Irena Charvatova Movies

It is mid-winter in a distant village that happens to be home for an engineer working on a drilling rig, when a daughter he had never seen -- nor even knew existed -- suddenly shows up seeking his help. Her mother has died and she does not want to live alone, nor does she want to depend on her boyfriend and his unfortunately elitist family for support. Although the father is taken quite by surprise, he agrees to his daughter's wishes and the two plan on spending their Christmas vacation together to get to know each other. What the daughter does not realize and the father will not admit, is that he has an alcohol problem that amounts to a near-suicidal addiction. The renewed relationship with his daughter seems to offer some hope that he might overcome his problem, if he has enough self-control left to value his daughter over the bottle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Goslings of this film's title refers to the young girls working in a textile factory, with the storyline focusing on Marie (Yvetta Kornova), an orphan who learns about adulthood through her relationships at work and at the youth hostel where she lives. Coming from an unhappy childhood, the 16-year-old Marie observes with wide eyes the way other young women at the factory handle the advances of persistent older men and how rivalry over love interests can tear apart friendships. The downside of life is not the only side, however. Marie gets to stay with a normal, caring family for a weekend, and she contrasts that environment with the lives she has observed outside the bounds of family and home. Her experiences continue to broaden her view of life, as the "gosling" starts to lose the baby down and grow feathers that will help her to fly on her own. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi