Mournful Unconcern
6.5
The action in this lavishly produced film takes place at an oddly ark-shaped mansion during World War I, and in spirit (although not in story) it reflects the play which inspired it, the ferociously antiwar Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw. A large group of family and friends have gathered at this country house to dance, drink, and converse. Their conversation, in particular, is adorned with erudite literary references and quotations. Despite their apparent refinement, their preoccupations are simple: sex and violence. Disquieting images break the tranquility of the vacationers' inappropriate idyll: some of these include documentary footage of starving African children, images (both real and re-enacted) of George Bernard Shaw going about his daily life, and a corpse coming to life on an autopsy table, only to cheapen that miracle by scolding a group of women. The music used in the film ironically points to its disturbing message and is uniformly anachronistic.
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Cast
11 people
Ramaz Chkhikvadze
Shotover
Known for
Ashik Kerib
In August of 1944
Alla Osipenko
Ariadne
Also in
Empire
Winter Cherries
Dmitry Bryantsev
Hector
No other roles listed
Tatiana Yegorova
Hesione
Irina Sokolova
Guinness's nurse
Known for
War
Moloch
Vladimir Zamanskiy
Madzini
Known for
The Steamroller and the Violin
Trial on the Road
Tatiana Yegorova
Also in
A Spoonful of Stardust
Vadim Zhuk
Also in
The Parrot Speaking Yiddish
I Want To Go To Prison
Ilya Rivin
Also in
Empire
The Degraded
Vladimir Dmitriev
Also in
Change of Fate
Down with Commerce on the Love Front, or Reciprocal Services
Виктория Юриздицкая
Элли
No other roles listed
Aleksandr Sokurov Director · Yuriy Arabov Writer George Bernard Shaw Author
First release February 1, 1987 · Produced in Russia, Russia · Original title Скорбное бесчувствие
Production
Lenfilm
Production
Russia · Russia
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Скорбное бесчувствие
Original language
Russian
Spoken on screen
Russian
Release dates
Germany · February 1, 1987
Theatrical
Russia · March 25, 1987
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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Some details come from TheTVDB.