Uncle Vanya From Moscow’s Vakhtangov Theater

Rimas Tuminas' reimagining of Anton Chekhov's tale about broken illusions and dashed hopes is freed from its traditional trappings, leaving behind a battlefield for passions and colliding ambitions. We are given an empty space from which life has departed, a theater space with grey slips, a plaster of Paris lion – a symbol of Petersburg, perhaps the ancestor who built the house came from there, a workbench made out of rough boards, an old sofa, several chairs of different colors. This UNCLE VANYA is about what Chekhov’s characters think and what they admit to only at moments of emotional turmoil. They are at times tongue-tied or overly brutal, but their revelations break out of them fervently, desperately just as a man breaks out of a stuffy room into the open air. A Golden Mask Winner for Best Drama, featuring the inimitable Sergey Makovetskiy as Voynitsky.

Directed by Rimas Tuminas, Uncle Vanya From Moscow’s Vakhtangov Theater leans on a strong ensemble — Sergey Makovetskiy, Lyudmila Masakova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov / Artur Ivanov — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2018.