''A Glass of Water'' (russian: Стакан воды, Stakan vody) is a 1979 Soviet historical melodramatic

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Yuli Karasik and based on the 1840 play of the same title by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...

, set in the court of

Queen Anne of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as G ...

at the start of the 18th century. The play was previously adapted for film in Russia in 1957.

Plot

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

is in the midst of a long and ruinous war with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

and its queen is completely under the control of her old friend

Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...

, leader of the Whig party - she wants to prolong the war to her own benefit and that of her husband John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of the British forces. Against them are the

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

, led by Lord Bolingbroke, who believe that the war has to stop and peace talks begin. Anne supports the Whigs because she and her court are both completely subordinated to Sarah's will. It seems nothing can shake Sarah's power and so Bolingbroke has no chance of achieving peace negotiations. However, he befriends Arthur Masham, an impoverished nobleman and officer in the royal guards who is in love with

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later marri ...

, forced to serve in a jewellery shop. Abigail and Arthur are about to get married, but this hits an obstacle when Arthur kills a cousin of Lord Bolingbroke in a duel. Anne's jeweller visits Abigail secretly and offers her a position at court, but - afraid of Sarah's intrigues and unwilling to admit their love to the queen - Arthur and Abigail decide not to lose this opportunity. However, Bolingbroke still has power over the couple, since he knows that Arthur's secret patron - gaining him promotion and sending him gifts - is none other than Sarah herself. Bolingbroke resorts to blackmail, returning to Sarah a letter from her to Masham (which she does not want her jealous husband to see) and in exchange gaining Abigail a position at court. This finally gains him a supporter close to Anne. Cut off from real life by Sarah, Anne is bored of spending her days caught up in court ritual. She revels in novels and dreams about falling in love. She admits to her new confidante Abigail that she has fallen in love with a young member of her guards - none other than Arthur, whose engagement to Abigail is still a secret from all but Bolingbroke. Confused, Abigail rushes to him for help and Bolingbroke realises that he finally has a way of breaking Sarah's influence over Anne. All he now needs is a way to act on it and soon he finds it, when Sarah interrupts a rendezvous between Anne and Masham. Offering Anne a glass of water, he brings about Sarah's fall. As a result, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, removed from the court, Lord Bolingbroke in the new government became Minister of foreign affairs, begin peace negotiations, which ended with the signing of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

, Abigail married Arthur Masham and becomes the favourite of the Queen, and only Queen Anne remains in a sad loneliness, deprived of the object of her love.

Cast

Kirill Lavrov Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov (russian: link=no, Кирилл Юрьевич Лавров; 15 September 1925 – 27 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor and director. Biography Childhood Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was born on 15 ...

- Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke * Alla Demidova -

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...

* Natalia Belokhvostikova -

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...

* Svetlana Smirnova -

Abigail Hill Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (née Hill; 6 December 1734), was an English courtier. She was a favourite of Queen Anne, and a cousin of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Life Early life Abigail Hill was the daughter of Francis Hill, a London m ...

* Pēteris Gaudiņš - Arthur Masham *

Igor Dmitriev Igor Borisovich Dmitriev (russian: И́горь Бори́сович Дми́триев) (29 May 1927 – 26 January 2008) was a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor who specialized in playing aristocratic characters in costume productions ...

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquess of Torcy Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquess of Torcy (14 September 1665 – 2 September 1746), generally called Colbert de Torcy, was a French diplomat, who negotiated some of the most important treaties towards the end of Louis XIV's reign, notably the ...

* Juris Strenga - Count Stauenbauer, Austrian Ambassador *Alexander Vokach -

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Counc ...

*Boris Blank - artist *George Vsevolodov - master of ceremonies *Nikolai Yerofeyev - Oliver *Svetlana Danilchenko *Larisa Zhukovskaya *Konstantin Chistyakov *Anna Frolovtseva *Nina Veselovskaya

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass of Water, A 1979 films 1970s historical comedy-drama films Soviet television films 1970s Russian-language films Films set in the 1710s Cultural depictions of Anne, Queen of Great Britain Cultural depictions of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Mosfilm films Soviet films based on plays Soviet historical comedy-drama films Films directed by Youli Karassik Films based on works by Eugène Scribe Melodrama films