A Friend of the Deceased

1997 film

10 September 1997 (1997-09-10) (TIFF)

Running time

100 minutesCountriesFrance
UkraineLanguageUkrainian/Russian

A Friend of the Deceased (Ukrainian: Приятель небіжчика) is a 1997 Ukrainian drama film directed by Viacheslav Kryshtofovych.^[1] The film was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.^[2]^[3]

Plot

The era of "wild capitalism" was gaining momentum when Anatoly was abandoned by his wife. He was young, handsome, and intelligent, with knowledge of a foreign language, but for some reason he did not fit into modern life, which was completely incomprehensible to him. A meeting with his former classmate Dima, who was successfully trading in a commercial kiosk, became his Ariadne's thread in the world of new morality. Life becomes like a movie. Anatoliy's rash and frivolous act became the first link in a chain of events that resulted in the murder of a man who was himself a hired killer. This man's little son called Anatoliy dad… How will Anatoliy behave after that? Will he become a father to the boy or will he take the place of the killer?

Cast

Aleksandr Lazarev Jr. as Anatoliy
Anzhelika Nevolina as Katia
Elena Korikova as Maryna
Tetiana Kryvytska Stang Lund as Lena / Vika
Yevheniy Pashin as Dima
Serhiy Romaniuk as Ivan
Anatoliy Mateshko as Borys
Rostislav Yankovsky as Ihor Lvovych

Film crew

Director of Photography: Vyacheslav Kryshtofovych
Screenwriter: Andriy Kurkov
Director of Photography: Vilen Kalyuta
Production designer: Roman Adamovych
Composer: Vladimir Hronsky
Sound director: Heorhiy Stremovsky

References

^ Sandra Brennan (2015). "A Friend of the Deceased". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
^ "44 Countries Hoping for Oscar Nominations". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 24 November 1997. Archived from the original on 13 February 1998. Retrieved 13 October 2015.