Mirror for a Hero


Mirror for a Hero is a 1987 Soviet two-part science fiction drama film directed by Vladimir Khotinenko based on the short story of the same name by Stanislav Rybas.

Plot

Metropolitan psychologist-linguist Sergei Pshenichny, soon after quarreling with his father on ideological grounds, meets with former mining engineer Andrei Nemchinov, who recently returned from prison, at a concert by the rock band Nautilus Pompilius.
After the concert, Sergei and Andrei, passing through the city park, see that a film shooting is taking place, about the post-war time. To get a better look at what is happening on the set, they decide to climb over the park fence, but hit some cable lying on the ground and get transferred into the past — in the late 1940s.
But this test for Sergei and his random acquaintance does not end. Every time the night passes and morning begins, the day is always May 8, 1949. They relive the same day over and over again, trying to break the loop. Meanwhile, Sergei gets acquainted with the younger version of his parents, and Andrei with his 10-year-old self. Eventually the loop breaks and the characters return to the present.

Cast

  • Sergey Koltakov as Sergei Pshenichny
  • Ivan Bortnik as Andrei Nemchinov
  • Felix Stepun as Kirill Pshenichny, the father of Sergei
  • as young Kirill Pshenichny
  • as young Lida, the mother of Sergei
  • Elena Golyanova as Roza
  • as Sashka the tanker
  • Viktor Smirnov as director of the mine Tyukin
  • as miner Fyodor Petrenko
  • as Stakhanovite miner Pukharev
  • as policeman Ryabenko
  • Elena Kozlitina as Sergei's wife

    Production

Filming took place in the city of Donetsk, and in Donetsk and Voroshilovgrad oblasts.

Music

The film's screenwriter Nadezhda Kozhushanaya was nominated for the Nika Award for Best Screenplay in 1988, while director Vladimir Khotinenko received the Special Jury Prize for the film at the All-Union Film Festival in Baku in 1988 and the in Italy in 1989.