February 08, 2021

Christopher Plummer's Last Station


Christopher Plummer's Last Station
Christopher Plummer in 2007 GDC Graphics (CC)

Sound of Music star Christopher Plummer died last week at 91, and he did not pass unnoticed in Russia. After all, the Canadian actor played one of Russia's best-known novelists, Lev (Leo) Tolstoy, in The Last Station, a German-Russian-British collaboration called The Last Sunday in Russian (Poslednee voskresenie). Tolstoy indeed died on a Sunday – November 7, 1910, on the old calendar. The Russian word for Sunday also means revival or resurrection.

Don't watch The Last Station with your spouse if your marriage is on the rocks; it is a brutal picture of a marriage with no trust left. Only the 2014 Swedish film Force Majeure might be a more awkward choice for date night with an estranged spouse.

Helen Mirren played Tolstoy's wife, Sofya, dramatically capturing a dependent who is about to lose her rights to her husband's complete writings right before his death. The first Tolstoyan, Tolstoy promoted vegetarianism, celibacy even within marriage, and taking nobles like himself down a peg, and he wanted the rights to his work to belong to "the people." Sofya wholeheartedly disagreed with the principles of Tolstoyanism – including that little bit about marriage.

In the film, Plummer as Tolstoy escapes his wife by train, leaving his lifelong estate of Yasnaya Polyana (near Tula) forever and dying at Astapovo Station to the south at age 82.

The film has a few tender moments, like when Mirren as Tolstaya declares: "I am the work of your life, you are the work of mine. That's what love is." But otherwise, it is an emotional slog. One Russian article calls the film a "marathon of love."

If you have the energy for an emotional marathon, you can scratch your Christopher Plummer and Russia itches at the same time and check out The Last Station. And don't forget that all of this was based on a very fine book, by the Vermont author Jay Parini.

You Might Also Like

Lev Tolstoy's Unhappy Family
  • January 01, 2010

Lev Tolstoy's Unhappy Family

Lev Tolstoy's family was unhappy in its own peculiar way, split by a three-decade-long disagreement between the writer and his wife about money.
Cooking With Sofia
  • September 01, 2017

Cooking With Sofia

A great writer lives on his stomach. And Sofia Tolstoya had a way in the kitchen.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors
  • September 01, 2009

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Movie: The Last Station

Movie: The Last Station

New movie based on Jay Parini's fine book on Tolstoy's final days and the familial disorder. Just released in Dec. 2009.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955