Igor Okhlupin Movies

Sibiriada was controversial in the Soviet Union, but it received the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, the second most prestigious prize after the Palme d'Or. After making this film, director Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky moved to the West. In the story, the lives of two Siberian families lives are chronicled through three generations, beginning with the period just after the turn of the century, and carrying on through the '60s. Before the revolution, a poor boy is the same age as a girl from a rich family, who uses her family position to torment him. Meanwhile, his father has been building a "corduroy" wooden road into the forest. However, as the boy and girl grow up, they fall in love. Their union is forbidden by her family, and he is beaten by their henchmen and cast adrift at sea. During the Revolution, the girl flees her family, thinking to join her true love. Many years later, he returns to his village with his teenaged son, and discovers that the former rich girl was killed long ago. The teenaged boy, in turn, become a geological engineer, and returns to his father's village to look for oil. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Only slightly peppered with political propaganda, this standard romantic comedy about a semi-misfit oil worker balances the politics by taking some jabs at cultural programs and other hype in the USSR. Aliocha's (Leonide Bikov) job is in the Russian steppes where he works with others looking for oil and mineral deposits. His heart seems to be only half into his work -- he is distracted and downbeat -- until he meets Zina (Alexandra Zavialova), the beautiful and independent-minded daughter of the local train-station manager. However, Aliocha soon discovers that finding love is only the first step in a potential relationship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi