Freddy's Cine It

Plot Summary: A Soviet anthology film featuring three comedic stories that explore morality, deception, and irony, adapted from O. Henry’s works. Each tale brings characters into humorous and thought-provoking situations, showcasing human nature through a lens of wit and satire. Director: Leonid Gaidai Producers: Mosfilm Screenplay: Vladimir Vladimirov Starring: Vladlen Paulus as "Shark" Dodson (voiced by Oleg Dal) Aleksandr Shvorin as Bob Tidball Rostislav Plyatt as landlord Yuri Nikulin as thief Georgy Vitsin as Sam, adventurer Aleksei Smirnov as Bill Driscoll Sergei Tikhonov as Johnny Dorset (voiced by Margarita Korabelnikova, in some scenes speaks in his own voice)   ***SPOILER ALERT*** Story 1: "The Roads We Take" Today, we took a little break from Frank Oz's filmography and watched a Soviet movie by the very po...

Plot Summary: The film follows Ayka, a migrant worker in Moscow, who escapes from a hospital window shortly after giving birth. She is in dire need of money to repay her debts to criminals and struggles to find work and survive amidst the harsh winter conditions. The film is a raw and intimate portrayal of her fight for survival, emphasizing the physical and psychological toll of her circumstances. Director: Sergey Dvortsevoy Screenplay: Sergey Dvortsevoy, Gennadiy Ostrovskiy Starring: Samal Yeslyamova as Ayka Polina Severnaya as Hospital Administrator Andrey Kolyadov as Victor   ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Harrowing Journey Begins We start our trip to Kazakhstan this week, in Russia... I had no idea what I was getting myself into when choosing to watch this movie from Kazakh director Sergei Dvortsevoy. Coincidentally, I became a father again a few days ago, and this movie opens in a maternity wa...

The Asthenic Syndrome is a 1989 Soviet drama film directed by Kira Muratova. It is the sixth feature film directed by Muratova, and arguably her masterpiece, most important film and best known film. The film was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize. It won the 1991 Nika Award in Russia. In the list of the hundred best Ukrainian films according to film critics, compiled in 2021, the film takes 6th place. The film caused a mixed reaction from critics and the party leadership of the country. Released in limited release. The first Soviet film in which obscene language was used. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Asthenic_Syndrome In the old days it was called hypochrondria, or black melancholia. Now, apparently, it's termed the Asthenic Syndrome. Whatever it is, Nikolai, a teacher has got it, and it's not much fun. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096841/ ***SPOILER...

Chekhovians Motifs is a 2002 Russian-Ukrainian comedy film directed by Kira Muratova. At the 2002 Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards Kira Muratova received the prize for Best Director. It is based on two works of Anton Chekhov: the short story Difficult People and the unfinished short play Tatyana Repina. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_Motifs In a large Shiryaev family, the eldest of the children, student Pyotr, is trying to overcome his dependence on a despotic father. The resigned mother tries to protect him, the sister, thirteen-year-old Varvara, is indifferent to family quarrels. Leaving his parental home to go to the city to study, Peter instead ends up in a rural church for the wedding of a visiting bohemian. During a long church service, the guests, consumed by boredom and impatience, are distracted by a strange phenomenon: a woman wrapped in black and groaning appears in the church. Some of the guests, and then the groom himself, take ...

The Tuner is a 2004 Russia/Ukraine co-production feature film directed by Kira Muratova. Its a modern interpretation of the memoirs of the famous Russian detective of tsarist times Arkady Koshko. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004. The stars of the film include famous Russian actors such as Alla Demidova, Renata Litvinova, Nina Ruslanova, and Georgi Deliyev. Nika Award 2004 for best actress Alla Demidova, best director Kira Muratova and best Supporting Actress Nina Ruslanova source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tuner A young piano tuner befriends two rich old-ladies, and plots, with the help of his girlfriend, to betray their trust and steal from them source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383020/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** F: Hiya Krasnaya! Seems like I have a new favorite black and white comedy! This movie is insanely funny. This is a hidden gem of a movie. We follow the story of a con artist who tunes pianos and befrien...

Three Stories is a Ukrainian-Russian crime comedy movie co-production directed by Kira Muratova. The film premiered on June 3, 1997. It ranks 63rd in the list of the 100 best films in the history of Ukrainian cinema. The film is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Apollinarievich Gerasimov. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Stories_(1997_film) A man goes to see his former schoolmate working at a boiler house and persuades him to burn in the furnace the corpse of his communal flat neighbor whom he has just murdered after a quarrel. An orphaned girl gets a job in the archives of the maternity home to find out the identity of her mother who abandoned her years earlier. She finds her, befriends her and takes the first opportunity to throw her into the sea. An old intellectual tries to explain to the neighbor's five-year-old daughter "all the abomination of her lumpen existence". The girl feeling hurt for her mother decides to poison the old man ...

The Long Farewell is a Soviet film drama directed by Kira Muratova. It was filmed in 1971, but it was put on a shelf and was only released on the screens in perestroika in 1987. It ranks 9th in the list of the 100 best films in the history of Ukrainian cinema . source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Farewell A single woman has put all her efforts into raising her only son, Sasha. When Sasha grew up to become a teenager, he got tired of the nagging of her mother. One summer, he goes to visit his father in Novosibirsk, on the other side of the country. When he returns, his mother notices that Sasha had changed. She secretly reads a letter that Sasha received from his father and she finds out that Sasha doesn't want to live with her any longer. She cannot understand, she cannot accept. When Sasha realizes that she is suffering because of his wish to leave, he decides to stay. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092905/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** ...

Elena (Russian: Елена) is a 2011 Russian drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize. It also won a Golden Eagle Award for Best Film and a Nika Award for Best Actress. Nadezhda Markina was also nominated for the Best Performance by an Actress at the European Film Awards and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_(2011_film) When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ... source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1925421 ***SPOILER ALERT*** K: "Elena" is one of the latest films shot by one of the most famous modern Russian directors, Andrey Zvyagintsev. As usual, it doesn't leave you careless after watching. This film seems really monotonous, showing the daily life of the main characters, Elena, and her husband Vla...

Stilyagi is a 2008 Russian musical comedy-drama film directed by Valery Todorovsky. It won several Golden Eagle Awards and Nika Awards, including Best Film in both. In Russia, it has become a cult film, as most of its score consists of covers of 1980s and 1990s Russian rock music from bands such as Bravo, Nautilus Pompilius, Nol and the Red Elvises. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilyagi_(film) While the Cold War heats up on the world stage, rebellious youth in 1955 Moscow wage a cultural battle against dismal Soviet conformity, donning brightly colored black-market clothing, adopting American nicknames and reveling in forbidden jazz. Straight-laced 20-year-old Communist Mels finds these brazen 'hipsters' shocking until he falls under the spell of one, namely Polly, and joins the new revolution. Soon he's a peacock, cavorting in the latest flashy fashions, sporting an enormous pompadour and wailing on the saxophone. source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt12...