Tatyana Gavrilova Movies
- 1983
In this film first-time director Nikolai Skuybin tackles the differences between a fairly complacent middle class and the increasingly disaffected lower classes in Moscow. On a cold evening in the dead of winter, a social gathering in a comfortable city apartment is interrupted by an urgent knocking at the door -- a young and obviously poor woman is seeking refuge on this inhospitable evening. After the apartment owners decide to accommodate the woman, they are led on a downward spiral that takes them to the lowest echelons of society. In the end, the police come into the picture, and class divisions become more obvious. The director's subtle defense of the young people's viewpoint in the film might be weakened a little by the complexities of the plotline, otherwise, the film is an interesting sketch of new issues in Russian life at this time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tamara Akulova, Sergei Shakurov, (more)
- 1974
This film was the winner of the All-Union Film Festival prize, and was extremely popular in the Soviet Union. This was the last film made by writer/director/actor Vasili Shukshin, who was a leading exponent of the Russian traditionalist cultural movement which idealized the simplicity of rural, village life. It is based on his novel of the same name. Shukshin died in 1974, the year the film was released. While Kalina Krasnaya clearly favors the simple life, it does not embellish or overly glorify this theme, unlike official party films in praise of workers; this may partly account for its popularity. Duty, guilt, delayed redemption and retribution are the themes of this movie, which has resonances with Dostoevsky's works. Yegor Prokudin (Vasili Shukshin) is an orphan who grew up in a criminal gang. While he was free, he did not lose his innocent, joyful heart, but many years in prison have taken away his joy in living. The film opens on the occasion of his release from prison. Soon, he discovers love with a village peasant girl, Lyuba (Lidia Fedoseeva-Shukshina), who restores his will to live and fills him with an enthusiasm for rural life. Their idyll is short-lived, as his former associates will not leave him alone. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vasili Shukshin, Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina, (more)
- 1966
Katerina Izmailova is a filmization of Dmitry Shostakovich's long-suppressed 1936 opera. Galina Vishnevskaya stars as Katerina, a bored 19th century farm wife. At the behest of her grungy lover, Katerina murders her husband and her father-in-law. She and her new beau are both sent to Siberia, where the lover almost immediately takes up with a younger woman. Banned by Stalin for its bleak portrait of Soviet life, Katerina Izmailova was not given a Russian staging for over 40 years; its Metropolitan Opera debut did not occur until 1994. Dmitri Shostakovich also wrote the screenplay for the screen version of Katerina Izmailova. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Galina Vishnevskaya, Artem Inozemtsev, (more)
- 1966
In this Russian comedy, a thief (Innokenti Smoktunovsky) becomes a sort of Robin Hood by stealing the cars of unpunished criminals, selling them and donating the cash to an orphanage. He is eventually captured by an investigator (Oleg Yefremov) who also happens to be performing with the robber in an amateur production of Hamlet. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Oleg N. Yefremov, (more)
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