This week Moscow is going mad for the movies. There’s something for everyone, from toddlers to oldsters, in Russian and foreign languages. And best of all: most of the shows are free.
Cinema Night
Moscow is continuing its great tradition of Cinema Night — which is really a weekend of free films and events, day and night, at parks, museums, libraries and other venues all over the city. This year the Museum of Moscow is the main stage for some of the biggest events. On Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., you can hear actor Evgeny Mironov and director Dmitry Kiselyov talk about their film, "Time of Firsts"("Время Первых"), about cosmonaut Alexei Leonov’s Vozkhod-2 flight in 1965. On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., come to see “The Cranes Are Flying” ("Летят Журавли"), one of the best and most moving war films you will ever see.
For something out of the ordinary, check out the world’s first sci-fi flick: “Aelita,” made in 1921. It will be shown with live sound at the City Square on Sunday at 8 p.m.
The entire weekend is packed full of cinematic events, from movie sing-a-longs and meet-the-stars events, to a day of classic cartoons — and even movies at the zoo. For the full schedule in Russian, addresses and times, check the special page for Cinema Night.
Andrei Tarkovsky Retrospective
For the next seven days the Theater of Nations’ New Space and the Anatoly Zverev Museum are showing films by Andrei Tarkovsky as part of their exhibition called “Breakthrough to the Past,” a show of art works by Dmitry Plavinsky and film works by Andrei Tarkovsky. You can see “Solaris” on Thursday, “The Mirror” on Friday and “Stalker” on Saturday at the New Space.
The “Breakthrough to the Past” exhibit has been extended to the end of August by popular demand. Entrance is 200 rubles, and the show is open every day except Monday from 1 to 9 p.m. Take in the exhibit and stay for the free film.
On Sunday, the Anatoly Zverev Museum is hosting a showing of "Nostalgia" at 7 p.m. Tarkovsky's last film, "The Sacrifice," will be show at the Museum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Entrance is free, but you need to register ahead of time on the museum site.
Western Blockbusters
If you are looking for something more familiar, don’t forget the Moscow movie theaters that regularly show first-run and favorite films in their original languages — with sub-titles in Russian, so you can bring your local family and friends. This week you can catch Luc Besson’s fantastic “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” based on the comic book series “Valerian and Laureline,” showing at Pioner and Karo Sky 17 Aviapark.
Perhaps equally fantastic, but in a different way, is “Atomic Blonde,” starring Charlize Theron as an undercover MI6 agent sent to Berlin during the cold war. That’s at Zvezda.
And finally, for the little folks and their big guardians, you can see the classic “Where the Wild Things Are” at Pioner on Sunday.
Be sure to check The Moscow Times listings for the full range of foreign language films in Moscow.
