Sunstroke (2014 film)

Plot

The story is set in a prisoner-of-war camp in November 1920, in the Crimea, after the evacuation of the White Army, with several dozen thousand of White officers left behind on the peninsula. The officers are unaware of their impending doom, waiting for their fate to be decided by the Red Army officials. One of them — an unnamed poruchik (Mārtiņš Kalita) — is haunted by the memories of a dramatic and brief love affair occurred in 1907, and tries to understand how the Russian Empire fell apart and who is to blame. His musing comes to an end when all the White officers board an old barge, which the Reds take down in the Black Sea, and all officers perish.

Cast

In order of appearance in main titles:

Music

The musical score for Sunstroke was composed by Eduard Artemyev, who has collaborated with Mikhalkov on numerous movies (At Home Among Strangers, An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano, Burnt by the Sun, The Barber of Siberia, etc.).

A leading tune accompanying Lieutenant's romantic feelings – toward his bride and the beautiful stranger – is a popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's opera Samson and Delilah called "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" ("My heart opens itself to your voice"), sung by Delilah as she attempts to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength.

Also included in the soundtrack is the version of Nikolai Devitte's romance "Ne Dlya Menya" (Not for Me), performed by Mikhalkov himself, backed by the Kuban Cossack Choir. This song has been already used by the director; in his 1979 film Five Evenings it was sung by the Stanislav Lyubshin character.