The read
Critics rate it 34 points higher than audiences do. It runs a compact 1h 23m.
Synopsis
A shell-shocked Afghanistan war hero named Ivan Skryabin (Mikhail Skryabin) spends his days stoking the fire in a giant coal furnace. When he isn’t tending the flames, he keeps busy with other activities. He works on a historical novel. His adult daughter Sasha (Aida Tumutova) comes to visit. Local kids come to gaze at the flames. Gangsters, including a former Army sergeant (Aleksandr Mosin) and a sniper known as Bison (Yuri Matveyev), drop by to add special kindling to the fire.
Ratings
IMDb6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes100%
Critics rate it 34 points higher than audiences do.
71 audience votes
Key crew
- Aleksei BalabanovWriter
- Aleksei BalabanovDirector
Cast
- Mikhail SkryabinKochegar
- Yuri MatveyevVassily 'Bizon'
- Aleksandr MosinSergeant - father of Masha
- Aida TumutovaSasha, daughter Kochegar
- Anna KorotayevaMasha
- Filipp DyachkovCast
- Vyacheslav PavlyutFyodor Alekseevich
- Vyacheslav TelnovAndrei Sergeevich
- Pyotr Semakcolonel, Vera's father
- Irina Osnovinacashier
- Oleg Korytincustomer's driver
- Oleg YudinCast