Pavel Lungin's 2009 Film 'Tsar' Examines Ivan the Terrible's Conflict with Orthodox Church

Pavel Lungin's 2009 film 'Tsar' centers on Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1568 conflict with Metropolitan Filipp, exploring themes of state power versus religious authority. The film portrays Ivan IV as both a reflective ascetic and a paranoid despot, while Filipp represents Christian resistance. Historical context connects Ivan's reign to 20th-century Russian politics, with parallels drawn to Stalinist repression. Lungin's work contrasts with patriotic historical films like Vladimir Khotinenko's '1612' and Andrei Kravchuk's 'Admiral', instead depicting torture and poverty realistically. Actor Petr Mamonov plays Ivan with eccentric intensity opposite Oleg Iankovskii's restrained Filipp. The narrative includes a mute girl named Masha who carries the Theotokos of Vladimir icon, symbolizing Russia's vulnerability. Orthodox Church rituals feature prominently, with clergy involvement extending to actor Ivan Okhlobystin's role as fool Vassian, which led to his dismissal from priesthood in February 2010. References to Sergei Eisenstein's unfinished Ivan the Terrible trilogy and Pushkin's 'Boris Godunov' inform the film's treatment of masses. Lungin's approach rejects simplistic historical chronicles, instead presenting moral ambiguity between execution and amnesty without resolving political power questions.