A Cruel Romance

I read a comment from one of the readers that he has a difficulty understanding the film from the Western point of view. At least this time the viewer admits having problems with crossing the cultural boundary. Film is not riddled with cliches, it`s theatrical and highly artistic. It should be viewed almost as a poem translated into reality. It doest`n ask from actors just stand there and act natural, it asks for a brilliant, almost satirical work, which is performed in this movie perfectly. Realism is not the goal here. And yet, story like that very well could happened at that time, to the smallest details.

Either I don't understand something, or this film is a montage of scenes that have little to do with each other. The plot is unclear, the actors overact, Ryazanov repeats himself. I don't understand what there is to praise, except that Guzeeva is a cutie. What's happening on screen makes you sleepy, each character is more boring than the next, the script seems to have been written under sedation. I wouldn't be surprised that this film has received great reviews in Russia - apparently, only Russian viewers can understand this awesomeness. The drama is untouchable, the humor is dull, watching this in 2025 means not respecting yourself.

Women without money never had it easy - especially before modern times, when their options were limited to marriage.

This movie is about a relatively poor woman and her marriage possibilities - and her naive dreams of love, and the hypocrisy of those surrounding her, and the cruelty of some. Universal themes, still valid nowadays.

Beautiful songs, solid acting, melancholic photography. This is sad and wonderful candy.

Ok, this was my first Soviet-era Russian movie, so it was difficult to assess by my (western) standards. By those standards the characters seemed simplistic and exaggerated, and the screenplay cliché-ridden. Also, by those standards, the cinematography came across as ill-developed for the day.

However, 'Cruel Romance' was something of a revelation for me. Just as the American Dream is expressed repeatedly (ad nauseam?) in Hollywood movies, I had a strong feeling after watching this movie that the 'Russian Dream' had been laid bare for my comprehension at last. The worship of impossible romance combined with blindness to all practical considerations and the expression of that romance in the gift of expensive baubles and other grand gestures are the main threads running through this story. And, despite the fact that 'Cruel Romance' is a Soviet-era depiction of 19th century Tsarist Russia, these are cultural traits to be found in abundance in modern-day Russians. For this reason watching the movie was a treat to me personally, and henceforth I will view my Russian friends and colleagues with a slightly higher degree of understanding.

Also, I hope to see many more Russian movies in the future !

It is the best Russian film I have even seen. It is based on A.H. novel. The actor and actress are the best one. It also include some nice songs which really express the theme of the film. The film won the 1985' Russian National Film Festival.