With his 2002 film Israeli Late Marriage, Dover Kosashvili announced himself as a sensual director of relationships, those alive, dying or dead. Few thought he would make an American adaptation of a celebrated novella by Chekhov, but this tale too is about such relationships, albeit at the end of the 19th century in Russia. Irish actor Andrew Scott, winner of an Olivier Award for his theatre work and an IFTA for his film work, is fantastic as a civil servant that spends a summer in the Caucasus with his married mistress (Glascott) and a zoologist (Menzies). Emotional and psychological sparks fly between them amidst gorgeously photographed countryside vistas. But this is no idyllic period piece - “the film mixes bitterness and laughter with strong dramatic passages” (The New York Times) and is played to perfection by its three leads, with particularly stirring performances from Dubliners Glascott and Buggy, with Glascott particularly excelling as the milky beauty Nadja.
Vancouver International Film Festival
Once again, Mr. Kosashvili mixes moments of bitterness and laughter with strong dramatic passages, creating a social milieu that is believably inhabited, consistently surprising and true-feeling in detail and sweep.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Andrew Scott and Fiona Glascott will attend the screening
