Brilliant reviews for Anton Checkhov's the Duel

"The vibrant new film adaptation of the Anton Chekhov novella The Duel...nails also the essential qualities of comic indolence and dangerous yearning in Chekhov, which have proved so elusive time after time, in adaptation after adaptation.... The Duel looks beautiful, but it is not merely so. It doesn't carry the baggage of an important adaptation; it's deft, droll and languorously sexy.... This film is indeed something like a miracle." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune [Read the review]

"If you see this movie, it will give you more pleasure and more to think about than any of the more popular entries currently out there.... The genius of the story and the pleasure of the film is in observing the ways in which desperation reveals itself and resolves or doesn't resolve. At the heart of this film, which goes to the heart of Chekhov, is a deep understanding of human nature, human strength and human need. This is smart, inspired, no-fuss entertainment." - Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle [Read the review]

"Calling a film Anton Chekhov's The Duel underscores the Russian writer's pride of place as the prime mover in this expert literary adaptation. But if it weren't for the masterful work of director Dover Kosashvili, this rich, evocative film wouldn't have nearly the impact it does." - Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times [Read the review]

"Very satisfying and tonally precise... moments of comedy, dark sentiments, invocations of Tolstoy and a generous attitude toward human frailties.... Believably inhabited, consistently surprising and true-feeling in detail and sweep." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times [Read the review]

"The Georgian-born director, Dover Koshashvili (who made the bitterly funny Late Marriage), and the screenwriter, Mary Bing, have gotten the rough texture and the pitch, music, exactly right... The rhythms are so evocative you'd think they'd unearthed a new (early) Chekhov play." - David Edelstein, New York Magazine [Read the review]

"The Duel is scrumptious and refined. It contains superb acting by all, expert pacing and lensing that might make you hop the next jetliner to Croatia." - V.A. Musetto, The New York Post [Read the review]

"The Duel is intelligently staged and impeccably crafted. The period atmosphere is sensuous. (It's) the most successful literary adaptation I've seen since Pascal Ferran's 2006 Lady Chatterley." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice [Read the review]

"It's a pleasure simply to linger in the characters' company, or at least to watch them from just far enough away to observe them without being judged in return." - Sam Adams, The Onion A.V. Club [Read the review]

"Chekhov never offered a more tempting sample of sexual ripeness, and Fiona Glascott, a young Irish actress, bites into the role with conviction." - Anthony Lane, The New Yorker [Read the review]

"Moviegoers curious about surprise crossovers in Middle Eastern film may enjoy a beautifully realized adaptation of Anton Chekhov's novella The Duel, directed by the Georgian-born Israeli filmmaker Dover Kosashvili, shot in Croatia (substituting for the Caucasus) and performed by a partly Irish cast." - Stuart Klawans, The Nation

"Gorgeous!" - Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic [Read the review]

"The performances are excellent all around, with Scott mesmerizing as the emotionally volatile Laevsky and the gorgeous Glascott making vividly clear why her character drives all the surrounding men to distraction." - Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter [Read the review]

"This worthy follow-up to Kosashvili's brilliant Late Marriage should delight auds worldwide." - Ronnie Scheib, Variety [Read the review]

KINOCAVIAR.COM

"What an enthralling experience it is to watch The Duel ... exquisitely adapted for the screen by director Dover Kosashvili from a script by Mary Bing." - Diane Sippl, KINOCaviar [Read the review]

"Glorious! Should delight audiences worldwide." - Ronnie Scheib, Variety

"Intelligently staged and impeccably crafted. The period atmosphere is sensuous." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Click here to read full review

"Very satisfying and tonally precise... believably inhabited, consistently surprising and true-feeling in detail and sweep."
- Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Click here to read full review

"Gorgeous!" - Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic

"Beautifully realized." - Stuart Klawans, The Nation

"The Georgian-born director, Dover Koshashvili (who made the bitterly funny LATE MARRIAGE), and the screenwriter, Mary Bing, have gotten the rough texture and the pitch, the music, exactly right. The rhythms are so evocative you'd think they'd unearthed a new (early) Chekhov play."
- David Edelstein, New York magazine

Save Shakespeare, Chekhov is the literary giant whose work is most frequently adapted for the screen. Based on his eponymous 1891 novella, THE DUEL gives life to a classic Chekhovian tale: the young ne'er-do-well aristocrat vs. the arrogant man of science; the attraction of a manipulative, narcissistic mistress vs. the life of the mind and of principled action. Gambling, alcohol and flirtations consummated in an impossibly beautiful countryside hold obvious attractions for Laevsky. But he's brought up short when financial ruin and his mistress's sexual dalliances lead to a violent denouement. Dover Kosashvili, director of LATE MARRIAGE, assembles a brilliant ensemble cast of British actors who strike just the right balance between intrigue and that particularly Russian brand of ennui we associate with Chekhov - but which today might elicit a prescription for Celexa.

In 2010 we'll celebrate Anton Chekhov's sesquicentennial: born 150 years ago in 1860.

THE CAST | THE FILMMAKERS | PRESS DOWNLOADS | WHERE TO SEE THE FILM