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An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano

1977 1h 43m Drama List
86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In early 20th-century Russia, a general's widow named Anna (Antonina Shuranova) hosts a weekend gathering of friends and family at her country home. As the guests relax and debate social issues, a romantic affair starts to bloom. Mikhail (Aleksandr Kalyagin), a married schoolmaster, spots former lover Sophia (Yelena Solovey) among the guests, and the two promptly fall back in love. Now the lovers must choose between their current domesticity and a new life of passion.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Bruce McCabe Boston Globe Nikita Mikhalkov's obliquely titled An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano is a magnificent film, a marvelous, transcendent and totally fulfilling viewing experience. Apr 27, 2018 Full Review Paul Attanasio Washington Post "An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano" is buoyed by a cast that is uniformly excellent... Jan 4, 2018 Full Review Janet Maslin New York Times The film, only very loosely based on the early Chekhov play Platonov, is perhaps even closer to Chekhov than Chekhov was. Rated: 4/5 Jun 30, 2011 Full Review Molly Haskell Vogue Decidedly, it is Chekhov who has inspired the timeliest film of the year. Feb 26, 2020 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Loosely basing his saga on on Chekhov's first play Platonov (written in 1881 but published in 1923), Mikhalkov has made a humorous, bittersweet tale of human folly and lost dreams. Rated: B+ Sep 1, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (11) audience reviews
Petros T "Neokonchennaya pyesa dlya mekhanicheskogo pianino" carries you away with the acting, the characters, their interactions, the dialogues and the striking choices in the cinematography. It succeeds in capturing Anton Chekhov's spirit and in proficiently juggling the many characters and all the different moods, from funny to moving and from thought-provoking to batshit crazy. It's an expertly orchestrated journey through a powerful storm of emotions that keeps raging even when it seems to abate. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Titolo italiano: Partitura incompiuta per pianola meccanica Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Apres des meandres qui nous secouent d'un personnage a l'autre, d'une personnalite a l'autre, le film devient poignant jusqu'au bout. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member You want to see how Russians view Chekhov? This is the movie to watch. I'm told this is the last Movie Mikhalkov made purely for the Russian audience - he went International after this. Also - the DVD has, as an extra, B&W footage of Olga Knipper talking about Chekhov. Come on!!! it's worth buying just for that alone! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Una obra maestra. Nadie entiende la obra de Chejov mejor que Mijalkov. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Basada en un texto de Chejov, ¿que podía salir mal? Basto con seguir la obra del ruso, agregarle buenas interpretaciones y voila... una pelicula como pocas. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano

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Movie Info

Synopsis In early 20th-century Russia, a general's widow named Anna (Antonina Shuranova) hosts a weekend gathering of friends and family at her country home. As the guests relax and debate social issues, a romantic affair starts to bloom. Mikhail (Aleksandr Kalyagin), a married schoolmaster, spots former lover Sophia (Yelena Solovey) among the guests, and the two promptly fall back in love. Now the lovers must choose between their current domesticity and a new life of passion.
Director
Nikita Mikhalkov
Screenwriter
Aleksandr Adabashyan, Nikita Mikhalkov
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Runtime
1h 43m