Katala
Katala | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sergei Bodrov Alexander Buravsky |
Written by | Sergei Bodrov Valery Barakin |
Produced by | Alexander Mikhailov |
Starring | Valery Garkalin Yelena Safonova |
Cinematography | Sergei Taraskin |
Music by | Vladimir Dashkevich[1] |
Production company | |
Release date | 1989 |
Running time | 80 min. |
Country | USSR |
Language | Russian |
Katala (Russian: Катала, romanized: Katala, also known as The Gambler) is a 1989 Soviet crime film directed by Sergei Bodrov and Alexander Buravsky.[2][3]
Plot
In a small seaside town lives Aleksei 'The Greek' Grekov, a former katala a slang term in the criminal circles meaning professional
In Moscow, The Greek meets his longtime acquaintance, a criminal named Crucian, and soon they begin to win money playing cards against underground businessmen, bandits and simply gullible citizens. The amount of money accumulated by Aleksei is growing, but The Greek clearly understands that only by obtaining a huge jackpot he can finish once and for all this sordid matter. Aleksei undertakes a suicidal risk. He secretly buys special lenses that allow him to see what cards others have and challenges the Director himself to a one-on-one match. The big game begins and the Director loses large sums to The Greek. Lola, the criminal boss's assistant, draws attention to a certain oddity: during the game Aleksei goes to the toilet every two hours allegedly to freshen up. In reality he occasionally has to remove his miracle-lenses because they place a terrible strain on the eyes and can lead to loss of vision. The bandits uncover the Greek's ploy and severely punish Aleksei by turning him into a mutilated half-blind invalid.
Returning to his hometown, The Greek begins to work again in the port. After meeting with Anna, he receives terrible news. It turns out that after the death of Shota, Anna hid all his money, deceiving both the bandits and Aleksei. Shaken by Anna's treachery, The Greek bids farewell to her forever. Soon Aleksei is summoned to the police, he gives evidence against the Director, and the bloody revenge of the bandits does not delay itself.
Cast
- Valery Garkalin as Aleksei Grekov (voice by Aleksei Zharkov)[4]
- Sergey Gazarov as Shota, businessman
- Yelena Safonova as Anna, Shota's girlfriend
- Viktor Pavlov as Crucian
- Lyudmila Gavrilova as Crucian's concubine
- Nodar Mgaloblishvili as Director, mafia boss (voice by Vladimir Soshalsky)
- Luiza Mosendz as Lola, Director's helper
- Igor Fokin as Phoma, Director's helper
- Renat Davletyarov as criminal
- Yuri Slobodenyuk as criminal
- Sergey Stepanchenko as Lola's lover, police officer
- Vitaly Leonov as Anna's father
- Kristina Shcherbakova as Lisa, Anna's daughter
- Larisa Kuznetsova as prostitute in the port
- Alexander Barinov as young gambler
- Vadim Aleksandrov as lost man
- Alex Papacristu as uncle Christos
Production
The filming took place in Moscow, as well as in the Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic: in Batumi, Chakvi and Kobuleti.[5]
References
- ^ Интернет-проект о кино
- ^ "Катала. Х/ф". Russia-1.
- ^ Anastasia Rogova. "5 лучших фильмов Сергея Бодрова-старшего по версии АиФ.ru". Argumenty i Fakty.
- ^ Katala at the Encyclopedia of Russian Cinema
- ^ Katala at the Mosfilm