Monday Morning Maybe

Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

Poster for Burnt by the Sun

Burnt by the Sun

Seen it?

1994 | 135 min | Drama

Saturday Special

Why it’s a Saturday Special

It earned strong reviews (81% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it won an Oscar, despite soft box office. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for anyone who loves a strong drama. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood
Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr 15 min.
What might put you off
  • Rated R: meant for adults.
  • It's in Russian, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his dacha with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things change dramatically with the unheralded arrival of Cousin Dmitri from Moscow, who charms the women and little Nadia with his games and pianistic bravura. But Kotov isn't fooled: this is the time of Stalin's repression, with telephone calls in the middle of the night spelling doom - and he knows that Dmitri isn't paying a social call...

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsStrong

    81% on Rotten Tomatoes

  • AudiencesSolid

    6.9 out of 10

  • AwardsStrong

    Won 1 Oscar: Best International Feature Film. Won 2 Cannes awards: Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes. Also nominated for 1 BAFTA. Plus 1 other award.

  • Box office & staying powerBelow par

    $4 million worldwide on a $3 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactBelow par

    About 53K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

More like this

Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks

Cast & crew

Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov

  • Oleg MenshikovDmitry
  • Nikita MikhalkovSergey
  • Ingeborga DapkūnaitėMarusya
  • Nadezhda MikhalkovaNadya
  • Vyacheslav TikhonovVsevolod Konstantinovich
  • Svetlana KryuchkovaMokhova
  • Vladimir IlinKirik
  • Alla KazanskayaLidia Stepanovna
  • Nina ArkhipovaElena Mikhailovna
  • Avangard Leontyevchauffeur