Nina Ruslanova Movies
- 2007
In this gritty Ukrainian drama, a mother and daughter live together in a cramped, decrepit apartment, both unhappy but both dependent on each other. The mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and the daughter is bitter and feels confined, so the two walk a thin line between love and frustration. As their small world makes everyday hurdles become monumental obstacles, they struggle to find a balance, frequently walking by the nearby river for comfort, seeking solace in its unending movement forward. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nina Ruslanova, Marina Politseymako, (more)
- 2002
Directed by Kira Muratova, Chekhovskie Motivy (Chekhov's Motifs) is a scathing satire of various Russian cultural and literary traditions, some of which are best illustrated by the legendary Anton Chekhov. Interconnected segments take place within the farmhouse of a farcically stereotypical peasant family. Happenings include a traditional Russian Orthodox wedding and a wildly intelligent teenaged peasant's desperate plea for money from his father. This absurdist film is not limited to the works of Chekhov, though he is perhaps the most easily recognizable figure being parodied. With a controversial career spanning over 30 years, Muratova has gained a reputation as one of the most frequently banned screenwriters in the former Soviet Union. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergei Bekhterev, Nina Ruslanova, (more)
- 1998
Alexei German directed this French-Russian co-production with atmospheric black-and-white cinematography on snow-covered streets depicting Moscow life of the early '50s. After work, boiler repairman (Alexander Bashirov) walks through the night and into an encounter with Stalin's police. Glinsky (Y. Tsurilo), aka The General, heads a household of his wife (N. Ruslanova), son, twins, grandmother, and servants. Amid anarchic actions at a madcap hospital, the staff turns toady as the General goes about his usual routines. When a KGB plot leads to the General's arrest, he flees only to be caught at the train station. Forced from their apartment, his wife and son move into a seedy rooming house where everyone has their own individual toilet seats. En route to a gulag, the General is gang-raped. Since he's a doctor, he winds up being taken to the country house of the dying Stalin. After a return to his family and the ruins of his home in Moscow, he eventually links up with the boiler repairman. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuri Tsurilo, Nina Ruslanova, (more)
- 1991
Work is hard to find in Moscow these days, and although native Muscovites are probably reluctant to do the kinds of toilet-swabbing low-level labor that migrants into the town happily do, the natives still resent the fact that immigrants are (at least theoretically) taking jobs away from locals. This is a familiar theme, even in the U.S. In the story, Pavel and Pavlina, two ethnic Russians from the rural areas of former Soviet states, have separately come to Moscow seeking exactly that sort of work. Pavel has a tiny room somewhere, Pavlina is homeless. They meet during an altercation at a bar during which they are picked up by the police. After their release, she spends the night in Pavel's room. Their goal is to avoid both the police and the criminal gangs who, between them, govern so much of the life in that difficult city. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oksana Arbuzova, Andrei Andreev, (more)
- 1991
For almost a decade, the U.S.S.R. was involved in a long and apparently pointless war in Afghanistan, which began with an effort to keep a communist puppet government in power and ended with the huge Russian war machine slinking out of the primitive country in disgrace. The war may have been the straw that broke the back of the so-called "evil empire," as it began disbanding shortly afterwards. This Italian/U.S.S.R. co-production follows what happens to one officer and his disheartened soldiers, as they try to make it possible for their countrymen to retreat from the unforgiving country at the end of the conflict. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michele Placido, Tatyana Dogileva, (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)
