Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

This adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy masterpiece, “Anna Karenin”, is noted for its stunning cinematography of the foggy Russian landscape. The screenplay is a faithful but abridged version of the novel set in 1880s Russia. The heroine, Anna (Sophie Marceau), is not happy in her marriage to the staid Karenin (James Fox), despite the joy she finds in their son. When she meets Count Vronsky (Sean Bean) in Moscow, where she goes to sort out the marriage problems of her brother, her life is turned upside-down. Their passionate affair causes her to lose her standing in society, being an unfaithful woman, to lose her son and eventually to lose the happiness she so desperately craved. The story is a tragic reminder of the downfall of a woman who dares to rebel against the rules of society. This affair is paralleled by the romance between Levin (Alfred Molina), the narrator of the story who is said to represent Tolstoy, and the young Kitty (Mia Kirshner), who had been in love with Vronsky until Anna captured his attentions. In English with occasional Russian dialogue subtitled in English.