Review of Otets Sergiy

A very good film more than a century old. Actor Ivan Mozzhukin is riveting. No wonder he was the star of European cinema. One of the wealthiest actors of his day, he died in penury. Great cinematography. Good screenplay. Unfortunately stops when Father Sergius is taken to Siberia as a vagrant. The written work describes Father Sergius in Siberia--which is a crucial element of the short story. But the film succeeds, even when it cut short the story. Two other films have been made of the same story: a 1978 version from Russia and the 1990 Italian film adaptation by the famous Taviani brothers called " The Sun Also Shines at Night." I suspect that Sergei Eisenstein and his cinematographer Eduard Tisse built on visual ideas from this film when they made the classic "Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II" and even actor Nikolai Cherkasov's portrayal of Ivan was built on on Mozzhukin's portrayal of Father Sergius.