Feliks Antipov

A Soviet allegory made during the somewhat more permissive atmosphere under Gorbachev, of the sometimes puzzling relationship between a master and a slave. (imdb)

The film is based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa's story "In a Grove" which takes place during the times of Tsar Alexander II. A lady-in-waiting tells the Emperor in his bedroom a metaphysical story about a 13th-century prince who is killed in the woods under mysterious circumstances. Fairy tale characters who have witnessed the terrible death, all share their version of the events, gradually shedding light on what really happened.— (Production Center of Andrei Konchalovsky)