​Wednesday February 8th 2017

UK  2009  124 minutes
Director: Michael Hoffman
Starring: Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer

The final years of Leo Tolstoy’s life were marred by an increasingly bitter conflict between the Tolstoyan movement, and Tolstoy’s wife, the Countess Sofya, who wanted his inheritance to benefit her and Tolstoy’s family. The story of the struggle is seen through the eyes of Valentin Bulgakov, a young admirer of Tolstoy hired to be Tolstoy’s personal secretary  by Vladimir Chertkov, Tolstoy’s publisher and trusted adviser. It is Chertzkov’s plan that Valentin will act as his informer, but Valentin finds himself being used by both sides as a confidant and go-between. The battle ends in the heart of Russia, at Astopovo, the ‘last Station’ of the film’s title.