''Love by Request'' (russian: Влюблён по собственному желанию, Vlyublyon po sobstvennomu zhelaniyu, en, Enamored by own Accord) is a 1983 Soviet

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Sergey Mikaelyan Sergey Gerasimovich Mikaelyan (russian: Серге́й Гера́симович Микаэля́н; 1 November 1923 – 10 December 2016) was a Soviet film director and winner of the USSR State Prize (1976). He directed ten films between 19 ...

. It was entered into the

33rd Berlin International Film Festival The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 February to 1 March 1983. The festival opened with the out of competition film, ''Tootsie'' by Sydney Pollack. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film '' Ascendancy'' ...

, where

Yevgeniya Glushenko Yevgeniya Konstantinovna Glushenko (russian: Евгения Константиновна Глушенко; born on September 4, 1952 in Rostov-na-Donu) is a Russian actress, best known for her role as Vera in the Soviet melodrama ''Love by Reque ...

won the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

Plot

A handsome but poor former sportsman Igor Bragin and a plain but brainy librarian Vera Silkova make an unusual agreement: to fall in love with each other through will alone. In the background is late Soviet reality with a few of its unattractive features – ambition ridden careerists, black market, drunkenness, growing skepticism and disillusionment with ideals.

Cast

Oleg Yankovskiy Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (russian: Оле́г Ива́нович Янко́вский; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he becam ...

as Igor *

as Vera *

Vsevolod Shilovsky Vsevolod Nikolaevich Shilovsky (russian: Все́волод Никола́евич Шило́вский; born June 3, 1938, Moscow ) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1986). He was awarded ...

as Nikolai * Irina Reznikova as Natasha * Yuriy Dubrovin as Petrushin *

Vladimir Belousov Vladimir Vladimirovich Belousov (russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Белоу́сов) ( in Moscow – December 25, 1990) was an Earth scientist in the Soviet Union, and a prominent advocate of alternatives to the theorie ...

as Gena * Yuri Kopych as Mikhail Petrovich *

Kira Kreylis-Petrova Kira Alexandrovna Kreylis-Petrova (russian: Кира Александровна Крейлис-Петрова; 1 July 1931 – 12 May 2021) was a Soviet and Russian stage, television, and film actress. She was an Honored Artist of Russia (1993). ...

as Vera's mother *

Ivan Ufimtsev Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

as painter (voiced by

Georgi Vitsin Georgy Mikhailovich Vitsin (russian: Георгий Михайлович Вицин; 18 April 1917 – 22 October 2001) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Vitsin was born in Terijoki, former Finla ...

) *

Svetlana Shershneva Svetlana () is a common Orthodox Slavic feminine given name, deriving from the East and South Slavic root ''svet'' (), meaning "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context similar if not the same as t ...

as Vera's friend, an employee of the library *

Natalya Yegorova Natalia Vladimirovna Egorova (russian: Наталья Владимировна Егорова, Natalya Vladimirovna Yegorova; née Bykova, born 13 September 1966) is a retired professional tennis player who represented the Soviet Union and Russia ...

as resting * Sergei Losev as planner *

Nikolai Drozdov Nikolay Nikolaievich Drozdov ( rus, Николай Николаевич Дроздов; born 20 June 1937) is a Russian doctor of biological sciences, candidate of geographical sciences, zoological sciences, professor of Moscow State University, ...

(cameo)

References

External links

* 1983 films 1983 romantic comedy films Soviet romantic comedy films 1980s Russian-language films Films directed by Sergei Mikaelyan Russian romantic comedy films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub