XoWizIama
Excellent adaptation.
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
deacon_blues-3
This is a film ostensibly about schizophrenia and it's treatment, but it is more about post- communist Russian guilt over the slaughter of the Romanov family.A long-time mental patient who believes that he is the reincarnation of two Assassins (one of Tsar Alexander and the other of the Romanov family including Nicholas II) piques the interest of his new head psychiatrist. The new doctor decides to treat him by pretending that he himself is the reincarnation of Tsar Nicolas II. The crisis ensues when the same kind of physical auto-suggestion symptoms that the patient has been exhibiting begin to be exhibited by the doctor, resulting in the doctor's eventual actual death.But the main interest comes in the recreation of the historical scenes of the Romanov assassinations and their aftermath.Wonderful acting performances by Malcolm MacDowell as Timofeyev/Yurovsky and Oleg Yankovskiy as Dr. Smirnov/Tsar Nicholas II.There is a lot of looming angst and guilt portrayed, aimed at giving the audience a sense of the collective psychological pathology of Russian society over the patricides of their Bolshevik revolution. Lots of Freudian baggage that I'm rather skeptical about the value of, personally.I would have preferred a film on just the historical retelling of the events, but there is much admirable acting and atmosphere, notwithstanding.
samkan
ASSASSIN OF THE TSAR is riveting stuff and by far the best depiction of the murder of the Romanov aristocracy in 1918. The method is interesting; i.e., using the "recollections" of a modern schizophrenic who believes he was the original assassin (as well as the assassin of Nicholas' father in 1886). Some may be troubled by the seeming lack of explanation for the inmate's "fantasy" not to mention his treating doctor's descent into the same fantasy. This viewer was content with the suggestion of guilt and duty in modern Russia about the historical events which at a minimum are shameful and at worst a mindless snuff of heritage and culture. But I absolutely missed the significance of the "lost little girl". There is precious little written about this film. I'm just the fifth COMMENTER and only the second American. I'll either have to dig or, better, watch the work again!
T Y
I saw this c. 92 in a limited festival release, and then it disappeared for 17 years. For a long time, to my disappointment, it didn't even show up under MacDowell's name here on IMDb. But I'm glad I've tracked it down and just re-watched it (Netflix). It is (surprisingly) just as good as I remember it. It moves with deliberation and resorts to no emotional leg-pulling. It is uncolored by the subjectivity that movies frequently trowel on to hook an audience. It is meditative throughout, not concerned with spiking your adrenaline every ten minutes. The fictionalized framing device is OK enough, but it doesn't intrude as the movie builds to its inexorable, distressing finish. You watch as an infamous event approaches, and the two story threads converge on the assassination of the entire Romanov family. The audience I saw this with was glued to their seats. Nooone is completely sympathetic. No one is completely unsympathetic. No moral judgment is passed on the Romanovs, or for that matter, the assassin Yurovsky. They are just unlucky people caught up in a certain moment.It is the perfect mid-career role for MacDowell. He was lucky to get such an interesting part. (It's a Russian production.) But he does a great, unshowy job.
Djole_J
In my opinion very imaginative movie, nicely depicted psychological drama that introduced a lot of interesting data and unanswered questions from Russian history. Story of this movie is well balanced mixture of reality and main character's imagination, leaving a viewer a lot of space to separate one from the other at his own will. The plotline is smoothly and intelligently guided with interesting flashbacks, and clever dialogues. Though I would normally dislike the idea that famous British actor is hired for main role in completely Russian production, Malcolm McDowell was perfect choice for this character, and he made really great performance, fitting perfectly in the Russian surrounding. I highly recommend this movie.
