The Last Station

It is true and so amazing that a Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, is one of the most celebrated authors in the world after one hundred years since he died. While people love literature and read, our spiritual core is alive.

Tonight I have seen "The Last Station", a new release of an American movie about the last days of our great novelist Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. It was an interesting interpretation of a Russian character and of Lev Nikolaevich. I was especially amazed by the casting for the movie because most of the people looked quite Russian or, at least, Slavic. Although I got homesick again, I was happy to see Russian landscapes and Russian settings. It was also exciting to speak about the impression after the movie with people of different background: a woman from Moldova was very critical about the film (and I somehow understand her because it was about us and about our writer :-) ) because many episodes were quite Americanized. But what can we do about that? When something is written in another language, it loses its authenticity. Besides, it is difficult to depict a character from another country, culture, language background and era. My two American friends who are in love with Russian literature loved the movie and we discussed how true the interpretation was. This film provoked debates about his writings, his life, Russian literature in general and education. I am happy to have friends with whom I can watch such films and have such interesting discussions! I am grateful to St. Michael's for meeting them (I met my friends in this college). I will miss them and such wonderful evenings very much...