Last Station, The (ATOM Study Guide)

The Last Station is a film about the final year in the life of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy and his wife, the Countess Sofya. Leo Tolstoy died aged eighty-two, 100 years ago. This is essentially a love story set in the last year of his life and turbulent marriage to the Countess Sofya. It depicts the struggles between his friends and family to retain control over his life, his legacy and his soul. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Jan Parini. This is a story about love, marriage and family, friendship and fame. The Last Station explores the effects of fame on both its subject, Tolstoy, and his family and followers.

Synopsis

Tolstoy, having rejected his ancestral title of Count and embraced an ascetic lifestyle, finds himself increasingly at odds with his wife of fortyeight years, Sofya. As his devoted disciple Vladimir Chertkov urges him to sign a new will leaving the rights to his work to the Russian people rather than his family, the conflict between husband and wife grows to breaking point. The whole affair is witnessed by Tolstoy's new secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, whose burgeoning love for the beautiful and feisty Masha is set against the waning love of Tolstoy and Sofya.

A man at war within and without, Tolstoy, in his final days, makes a run for peace on a train with his physician, his daughter and Bulgakov. Sofya and Chertkov follow, but, too ill to continue, Tolstoy stops at the tiny railway station at Astapovo. While hundreds camp outside awaiting hourly reports, it is here, at a remote railway junction, that Leo Tolstoy finds the peace he has been searching for.

The Last Station is a film about the difficulty of living with love and the impossibility of living without it.

Curriculum Guidelines

The Last Station would be enjoyed by senior and tertiary students in:

• Russian History and Society
• Literature, particularly for students studying any of Tolstoy's novels, such as War and Peace or Anna Karenina
• Film Studies – constructing a visual dramatic biography using historical records.