Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

My Friend Ivan Lapshin

Play trailer My Friend Ivan Lapshin Released Mar 24, 1987 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
83% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
As a police detective in Stalinist Russia, Ivan Lapshin (Andrei Boltnev) lives a life of extremes. At home in the communal flat he shares with other families, he is a considerate, genial presence. In his love life, he is trying to seduce a young actress (Nina Ruslanova), and is almost comically inept. But in his work life, he is unimaginably cruel and brutal to those individuals the state wants rounded up. His latest case involves tracking down a gang that trades in human meat.

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Walter Goodman New York Times Beneath the camouflage of the look of time past, ''Ivan'' is makeshift melodrama. Jan 8, 2018 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Anyone with a serious interest in Soviet cinema won't want to pass it up. Apr 4, 2011 Full Review Philip French Observer (UK) The movie throws a most interesting light on pre-war Russia. Aug 16, 2021 Full Review Ángel Fernández-Santos El Pais (Spain) A beautiful and complex film. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 17, 2020 Full Review Laura Clifford Reeling Reviews The film is challenging, German playing with time, film stocks and shooting styles, his cinema fractured to give the abstract impression of distant memories...once what German's trying to do sinks in, Lapshin becomes a potent symbol of the Stalinist era. Rated: B May 28, 2012 Full Review Jeremy Heilman MovieMartyr.com As "fifty years and five blocks" would imply, memory is viewed here as something slippery; almost tangible yet just out of reach. Rated: 70/100 Jul 15, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Audience Member Exceptional film at all levels. Reminded me of Wong Kar Wei's films both stylistically and thematically. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member If you can manage not to walk out after the first 45 minutes, it's actually quite enjoyable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member a tough film if you're not prepared for german's style of wandering camera, overlapping conversations, and subtle ambiguity. in fact the director has stated he doubts western audiences can ever fully appreciate it, due to the specific period of history invoked. set in flashback in 1935, before the stalinist purges and after the great famine, it's a tale told by an old man about his father and his friends and the apartment they shared in those days when it seemed things could only get better and no one knew what was to come. one of the inhabitants is a chief of the secret police, idealized in the boy's memory as a generous, principled and courageous man, ivan lapshin. the first half gives us some sense of the man's temperament and relationships, the second is more focused on a police investigation into a brutal gang of killers. a fascinating array of stunning images of a bleak soviet winter long ago, vastly rewarding if u can adjust to its' unique rhythm Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The plot points along the way have all been done before, but the matter-of-fact tone makes the more emotional moments, as underplayed as they are, ring more truly. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
My Friend Ivan Lapshin

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Running on Empty 81% 69% Running on Empty Watchlist Horse Thief 96% 75% Horse Thief Watchlist No End 90% 77% No End Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis As a police detective in Stalinist Russia, Ivan Lapshin (Andrei Boltnev) lives a life of extremes. At home in the communal flat he shares with other families, he is a considerate, genial presence. In his love life, he is trying to seduce a young actress (Nina Ruslanova), and is almost comically inept. But in his work life, he is unimaginably cruel and brutal to those individuals the state wants rounded up. His latest case involves tracking down a gang that trades in human meat.
Director
Aleksey German
Screenwriter
Eduard Volodarskiy, Eduard Volodarsky
Distributor
International Film Exchange Ltd.
Production Co
Lenfilm Studio
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 24, 1987, Original
Runtime
1h 40m