The Last Station
Short description
The Last Station is a historical drama set in the final years of Leo Tolstoy's life. By then the celebrated Russian author has embraced a life of poverty and renounced his noble title and property, while his wife of nearly five decades, Countess Sofya, watches the world she built with him come apart. She suspects that Vladimir Chertkov, her husband's trusted disciple, pushed Tolstoy to leave the rights to his writing to the Russian people rather than to her and their children, and she sets out to undo that arrangement. Into this household arrives Valentin Bulgakov, a young admirer employed as Tolstoy's secretary, who becomes a pawn in the struggle between Sofya and Chertkov.
Michael Hoffman wrote and directed the film, which followed The Emperor's Club in his filmography. Helen Mirren plays Sofya opposite Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, with Paul Giamatti as Chertkov and James McAvoy as Bulgakov. The production, a co-production involving Russian, German, British and American companies, cost about 18 million dollars and took roughly 14 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.9 from around 20,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.4 from roughly 250 votes. A critics' rating of 6.8 from 145 reviews places it close to the audience scores on the larger platform.
What's left behind the scenes
- Astapovo station, where the great Russian writer found his final resting place, became a small railway station in the town of Pretch, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the film. For a two-week filming period, the station was closed to regular train traffic, and its appearance was altered with various decorations and specially made signs in Russian.
- Initially, Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins were supposed to play the main roles in the film.
- The film's screenplay is based on Jay Parini's novel, "The Last Station." The novel itself was written using the diaries of Tolstoy himself, his family members, and close friends.
- Filming took place in Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg (Studio Babelsberg), Thuringia, Leipzig, and historical regions of Russia.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
