Russia 'Burnt' by Oscar choice

MOSCOW -- There is consternation among Russian cineastes after director Nikita Mikhalkov's "Burnt through the Sun: The Citadel," which gained just $1.5 million in the box office, was selected Tuesday to represent the nation in Oscar's foreign-language category.Citadel" may be the second of the two-part follow up towards the original "Burnt through the Sun," which won the Academy Award in 1995.The $34 million pic was selected over Alexander Sokurov's Venice Golden Lion champion "Faust" and "Elena" by Andrei Zvyagintsev."Citadel," belittled like a bloated, sentimental undertake the disasters of Russia's war with Nazi Germany, updates the figures and story lines from the original film.It had been selected with a committee that incorporated Mikhalkov themself, his half-brother Andrei Konchalovsky, critic and Moscow Film Festival programmer Kirill Razlogov, director Vladimir Menshov, Mosfilm director Karen Shakhnazarov and three others.Your decision, backed by five from the eight committee people, surprised some industryites.Menshov -- whose "Moscow Doesn't Have confidence in Tears" won the foreign-language Oscar almost 30 years ago -- known as your decision from the committee he sits on scandalous.Talking with Moscow independent radio station Echo on Tuesday, Menshov stated "Citadel," launched in May, "had a complete critical drubbing ... it had been never proven anywhere worldwide it had been a catastrophe in the box office."Critical press comments named your decision cronyism as well as Konchalovsky considered in, saying your decision didn't "reflect the opinion of filmmakers."There is no comment from Mikhalkov, who won praise for his early operate in Soviet occasions being an actor and director but more lately has turned into a deeply divisive figure inside the film community here, accused by many people of playing politics and never art. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com