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The Second Circle

Play trailer Poster for The Second Circle Released Sep 11, 1990 1h 32m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
When his father dies, an unnamed Russian man (Piotr Alexandrov) returns to his remote Siberian village to bury him. As he goes through the solitary and difficult process of making funeral arrangements and cleaning his father's body, he confronts the increasingly apathetic and materialistic nature of society, as a busy undertaker urges him to cremate his father instead of burying him. While the young man explores society's cold treatment of mortality, he also struggles with his grief.

Critics Reviews

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Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine The Second Circle is awash in the pain of loss, yet how often grim comedy breaks through the austere surface. Rated: 4/4 Apr 3, 2006 Full Review Susan Sontag Artforum There’s no director active today whose films I admire as much [as Aleksandr Sokurov]. May 2, 2024 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid The brownish, monochrome color scheme lacks the transcendent beauty of Sokurov's later films, and it can be tough going, but it also has the mark of a master. Jun 9, 2006 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews This relentless meditation on the death of one's father also serves as a metaphor for the spiritual debasement of modern Russia. Rated: A Oct 25, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member The greatest 01 hour: and 32 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member A particularly dull, crude example of the post-Soviet, post-secular, reactionary, inhuman, anti-social cinema of Sokurov. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Russian man returns home to care for his fathers remains. Somewhat slow atmospheric movie that makes funeral arrangements extra creepy. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Sokurov is a master of visuals, following in Tarkovsky's footsteps. With beautiful cinematography, rich in symbolism, "The Second Circle" is a wonderful metaphor to Russia on the aftermath of its 70-year old dying communism. The son (young generation) needs to bury his deceased father (the communist era) but has no guidance, religion was oppressed, the government institutions are but old replicas of the communist era. How to do it, where to go from here, what was the relationship between the son and his father. Simple and beautiful. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Stunning austere stark image completed by intriguing camera angles. Sokurov always finds a way to avoid drama (the story itself easily becomes the premise of some untasteful drama) and stick to what's real, yet still can give you intensity. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Static, numbing, morose and brilliant. May be the single most depressing film I've ever seen: an almost impossible amalgam of Dostoevsky and Samuel Beckett. Most folks will hate it and walk out: I was mesmerized. That doesn't make me better than other folks - just ... different, I guess. No harm there. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Second Circle

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Movie Info

Synopsis When his father dies, an unnamed Russian man (Piotr Alexandrov) returns to his remote Siberian village to bury him. As he goes through the solitary and difficult process of making funeral arrangements and cleaning his father's body, he confronts the increasingly apathetic and materialistic nature of society, as a busy undertaker urges him to cremate his father instead of burying him. While the young man explores society's cold treatment of mortality, he also struggles with his grief.
Director
Aleksandr Sokurov
Screenwriter
Yuriy Arabov
Distributor
International Film Circuit [us]
Production Co
Studio Troitskij Most
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 1990, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Jun 11, 2007
Runtime
1h 32m