AllMovie

This documentary on the Russian writer Anton Chekhov was released in honor of the 125th year since his birth and was written and directed by Vadim Glowna, whose wife Vera Tschechowa is a great-grandniece of Chekhov's. Both Glowna and Tschechowa traveled to the former USSR to film interviews with Chekhov's descendants there and to go through archival material, including film clips. Tschechowa's grandparents, Olga Tschechowa and Michael Chekhov were both actors, and after they were divorced, Michael went to Hollywood in 1944 where he landed roles in many films, working until his death in 1955. Olga Tschechowa also acted in over 100 films, and directed one movie. Although Olga and Michael may be the best-documented of Chekhov's living legacy to the theater and film, several other interviews testify to a broad range of influences deriving from the 19th-century author.