Dovlatov (film)


Dovlatov is a 2018 Russian biographical film about writer Sergei Dovlatov, directed by Aleksei German and starring Milan Marić and Danila Kozlovsky. It premiered at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival in competition on the 17th of February, where it was awarded a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for costume and production design.

Plot

The film tells about a few days in the life of writer Sergei Dovlatov in 1971 Leningrad, on the eve of the emigration of his friend, the future Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky. Sergei is determined to stay and lead a normal life with his wife Elena and daughter Katya. Dovlatov's manuscripts are regularly rejected by the official media as his point of view is deemed undesirable. His friend is artist David, a fartsovshchik who sells foreign goods on the black market. During this time Sergei tries to buy his daughter a German doll but is not able to find one anywhere.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77%, based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 6.15/10. Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".