Kseniya Kachalina Movies

In this film, director Sergei Solovyov provides a unique presentation of Chekhov's famous play. Rather than presenting the whole work, he opts to present only highlights from each scene. The photography, set designs, and sound-track of the film are notable. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this somewhat opaque film, representative a Russian cinematic genre which could be called "existential drama," the story of a charming man who failed to live up to his own expectations, and whose life consequently also failed, is told by his son. This film contains many references to the works of director Marlen Khutsiyev and to his long-suppressed film July Rain. In the story, Lev (Alexander Abdulov) is the premier charmer of a small social group in Leningrad. As it opens, he has taken a dare that, if he will swim the Neva River, he will bed the lovely Lena (Kseniya Kachalina). He swims the river, and wins the dare. Later, when a member of the group is picked up by the secret police, Lev disappears for a while, apparently guilt-striken at having betrayed a friend. Eventually, he dives into the Neva once more: it is not clear whether he intends to commit suicide, or this is an allegorical image to indicate that he has passed out of the story. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rita wants to be a figure of glamor, a wonder for all who see her, the toast of the town. If she could, she would be Marilyn Monroe. As it is, she's a fairly ordinary girl who has a boyfriend who spends a lot of his time looking after his sickly mother. It's not glamorous, but it's real. When she meets a famous photographer, a man who is much older than she is, she immediately sees that he could make things happen for her, and she latches onto him and largely abandons her old boyfriend. Before long, however, she discovers that she's not all that keen on the high life, and she occasionally seeks comfort in the younger man's arms. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi