Renowned Greek filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis wrote and directed this adaptation of the classic final drama by playwright Anton Chekhov, set in 1900. Lyubov Ranevskaya (Charlotte Rampling) left Russia to escape troubling memories of the death of her son. Now her family is riddled with debt and Lyubov and her teenaged daughter Anya (Tushka Bergen) have come home to the family estate, looking for a way to pay their bills. Much to their dismay, the Ranevskayas are forced to sell their land to
Lopakhin (Owen Teale), a crude businessman who intends to build a housing development in what was once the family's cherry orchard. The international cast also includes Alan Bates as Lyubov's brother Gaev, Katrin Cartlidge as Lyubov's ward Varya, and Michael Gough and Frances de la Tour as the family's servants. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
In capturing the understated comedic agony of an ever-ruminating, genteel yet decadent aristocracy that can no longer pay its bills, the film could just as well be addressing the turn of the 20th century into the 21st.
While Cacoyannis' film may not be totally faithful to the master's pen, for literature students and theater lovers, this Cherry Orchard is a rare treat.
Cacoyannis' vision is far less mature, interpreting the play as a call for pity and sympathy for anachronistic phantasms haunting the imagined glory of their own pasts.
Gerry plays such a silly part and I don't think I enjoyed this movie as much as I thought I would. Would I see it again? Not too sure.
June 19, 2008
Joanna Peters
Take my favorite author (Chekhov) and my favorite play (Cherry Orchard) and one of my favorite actresses (Rampling) and ruin the whole thing by missing Chekhov's humor. Such a shame.
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