Returning to Saint Petersburg after a long exile, the dashing Yakovlev, a retired army officer, makes a comfortable living by winning other people's duels. An enigmatic, focused, and extremely skilled professional, he leaves a trail of dead bodies behind him as he swirls through polite society, frequently called upon to wield a pistol as a surrogate in duels at dawn. But when Yakovlev meets the naïve young Prince Tuchov and his beautiful sister, Princess Martha, the normally cold-hearted mercenary is surprised by hitherto undetected emotions. What transpires uncovers a series of revelations about his past and his present self.
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Reviews
One of my all time favorites.
Just what I expected
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
A lush (but visually repetitive), naive, confusing and frequently tiresome, story about the 19th-century Czarist Russian Aristocracy solely from the perspective of violent duels to maintain honor. Peter Fedorov is the Russian Colin Farrell in a stunning similarity. Kept expecting him to speak Russian with an Irish accent. Teensy tiny bit of a love story . . . totally hokey, straight out of 1955. This is barely watchable.
it reminds the atmosphere of Imperial Russia. it gives a dark story, fascinating for the game of levels, using good cinematography, remembering Count of Monte Cristo and using a small love story as spice.the result - a beautiful show, not only as aesthetic product but for a story who, out its bloody dimension, remains seductive for the wise manner to mix the Hollywood standards with the Russian tradition. Pyotr Fyodorov did an admirable job and each new meet with Vladimir Mashkov, especially in a role who reminds Vicomte de Valmont from Dangerous liaisons , is a good thing. so, a beautiful film. maybe not at the high expectations of a part of public but decent and seductive.
It is the first time when i see a Russian movie, it was a pleasure. Set in Saint Petersburg in 1860, the story revolves around retired officer Yakovlev. A deadly shot, Yakovlev is effectively a kind of mercenary in that he is available for hire through his associate Baron Staroe to stand in for others in formal duels. Much later in the film, flashbacks reveal that years ago an Aleut shaman has predicted he would never die, and so far that seems about right as Yakovlev wins duel after duel, wounding and more often killing noble opponents. Although duels of honor are technically illegal in Russia at the time, no one pays the law a blind bit of notice. The code of practice is not written down anywhere, and yet everyone knows the rules and rituals, while many participants see it as an almost mystical rite. To take part in a duel is to accept that one's fate is ultimately in the hands of God, hence the practice of Russian roulette. Eventually, it turns out that all of Yakovlev's recent duels were secretly arranged by Count Beklemishev. He is a shadowy puppet master with a grudge and designs on Princess Martha Tuchkova whose brother Prince Tuchkov Yakovlev is scheduled to duel with next. When attraction stirs between him and the pretty blond princess, problems arise, especially since, as the flashbacks reveal, Yakovlev has an agenda of his own. I think "The Duelist" is a great movie, i recommend it. Congratulations actors especially young actress Julia Khlynina.
Saw it at TIFF 2016. The sets and costumes are great and the story is engrossing, but be warned that this film is *extremely* violent in places. "Onegin" this is not!Also, when they are speaking German, there is a Soviet-style voice-over instead of subtitles, so you can't actually hear what the actors are saying.Overall, it was a very interesting experience!I recommend seeing it if you are at all interested in Russian culture, but sadly this film is likely to be too lowbrow to meet the approval of the art-house crowd.