This film under the title of "Lover's prayer" was shown recently on cable. Not having seen the film before, we decided to take a chance on it. Director Reverge Anselmo has adapted two short stories, by Ivan Turgenev and Anton Chekhov and has given it a beautiful production.<br /><br />Most of the comments one finds in this forum seem to have been submitted by fans of Kirsten Dunst and Nick Stahl, which in a way, is unfair to what Mr. Anselmo's was trying to achieve. This is a film that cries for an all British cast. Zinaida and Vladimir are played by two talented American stars, who are clearly out of their league in holding themselves against some of the best English actors of stage and screen. In fact, marketing the film and trying to capitalize on the well known faces, is the wrong approach.<br /><br />That said, the two stories are intertwined and offers us a view of how things were done in the period before the Russian revolution. We are given a situation here shows us a young woman, the daughter of a somewhat eccentric and vulgar princess, who is the center of attraction among the vacationing Muscovites because of her beauty. Zinaida, being loved by young Vladimir, is separated from her young lover because his mother sees the danger in a relationship that is clearly below the young man's situation in life.<br /><br />The film has an ironic twist at the end as the young lovers never get to consummate the passion they feel for one another. We watch in horror what fate Zinaida is facing and nothing has prepared us for that ultimate reality.<br /><br />Julie Walters and Geraldine James are excellent as the mothers of Zinaida and Vladimir, respectively. Nick Stahl and Kirsten Dunst do good work under the Mr. Anselmos's direction. It's clear both these actors are not classically trained to appear in this type of period drama. James Fox, Nathaniel Parker and the rest of the supporting players do a marvelous job.<br /><br />This film should be viewed by mature audiences. The beautiful photography of the Czech Republic countryside and the magnificent interiors add luster to the film.