Morphine
A newly arrived rural doctor seeks relief from relentless suffering through morphine, only to find his professional life and inner stability eroding.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- oppressive
- harrowing
- serious film night
- arthouse viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a severe and compelling literary drama, distinguished by its atmosphere, performances, and unsparing depiction of addiction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Doctor Mikhail Polyakov begins as a newly educated rural physician but increasingly relies on morphine to endure medical suffering.
The doctor works in the Russian countryside during a freezing winter, far from urban support or relief.
Repeated medical emergencies, including amputation, place physical suffering at the center of the protagonist's experience.
The film adapts Mikhail Bulgakov's medical writing into a severe portrait of provincial medicine and addiction in 1917 Russia.
Films like Morphine, and why
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
bleak historical drama centered on medical trauma, addiction, and moral deterioration
The Ascent
intimate russian literary drama portraying institutional hardship and psychological despair
The Lost Weekend
period drama about addiction, alienation, and a protagonist trapped by destructive impulses
Movie Details
- Director
- Aleksei Balabanov
- Release Date
- 2008-11-27
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (90)
Cast
- Leonid Bichevin
- Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
- Andrei Panin
- Svetlana Pismichenko
- Katarina Radivojević
- Aleksandr Mosin
- Irina Rakshina
- Sergey Garmash
- Yulia Deynega
- Andrey Poluyan
Common questions
- What is Morphine about?
- A newly arrived rural doctor seeks relief from relentless suffering through morphine, only to find his professional life and inner stability eroding.
- What is Morphine like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Morphine as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Morphine violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Morphine as graphic.
- What did critics think of Morphine?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a severe and compelling literary drama, distinguished by its atmosphere, performances, and unsparing depiction of addiction.
- Which films are like Morphine?
- Films with a similar feel include The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Ascent, and The Lost Weekend.
- How long is Morphine?
- Morphine runs 110 minutes.
