Romantic comedy. Having stumbled upon this picture by chance, staged by the outstanding Soviet director Grigory Alexandrov with Lyubov Orlova and Nikolai Cherkasov in the main roles, I did not think that I would find another lost diamond of Soviet cinema. Although, maybe I doubted in vain, because all of the above comrades have never let me down, especially Nikolai Konstantinovich. Now I could (for the first time since "Alexander Nevsky", "Ivan the Terrible" and "Deputy of the Baltic") enjoy his acting for almost two hours - and it was worth it. After all, in the company of such wonderful artists, time flies imperceptibly, and the picture itself looks easy and at ease. Moreover, I got a restored version, where the picture was tightened and (as far as possible) the sound was cleared. I, after viewing, was extremely pleased with the picture. And here's my brief opinion for you - Another lost diamond of Soviet cinema. I want to note right away that there are no shortcomings in the picture (because technical aspects, combined filming, noticeable and crooked editing at the beginning of the picture, some naivety of the script are not considered), so you should focus your attention on the expressive advantages of this masterpiece.
So, here they are:
1. Scenario - a well-known film director comes to the Institute of the Sun with the idea of making a film about a Soviet scientist, comrade Irina Petrovna Nikitin, who is not enthusiastic about this, but reluctantly agrees to it. And the role of Nikitina will be played by a young operetta artist Vera Georgievna Shatrova - for whom this is the first role in a movie. But the director of the Shatrova theater does not want to lose such a valuable frame, and gives her the first role in the upcoming operetta, and in order not to upset him, Shatrova comes up with a plan to replace herself with Nikitina. It would seem that everything is fine - the girls only need to replace each other in different places for one day, but this is what becomes the catalyst for many curious situations in which each of the girls will be able to sort themselves out, find their love and reject their complexes. Yes, the script seems a little naive, although besides the main one there are other scenario lines that are no less good than the main one (I'm talking about the heroine of Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya). Dialogues make you watch and listen without stopping, because they also have a certain philosophy. And the finale will only grandly complete this well-told and shown story.
2. The atmosphere is a light romantic comedy with some elements of fiction, bright and prescribed characters, we can even see a behind-the-scenes movie here. And all this is in the scenery of post-war Stalinist Moscow with its two-story trolleybuses, monumental knowledge, numerous front-line soldiers with an entire iconostasis on their tunic. And the picture is full of hopes for a better future and charges the viewer with this very well. Because after watching it, I wanted to sing along with the heroes and build communism (although there is not much ideology in the picture, which is somewhat surprising).
3. Aesthetics - the picture looks just wonderful, there are no unnecessary details, suits and dresses sit as they should, cars and streets literally sparkle with cleanliness, as well as rooms inside and outside. The painting is full of bright colors, despite the fact that it is black and white. Not every old painting manages to achieve such an effect, and it should be appreciated.
4. Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya - she has a supporting role here, but she even played it with a twist. What an irony! What sarcasm! What a subtle mockery of some dubious personalities, and ridiculing some of the vices of society! Her phrases from this picture have long been disassembled into quotes (and about beauty, that this is a terrible force, too). The main thing here is not to burst with laughter.
5. Romance - and, although the heroines replaced each other for only one day, but it was enough for them both to fall in love, and during that day they understood and changed themselves for the better, and the men understood and accepted their incorrect prejudices and themselves also changed for the better. You believe in these feelings!
6. Acting - I will not list all the famous artists that played here, otherwise the review may take too long. Therefore, you can not even worry about acting. It is there (unlike modern Russian (and not only) cinema), and it is simply magnificent, because it is the Soviet old school, such artists are no longer made!
7. Humor - yes, you should not expect enchanting laughter here, but the local humor will definitely lift your mood, because there are enough funny moments here, and just funny improvisations too. There is also an intellectual humor that requires a certain erudition.
A little about the main characters:
1. Irina Nikitina\Vera Shatrova performed by Lyubov Orlova - Lyubov Petrovna plays two roles here at once - a scientist and an artist, who are neither similar in character nor manners, but that's why everything succeeded. Now I understand why Lyubov Petrovna was loved by almost all residents of the vast Soviet Union. She is a real talent, and she is able to transform into a completely different character that she played a minute earlier. Bravo!
2. Arkady Gromov, played by Nikolai Cherkasov, is a typical film director who thinks he is smarter than others and that he knows people and real life, until Nikitina (under the guise of Shatrova) explained to him what is how. At the same time, Comrade Gromov is a sensitive and demanding leader who can take any person out of stress, and he will agree with reasonable criticism. Here Nikolai Konstantinovich again pleased, although here he appears in his true form, and his sonorous voice is already easily recognized. Bravo!
3. Margarita Lvovna performed by Faina Ranevskaya is Nikitina's housekeeper, who has her own line and her own problems. Faina Georgievna here again pleases the audience with her acting and her phrases. Bravo!
You can also cancel Rostislav Plyatta in the role of Bubentsov - a summer and a deceiver who became a scientific consultant to Gromov and the entire film crew, and many more. To be honest, you can talk a lot about this picture, about references (a song about the captain, for example), about science and cinema, about feelings between people and so on. But we won't go into it, because I don't want to spoil the viewing for those people who haven't watched this masterpiece of Soviet cinema yet.
My rating is 10 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
