Three soviet films you may have missed
Soviet cinema is a wonderful thing. Bygone, but familiar and very human, it is distinguished also by its range of expression, from the intensity of Tarkovsky’s Stalker, to the more humorous- pictures like An Office Romance. And soviet film has featured more than once on this blog. Nevertheless, here are three of my favourite soviet films which you may have missed. All, by the way, are available on Mosfilm’s youtube channel with excellent English subtitles.
The Girls (Девчата) – 1961
The Girls is a 1961 Soviet comedy directed by Yuri Chulyukin that became one of the most popular Soviet films of the 60s. The film stars Nadezhda Rumyantseva, Nikolay Rybnikov, and Lyusyena Ovchinnikova. A graduate of culinary technical school, Tosya Kislitsyna, a naive and eccentric girl, comes to work at a remote logging camp in the northern forests. The film follows the romantic entanglements of the young women working there, and orbits Tosya’s well-meaning but meddlesome personality. This charming romantic comedy showcases the optimistic spirit of early 1960s Soviet cinema, with its focus on ordinary people finding love and purpose in remote corners of the USSR.
From the film:
“А по мне – так одной лучше! Хочу халву ем, хочу – пряники!”
(As for me, I am better single. I eat what I want – either halva or spice-cakes!)
Afonya (Афоня) – 1975
Afonya was directed by Georgiy Daneliya in 1975, featuring Leonid Kuravlyov, Evgeniya Simonova, Evgeniy Leonov, and Saveliy Kramarov. The film was an unexpected commercial hit in the USSR.
Plot: The story follows Afanasy “Afonya” Borshev, a plumber who lives a hedonistic lifestyle drinking and partying. But there is, naturally, an irresistible sadness, a sense of emptiness, which Leonid Kuravlyov carries magnificently. This scene is emblematic;
Afonya faces the consequences of his choices. A chance meeting with the young Katya at a dance club introduces a potential turning point in his life. And, as things go, the hint of love introduces other things- Afonya remembers nature, his mother… this film represents the more complex, mature Soviet cinema of the 1970s. Director Daneliya achieves a perfect balance of satire and drama, with the character of Afonya became an iconic figure in Soviet popular culture.
Love and Pigeons (Любовь и голуби) – 1984
Love and Pigeons is a Soviet romantic comedy-drama filmed in 1984 at the Mosfilm studio by director Vladimir Menshov, whose previous film “Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears” won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The main cast includes Aleksandr Mikhaylov, Nina Doroshina, Lyudmila Gurchenko, and Sergey Yurskiy. The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1984 and sold over 44.5 million tickets.
After an injury at work, Vasily Kuzyakin receives a ticket to a resort where he meets the sophisticated and alluring Raisa Zakharovna. What follows is a story about marriage, temptation, and a wonderful, at times disastrous, exploration of the contrast between urban sophistication and rural simplicity, wrapped in Menshov’s signature blend of humour and heart.
This film is a personal favourite. The trailer, I think, does well to show why;
Well, those are three soviet films you may have missed. If you find yourself with a free evening, друзья, I recommend any or all of these stellar pictures, alongside a glass of Georgian wine.
Laef, currently studying at Liden & Denz Riga.
