This film is currently unavailable
Khrustalyov, My Car!
Aleksei German's hysterical and hallucinatory satire unfolds amid the chaos and paranoia of Stalin's 'doctor's plot' in 1953 USSR.
Director: Alexei German
Overview
Named after the apocryphal exclamation of Soviet security chief Lavrentiy Beria as he rushed to Stalin's deathbed, this blackly funny, deliriously immersive satire distils the anticipation and anxiety in the Moscow air, as the Soviet despot lay dying. Late winter 1953. The lives of nearly half the planet are in Stalin’s hands. A military surgeon, General Yuri Georgievich Klensky (Yuri Tsurilo), finds himself a target of the 'Doctors' Plot': the anti-Semitic conspiracy accusing Jewish doctors in Moscow of planning to assassinate the Soviet elite. Pursued, abused, and marked for the gulags, Yuri is chased and dragged through a Stalinist Soviet nightmare. His desperate, jolting journey encapsulates the madness of the era.
Directed by Aleksei German (Hard to Be a God), Khrustalyov, My Car! proved wildly provocative when it was screened at the 1998 Cannes film festival, despite being championed as the best film of the festival by the president of the Cannes jury that year, Martin Scorsese. A one-of-a-kind collision of nightmare and realism, German’s film is presented here in a new restoration with a wealth of illuminating extras.
sexual violence
Related
The House of Mirth The House of Mirth
Drama 2001 140 mins Director: Terence Davies
Terence Davies and Gillian Anderson take us to the epitome of heartbreak in a visually intoxicating adaptation of Edith Wharton’s era-defining novel.
Swallow Swallow
Drama 2019 95 mins Director: Carlo Mirabella-Davis
When newly-wed housewife Hunter becomes pregnant, her cravings threaten to destroy her perfect life in Carlo Mirabella-Davis's psychological thriller.
Pretty Red Dress Pretty Red Dress
Drama 2022 110 mins Director: Dionne Edwards
One dress changes everything for a family in Dionne Edwards’ brilliant debut. Defiant, uplifting and with music at its core.
Palindromes Palindromes
Comedy 2004 100 mins Director: Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz’s casting of eight different actors of varying ages, genders and races to play the lead role of Aviva, makes for a truly original film.
Downfall Downfall
Historical drama 2004 155 mins Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Bruno Ganz is extraordinary as Adolf Hitler, living out his final days during the fall of Berlin in Oliver Hirschbiegel's acclaimed drama.
Distant Journey Distant Journey
Drama 1949 98 mins Director: Alfréd Radok
Blending documentary and fiction, Alfréd Radok's remarkable film chronicling the Terezin ghetto was one of the first films to address the Holocaust.
The House of Mirth The House of Mirth
Drama 2001 140 mins Director: Terence Davies
Terence Davies and Gillian Anderson take us to the epitome of heartbreak in a visually intoxicating adaptation of Edith Wharton’s era-defining novel.
Ashes and Diamonds Ashes and Diamonds
War 1958 99 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
A Generation A Generation
War 1955 85 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s feature directorial debut is a portrait of Polish underground fighters during the Second World War.
Swallow Swallow
Drama 2019 95 mins Director: Carlo Mirabella-Davis
When newly-wed housewife Hunter becomes pregnant, her cravings threaten to destroy her perfect life in Carlo Mirabella-Davis's psychological thriller.
Odyssey Odyssey
Thriller 2025 111 mins Director: Gerard Johnson
Gerard Johnson (Hyena, Muscle) delivers a frenzied London thriller about an estate agent under intense pressure and out of her depth.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Wajda’s harrowing portrait of resistance fighters forced to flee the German army via Warsaw’s sewage system is one of his finest achievements.