Цареубийца (aka The Assassin Of The Tsar) (1991)

A severe schizophrenic (Malcolm McDowell) in a dreary Soviet mental hospital is convinced that he's the assassin of two Tsars, Alexander II in 1881 and Nicholas II in 1918. The new head (Oleg Yankovskiy) of the hospital is determined to cure him of his madness. Inspired by the novella WARD NO. 6 by Anton Chekhov and directed by Karen Shakhnazarov (ZEROGRAD). Simultaneously shot in Russian and English versions (McDowell is dubbed in the Russian version), this is a complex and often frustrating film. The back and forth between the doctor and the schizophrenic is engaging and especially so when its the doctor and not the patient who begins to descend into insanity. The flashbacks into the assassination of Nicholas II (with Yankovskiy playing Nicholas II) are often intrusive and obvious. A good movie but alas, not good enough. With Armen Dzhigarkhanyan and Olga Antonova.