Vera Alentova Movies
- 2000
A woman finds new love, but with the wrong man and at the wrong time, in this drama set in the former Soviet Union in the mid-1980s. Sonya (Vera Alentova) is a 44-year-old woman who is unhappy in her two-decades-old marriage to an author, who is open-minded where Sonya is repressed and guarded. Sonya is a member of a group trying to promote better relations between France and the Soviet Union, and she receives a visit from Bernard (Gerard Depardieu), one of the French committee organizers. Bernard does not speak Russian, so he brings with him an interpreter, Andre (Antoly Lobotsky), a Frenchman living and working in Russia. As Andre speaks to Sonya for Bernard, he finds himself becoming attracted to her, and while Sonya is initially resistant, she soon falls into an affair with Andre. But like Sonya, Andre already has a spouse, and he's due to return to France in a week once his working papers and visa expire, leaving them little time to decide what they should do about their adulterous relationship. Zavist Bogov received its American premiere at the 2000 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Alentova, Alexander Feklistov, (more)
- 1995
The confusion inherit in contemporary Russian society provides the basis of this slapstick social satire that focuses on a case of mistaken identity. The trouble begins in a Siberian diamond field as miners bring to light the world's biggest diamond. So valuable is the giant gem, that it will not only pay off the enormous national debt, it will also allow every Russian citizen to move to the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, the Mafia plans to steal the massive stone. Their plans are foiled when a renowned thief, Vesja, exchanges stones at the airport. Now the chase is on as the Mafia begins its pursuit. Also chasing him is the inept police chief Igor Ugolnikov, who trails him to the home of his alcoholic auntie. But Vesja, a master of disguise, still eludes them all. He then learns that he is a triplet when his two brothers suddenly appear. One is a renowned Jewish conductor, and the other brother is a gypsy. The conductor, Imokenty, has come back to Russia to marry a fluff-headed American divorcee. Mayhem and a merry chase ensue as he continues to elude his pursuers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valery Garkalin, Vera Alentova, (more)
- 1987
The students and teachers of a small-town school are changed forever as the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon in this tragic drama. As the Russian people attempt to resist the fascist oppression of Stalin, a daughter commits suicide rather than betray her father by testifying against him. With political restrictions in the Soviet Union being gradually lifted in the 1980s, this was one of the first films to mention the previously taboo subject of the nighttime raids by the KGB, in which innocent people were dragged from their homes and jailed. Over 13 million people saw this feature in the USSR alone. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergei Nikonenko, Nina Ruslanova, (more)
- 1984
In this drama about an ambitious woman, Svetlana (Vera Alentova) is not yet married and soon to be 40, an unhappy state of affairs that she first thinks about remedying with a composer, but he is not quite ready for a serious commitment. Next, she sets her sights on Vladimir (Anatoliy Papanov), an agreeable civil servant who is attracted by her charms, and the two marry. Svetlana's ambitions far exceed his own, and she is not above visiting the office of his supervisor to promote her husband's talents. As aggressive as she is, her constant pressure works, and eventually her husband has risen in his career and also becomes the kind of man he may not have wanted to be. But just as Svetlana is all set to rest on her laurels, fate takes a giant step into the picture. Anatoliy Papanov departed from his usual comic roles to play Vladimir in this film, and Vera Alentova previously starred in the Oscar-winning Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Alentova, Anatoli Papanov, (more)
- 1979
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Moscow of the late '50s is the initial setting for this movie of three young girls out for love -- the upwardly mobile Lyuda (Irina Muravyova), the secure Tonya (Raisa Ryazanova) and the head-over-heels Katya (Vera Alentova). The film re-engages the trio 20 years later, focusing on their varied life changes. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears received the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1980. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Alentova, Irina Muravyeva, (more)
