Six year old Nadya (Nadezhda Mikhalkov) has a war hero for a father, a beautiful but unstable woman as a mom. During an attempted family vacation, her mother's old lover decides to pay a visit, stirs up lots of emotions. Yet, the man is well accepted, liked..., by all but Nadya's dad, who is not so much jealous as he is concerned, knowing a bit of their visitor's history. Might there be more to the guest's appearance than "a trip down memory lane?" This highly praised film won an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language category as well as received the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. In my opinion, it is a bit slow until the last thirty minutes or so, which come as quite a surprise and really suck you in. Regardless, little Nadezhda, who happens to be director and costar Nikita Mikhalkov's daughter, is a real charmer, does a fantastic job. Worth a look for her performance alone...

Warning (rated R): sexual themes; violence; adult themes; mild profanity; brief nudity.

1994; aka Soleil trompeur, Utomlionie Solntsem, Utomlyonnye Solntsem ; in Russian with English subtitles; 137 minutes; Nadezhda (Nadya) Mikhalkov, Oleg Menchikov, Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite.