Sergei Bodrov – 74: five films of the director that are worth watching

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Breathe Free (2022)

One of the extreme films of Sergei Bodrov Sr., the idea of ​​which came from the director back in the 90s, but the author got to the implementation only a few years ago. The main characters, Ilya and Vera, suffer from stuttering. Fate in different ways leads them to a specialized course to the famous doctor Cherkasova. For a lot of money, they undergo therapy, the purpose of which is to normalize speech. Young people, united by one ailment, fall in love and begin to build relationships. But Dr. Cherkasova herself laid eyes on Ilya – a modest and shy doctor who rarely comes into contact with patients outside of therapy. The love triangle aggravates the life of each of the characters.

Seventh son (2014)

An international project by Sergei Bodrov Sr., in which America, Great Britain, China and Canada are involved, and among the cast of the first Hollywood stars are Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander. The young man Tom Ward is engaged in his farm and knows no troubles. But evil comes into his world, and he cannot sit idly by. The protagonist is the seventh son of the seventh son (yes, dynasties in ancient times were big). It is he who is destined to become a real witcher and challenge the forces of evil. But before that, you need to go through more than one hundred trainings and master your mind (contrary to myths, this is the main weapon of the witcher).

Daughter of the Yakuza (2010)

A Russian-Kazakh project by Sergei Bodrov and Gulshad Omarova, which tells in a comedy format about a child-parent conflict. The heiress of the Japanese mafia Yuriko is the daughter of the head of the yakuza, Tazio Yamada. Everyone around him is afraid, no one dares to challenge him or challenge the order. However, the main “pain point” of Tazio himself is his daughter. Guards are always with her, who escort the girl to school and back. While traveling to the capital of Italy, the plane with Yamada on board makes an emergency landing in one of the cities in southern Russia. The bodyguards mysteriously disappear, leaving Yamada alone. Will the 10-year-old yakuza daughter be able to stand up for herself and cope with an extreme situation?

Mongol (2007)

Sergei Bodrov Art. gave us a wonderful historical drama. “Mongol” is a large-scale story about the young Temujin, who is better known to the whole world as Genghis Khan. But in the picture of Bodrov Sr., he is not yet as mature as he was in reality when he began to conquer country after country. Temujin, as a teenager, experienced many hardships and hardships: hunger, humiliation, and even slavery. He was tortured, he was rounded up. The future Khan more than once became a victim of betrayal by his close associates. But, in spite of everything, fate had a different future for him – Temujin survived, gained stamina, hardened both externally and internally to such an extent that many considered him a superman. But the main thing is that the will to win and great achievements has always been fueled by the love of Borte, the first wife of the great khan.

Bear Kiss (2002)

In the fantasy genre, especially popular in the 2000s, Sergey Bodrov, Art. In the film “Bear Kiss”, which became a large-scale European co-production (Germany, Sweden, Russia, Spain, France and Italy took part in the production), the main roles were played by young Rebeka Liljeberg and Sergei Bodrov Jr., the director’s son. As a result of the tragedy in the Karmadon Gorge, “Bear Kiss” became the last role for Bodrov Jr. The story unfolds on the fields of boundless Russia – a bear cub is transported from the snowy Siberian taiga to the zoo in St. Petersburg. He is cared for by Carmen, an aerialist, and her daughter, Lola. One day Carmen disappears, leaving her daughter alone. The little girl is trying to adapt to new circumstances. One day, she witnesses how an animal in a cage turns into a living person – a guy named Misha. There is an attraction between the two characters.