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The Woman With the 5 Elephants

Play trailer Poster for The Woman With the 5 Elephants 2011 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After dedicating her life to translating the great works of Russian literature into German, Svetlana Geier returns to Kiev for the first time in 56 years to translate the works of Dostoyevsky.

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The Woman With the 5 Elephants

Critics Reviews

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Joe Neumaier New York Daily News Jul 22, 2011
1/5
Perhaps this was just a matter of a great mind feeling as if her life spoke for itself. Go to Full Review Mark Jenkins NPR Jul 21, 2011
Quietly astonishing. Go to Full Review Noel Murray AV Club Jul 20, 2011
B+
Jendreyko has clearly considered how best to translate an entire life into a movie. Go to Full Review Ellie Lucas From the Front Row Aug 5, 2019
3/4
Transcends the documentary form and attains its own sort of artfulness - a quiet and lyrical study of a truly remarkable human being. Go to Full Review Christopher Long Movie Metropolis May 1, 2012
6/10
Literary Translators Gone Wild! Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Mar 4, 2012
A-
A no-nonsense intelligently engaging biopic documentary. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nov 24, 2011 I'd never heard of her before this movie, but I enjoyed getting to know her and her great accomplishments through this documentary. I don't think many people could've lived through what she did and come out with such a great sense of humor. See more Jul 15, 2011 An elegant and lyrical documentary about renowned translator Svetlana Geier, who has dedicated her life to translating Russian literature into German, more specifically, the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Geier, who lived an extraordinary life, coming of age during WWII in the Ukraine and Germany, has both a keen mastery and unique appreciation of the beauty of language, which the film evokes with great beauty. See more Read all reviews
The Woman With the 5 Elephants

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Cast & Crew

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Vadim Jendreyko

Director

Vadim Jendreyko

Screenwriter

Inge Classen

Producer

Vadim Jendreyko

Producer

Hercli Bundi

Producer

Thomas Tielsch

Producer

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The Woman With the 5 Elephants

The Woman With the 5 Elephants (2009) Svetlana Geier and Mr. Klondt in "The Woman With the 5 Elephants." Svetlana Geier in "The Woman With the 5 Elephants." Svetlana Geier in "The Woman With the 5 Elephants." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After dedicating her life to translating the great works of Russian literature into German, Svetlana Geier returns to Kiev for the first time in 56 years to translate the works of Dostoyevsky.
Director
Vadim Jendreyko
Producer
Inge Classen, Vadim Jendreyko, Hercli Bundi, Thomas Tielsch
Screenwriter
Vadim Jendreyko
Distributor
Cinema Guild
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 20, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 13, 2018
Runtime
1h 33m
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