywood…and back. After winning the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary for 1974’s A Lover’s Romance, Konchalovksy competed four times for the Palme d’Or with 1979’s Siberiade (winning the Grand Jury Prize), 1986’s Runaway Train (which netted Eric Roberts an Oscar nod), 1987’s Shy People (for which Barbara Hershey won Best Actress at the fest), and 1994’s Assia and the Hen with the Golden Eggs. Having twice won the Golden Shell out of San Sebastian (1970’s Uncle Vanya; 1989’s Homer and Eddie), Konchalovsky left behind Hollywood following the troubled production of Tango and Cash (1989), returning to Europe. His only comp slot in Berlin was 1991’s The Inner Circle but Konchalovsky has remained a mainstay in Venice, competing five times over fifty years (1966’s The First Teacher; 1984’s Maria’s Lovers; 2002’s House of Fools; 2014’s The Postman’s White Nights; 2016’s Paradise), winning the Grand Jury Prize in 2002 and Best Director in 2014 and 2016. His 2019 Italian-filmed biopic on Michelangelo premiered at the 2019 Rome Film Festival before also being presented at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
Gist: Konchalovsky’s latest, co-written by his regular scribe Esela Kiseleva, is based on the 1962 massacre of Soviet workers demonstrating for better working conditions in the southern Russian town Novocherkassk.
Release Date/Prediction: Konchalovsky, who is also directing two stage plays, confirmed he was editing his latest as of October of 2019. Based on his contemporary trajectory, we expect him to be a potential contender at Venice 2020.
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