The Last Station
| The Last Station | |
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Promotional poster
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| Directed by | Michael Hoffman |
| Produced by | Jens Meurer Chris Curling Bonnie Arnold |
| Screenplay by | Michael Hoffman |
| Based on |
The Last Station by Jay Parini |
| Starring |
Helen Mirren Christopher Plummer James McAvoy Paul Giamatti |
| Music by | Sergey Yevtushenko |
| Cinematography | Sebastian Edschmid |
| Edited by | Patricia Rommel |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | Germany Russia United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $13,550,772 |
The Last Station is a 2009 English-language German biographical drama film written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and based on Jay Parini's 1990 biographical novel of the same name, which chronicled the final months of Leo Tolstoy's life. The film stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as his wife Sofya Tolstaya. The film is about the battle between Sofya and his disciple Vladimir Chertkov for his legacy and the copyright of his works. The film premiered at the 2009 Telluride Film Festival.
In 1910, the last year of Leo Tolstoy's life, his disciples, led by Vladimir Chertkov, manoeuvre against his wife, Sofya, for control over Tolstoy's works after his death. The main setting is the Tolstoy country estate of Yasnaya Polyana. Tolstoy and Sofya have had a long, passionate marriage, but his spiritual ideals and asceticism (he is opposed, for example, to private property) are at odds with her more aristocratic and conventionally religious views.
Contention focuses on a new will that the "Tolstoians" are attempting to persuade him to sign. It would place all of his copyrights into the public domain, supposedly leaving his family without adequate support. The maneuvering is seen through the eyes of Tolstoy's new secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, who finds himself mediating between the two sides. He also has a love affair with one of the Tolstoians, Masha.
Ultimately, Tolstoy signs the new will and travels to an undisclosed location where he can continue his work undisturbed. After his departure, Sofya unsuccessfully attempts suicide. During the journey, Tolstoy falls ill. The film ends with his death near the Astapovo train station where Sofya is allowed by their daughter to see him just moments before his death. The closing credits state that five years after his death the Russian senate reverted the copyrights of Tolstoy's work to Sofya.
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Wikipedia