Vladimir Motyl screened his long-awaited new movie in St Petersburg but the famous director's latest effort met with confusion and disappointment.
Motyl's new movie "The Horses Carry Me" was his first major undertaking since 1975, but some critics might argue that it was a wasted effort.
He first work captured moviegoers hearts with his tragicomic look at the lives of World War II soldiers, "Eugene, Little Eugene and Katyusha." This work was also charged with the "de-heroization of our warriors" by the Soviet regime.
Motyl's second movie, "White Sun of the Desert," released in 1970, won many awards. It is also shown to cosmonauts before every space launch.
"The Star of Charming Fortune" (1975) was his third celebrated film, a beautiful drama on the heroic wives of the Decembrists.
Unfortunately, "The Horses Carry Me" does not fit with the rest of Motyl's touching works.
The movie is based on Chekhov's novel "The Duel." Directors have covered this ground before -- Josef Heifitz made highly acclaimed "The Bad Good Man" in 1973.
Motyl's attempt to rework a classic seems absurd. Russia's sex symbol Andrei Sokolov stars as Leshkov, a talkative womanizer. Sergei Vinogradov plays Eiler, an unclever and unhappy biologist.
"What has happened?" lamented well known movie critic Dmitry Savelev. "How could Motyl, being so talented, make such an unprofessional and primitive movie? Why did Motyl, famous for his casting skills, take on such a bad team of actors?"
The screening was particularly uncomfortable, as many of Motyl's friends were bored and uncertain after the showing.