Dark Eyes (film, 1987)

Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, Dark Eyes is a 1987 Italian-Soviet co-production and a romantic comedy-drama inspired by several Anton Chekhov stories, most notably The Lady with the Dog. In the years leading up to the First World War, a married Italian man becomes smitten with a married Russian woman, and their ill-fated romance unfolds between Italy and Russia. Marcello Mastroianni and Yelena Safonova take the leading roles, with Silvana Mangano and Marthe Keller among the supporting cast. Filmed in Italian, Russian and French, the picture was selected for competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where Mastroianni earned the Best Actor award. Borrowing its title from a celebrated Russian song written in 1843, the film was met with favorable reviews from critics.