| The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin | |
| Director: | Jiří Menzel |
| Screenplay: | Zdeněk Svěrák |
| Based On: | Books 1 and 2 of The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich |
| Cinematography: | Jaromír Šofr |
| Editing: | Jiří Brožek |
| Music: | Jiří Šust |
| Runtime: | 106 minutes |
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (Russian: Жизнь и необыча́йные приключе́ния солда́та Ива́на Чо́нкина, Czech: Žvot a neobyčejná dobrodružství vojáka Ivana Čonkina) is a 1994 war comedy film directed by Jiří Menzel, based on the first two books of Vladimir Voinovich's novel trilogy of the same name. An international co-production between Russia, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, it entered the competition at the 51st Venice International Film Festival, in which it won the President of the Italian Senate's Gold Medal.[1]
The film is set in 1941 in the Soviet Union, before and during the first months of its involvement in World War II.
A military plane is forced to make an emergency landing near the small village of Krasnoye. The plane is unable to be easily removed, and so Ivan Chonkin is sent to guard it.
Chonkin is a soldier serving with a military unit stationed near the village. An unpretentious and simple man, and far from an exemplary soldier, Ivan is serving his conscription time in the logistical division of the regiment, helping to cook the unit’s meals and move supplies about.
Chonkin is sent to the village and, eventually finds accommodation with the village postmistress Nura. Soon he moves the aeroplane to the courtyard of Nura’s hut and moves in with her permanently.