The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!

Okay, so I'm in love with Andrey Mjagkov, but all that aside, you've simply gotta love this movie. It's funny, it makes you feel good. Somewhat far-fetched plot (I won't give it away, just go watch it), but the acting is great, the directing is great, the music is great, the singing is great. Unlike most Russian movies it does not leave you with a sense of impending doom and in a state of utter depression. It will leave you with a whole new view of Russian film and Russian life (that's if you're not Russian and don't already have a very unique view). Watch it! Trust me!

I had never heard of this movie until I saw the recent US film that was apparently based on the Irony of Fate. The new one was disappointing but i still figured i would check out the original to see if it was any good. I am glad I did.

The Irony of Fate is very theatrical in that most of the movie in filmed in a small Soviet era apartment (basically a stage) and there are repeated knocks at the door as various secondary characters appear and then disappear. Just like in a theater production with people coming on stage from the wings and heading out the same way.

So we are facing a very intimate work with no serious attempt at realism and that is fine. It is a comedy and works on many levels.

There are three main characters. The protagonist (who gets drunk and ends up in someone else´s apartment by mistake. The owner of the apartment (who is the love interest) and the boyfriend of this very attractive but rather sad lady.

It is hard to explain how funny the movie is without giving spoilers so i will limit myself to saying there are various repeating hooks, some physical comedy, a number of musical interludes with deep or dark lyrics and a steady but relentless development of the romantic relationship between the romantic leads.

In summary, a very enjoyable and very theatrical movie.

I've been told that this film is shown every New Year's Eve in Russia, and there is no doubt why. It is exquisitely romantic, appropriately funny and symbolizes the best of Russia. It's sentimentally touches a heart string in everyone and its seeming lack of reality only makes it more realistic. With a fantastic soundtrack and some beautiful poetry, you truly have not seen a good film until you have seen this. I could watch it again and again and.....

Let me sort out what in this film is Soviet, what is Russian, and what is universal.

Soviet is the background, including the cartoon which precedes the appearance of humans: a man with a tube kills any architect originality, even so innocent as balconies. As a consequence, the same buildings are put up in Artica as well in a southern desert before surprised camels. The Soviet reality is the basis of the plot with identical buildings in different cities. Also the New Year tree rather that the Christmas tree is Soviet. However, as the story unfolds, the Soviet reality recedes into little visible background. An exception is a line in one of the songs: if you do not have a dog, your neighbor cannot poison your dog.

Russian are the beautiful poems which are made into songs. There are also some views of Leningrad, but actually only a few, with the St. Isaac Basilica shown several times from different sides.

The cast and the technical crew are largely Russian, but not only. Obviously Armenian, Georgian and Jewish names are listed. The actress playing Nadya has been imported from Central Europe; Barbara Brylska is a Polish actress, well known also from a number of other movies made in Poland as well as in other countries.

The appeal of the film is truly universal ! This is the reason why viewers from countries so disparate as Latvia, Ukraine and China like this film so much (not to mention Texans). The love-jealousy quadrangle, two mothers, friends of Zhenya and colleagues of Nadya could have lived in many countries around the world. Even the story of the same address could have happened for instance in Germany where practically every city and town has Bahnhofstrasse and Poststrasse.

Finally, the atmosphere of this film is unique - a word which very rarely can be used discussing films. We have seen other films directed by Eldar Ryazanov, all of them good, but none comparable to this one. All that takes place in the film is plausible, it could have happened in reality. At the same time, there is the feeling of poetic, unreal and sublime. These two basically opposed reactions to the film coexist somehow in the viewer; this simply does not happen in movies, films directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski excepted. Irony of the Fate is a truly wonderful film, alive 30 years after being created; it will enchant future generations as well.

Watch it every year. It is a very entertaining, funny, romantic and beautiful movie, with great songs and great acting. It is about a man who accidentally ends up in the wrong city and is convinced another's apartment is his, this leads to much chaos and hilarity. The movie changes people's perspective to love and life, and portrays the soviet world of the time. Since it is an all Russian movie, nothing here can be considerred inaccurate or impossible, and this makes for a more realistic experience. In Conclusion, i suggest that before every new year everyone should go to a sauna to commemorate the tradition this movie enforced.