Larisa Udovichenko Movies
- 1995
The irony of the title becomes apparent at the story's end in this lively Russian comedy that follows the daily lives of four young people living in a suburban Moscow hostel in 1950 when Stalin's regime was at its peak of power. The foursome are all attending the Art Institute and spend their free-time, of which they seem to have plenty, playing games. All of them are terribly poor, but they treat this as a kind of game, spending their energy involving themselves in affairs rather than fretting about the things they lack. They also enjoy playing practical jokes, some of them quite nasty, upon one another. Among their many games is one in which a student uses a secret radio to pretend he is "the Voice of America." In another scene, a student gets on the air and announces a new socialist welfare plan. This leads the authorities to question another student who in terror bursts into hysterical tears. Eventually, Stalin's secret police capture each of the youths and have them cruelly executed. In the final scene though, the four are seen running free upon the streets of Moscow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrei Ilyin, Gennady Nazarov, (more)
- 1990
In this romantic comedy, on the way to a birthday party with their families, a man and his girlfriend are driving in the countryside. When the girl takes a curve a little too fast, their car winds up in a lake. Undaunted, the couple gets on a train but bickers about the incident the whole way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vitaliy Solomin, Yelena Safonova, (more)
- 1990
In this drama, a directing debut of the popular Russian actor Leonid Filatov, the actors at a Moscow repertory theater company react with ever-increasing activism to the news that their company is to be closed down by the government. One of the rep company's directors committed the cardinal sin of defecting during an international tour. At first, the members of the company simply lodge their protests with the bureaucrat who is responsible for the order of closure. When this doesn't move him, they resort to attempts to seduce him and then blackmail him. Still, he will not relent. They finally try a hunger strike. This film is based on a true story. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vladimir A. Ilyin, Alexander Abdulov, (more)
