The Duelist

The Duelist is a 2016 Russian action adventure thriller drama film directed by Aleksey Mizgirev. The film stars Pyotr Fyodorov, Vladimir Mashkov, and Yulia Khlynina. This is the Russian third feature film produced using the IMAX format. It was released in Russia on September 29, 2016 in full IMAX. An adventure film, with dramatic and thriller elements set against the backdrop of palaces and the noble view of the Russian capital, the movie centers on Yakovlev, a retired officer, who returns to St. Petersburg from a long exile. While in the city, he fights as a duelist’s representative. During Nineteenth-century Russian duel law allowed for a duelist to be replaced by any one person. Though Yakovlev fights for money, he also seeks honor and revenge against those who disgraced him, therein, challenging the Russian Providence. Inspirations The movie goes back to the novels of City mysteries, popular in the middle of the 19th century (the most famous example - Les Vrais Mystères de Paris (1844) by Eugène François Vidocq). In preparation for filming, Alex Mizgirev reviewed the movie The Duellists directed by Ridley Scott (1977) and loosely based on the novel by Joseph Conrad's Duel, which, in turn, was inspired by Pushkin's The Shot. Plot Set in Saint Petersburg in 1860, the story revolves around retired officer Yakovlev. A deadly shot, Yakovlev is effectively a kind of mercenary in that he is available for hire through his associate Baron Staroe to stand in for others in formal duels.