'' The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin '' ( , ) is a 1994 comedy drama film directed by Jiří Menzel . The film entered the competition at the 51st Venice International Film Festival , in which it won the President of the Italian Senate 's Gold Medal . It is based on the novel '' The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin '' by Vladimir Voinovich and the scenario by Zdeněk Svěrák . It is a coproduction between Russia , Czech Republic , United Kingdom , France and Italy
51st Venice International Film Festival
51st Venice International Film Festival
Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin