The Casket of Maria Medici (Russian: Ларец Марии Медичи, romanized: Larets Marii Medichi) is a 1980 Soviet historical action film directed by Rudolf Fruntov.
Antiquary Savigny suddenly disappears without a trace. Investigators conclude that he was killed. The captain of the militsiya sets off on a journey through time to solve the crime and open the secret of the medieval.
Contents
Plot
Prologue
In medieval France in 1244, crusaders lay siege to the fortress of Montségur, leading to the demise of the Albigensians—followers of a doctrine considered heretical by the Catholic Church. Before their fall, they manage to smuggle and hide their treasures. The secret to this hidden cache is passed down through the descendants of four guardians, each entrusted with a gem, a star, and a chest. When the gems are aligned, they reveal a specific spot on a map hidden inside the chest, marking the treasure’s location. The mystery can only be solved if all four gems are brought together and the chest is unlocked.
Main Plot
In early 1970s Soviet Leningrad, a French antiquities dealer named Vincent Savigny mysteriously disappears. Around the same time, an elderly woman named Vera Charskaya is robbed of her heirloom chest. As authorities investigate Savigny’s disappearance, they initially suspect murder, only to discover that he is actually Vsevolod Yurievich Svinin, the son of White émigrés. During World War II, Svinin betrayed his allegiance and collaborated with the Nazis in an attempt to uncover the Albigensians' secret, even going so far as to force a young girl, Madeleine, and her mother, descendants of Montségur, to witness a brutal execution. After seizing part of the treasure by force, he left lasting trauma on his witnesses. Years later, in Leningrad, the now-married Madeleine Locar encounters the aged Svinin by chance and attempts to poison him, but fails. Captain Vladimir Lyusin, with the aid of historian and expert Yuri Berezovsky, must delve into both recent crimes and this ancient mystery rooted in the 13th century to uncover the secrets of the old chest and the motives behind the unfolding events.
Cast
Valery Ryzhakov as Vladimir Lyusin, police captain
Klara Luchko as Madeleine Locard
Emmanuil Vitorgan as Svinin (Savigny)
Yevdokiya Urusova as Vera Fabianovna Charskaya
Anatoliy Egorov as Berezovsky
Ruben Simonov as Kazarian
Leonid Obolensky as Bertrand Marti
Vsevolod Safonov as Colonel Golovin
Sergey Martynov as Mikhailov
Daniil Netrebin as Vanashnyi
Lev Polyakov as Krelin