The recent series of unfortunate events starring Jaunty and my computer brought at last one good thing: I had to find alternatives ways to entertain myself. Fortunately, I am pretty good at that.
After playing some Beethoven sonatas, I decided to give up to melancholy and what would be more melancholic than old Soviet union movies? No sooner said than done – settled comfortably in front of YouTube, the journey through some the most brilliant Russian movies I’ve seen started.
First stop – Табор уходит в небо (Queen of the Gypsies) based on one of the early Maxim Gorky’s stories, it is a beautiful story about the life of Moldovian gypsies. Svetlana Toma is gorgeous and the music is… the music only gypsies can make. See for yourself.
Still on the wave of gypsy music and drama, I remembered another beautiful one – Жестокий романс (A Cruel romance/Ruthless). Based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s “A Dowerless Girl” play this movie is the first one for another Russian beauty – Larisa Guseyeva. That one should have been a blockbuster for its time – both the director and the actors were real stars in soviet Russia. Plus the soundtrack is unbelievable again – russian gypsy romances, here, and here.
Staying on the same tune, next stop literally – Вокзал для двоих (A Railway Station for Two) funny, sad, desperate, this move is a true love story in the absurd of the soviet reality.
The last stop of my journey – Утомленные солнцем (Burnt by the Sun) a wonderful story about the fragile line between friend and enemy in Stallin times. There is a brilliant and very sincere dialogue between the little Nadia and one of the KGB officers:
“Nadia: Excuse me, have you ever been to the zoo?
Officer: Mhm
Nadia: So why did you run away? They haven’t been feeding you properly there?”
Russian movies are probably not for every taste and I think, to be able to fully enjoy them, you should be from certain generation and geographic area. But it is worth a try.