''Muzhiki!'' (russian: Мужики!) is a 1981 Soviet

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Iskra Babich Iskra Leonidovna Babich (russian: И́скра Леони́довна Ба́бич; 10 January 1932 – 5 August 2001) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. Her 1981 film ''Muzhiki!'' was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Fil ...

. It was entered into the

32nd Berlin International Film Festival The 32nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12–23 February 1982. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film ''Veronika Voss'' directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The Honorary Golden Bear (''Goldener Ehrenbär'' ...

, where it won an Honourable Mention.

Plot

Pavel Zubov (

Aleksandr Mikhajlov Aleksandr Yakovlevich Mikhailov (russian: link=no, Александр Яковлевич Михайлов; born 4 October 1944) is a Soviet and Russian actor. He has appeared in 42 films since 1973. He starred in the 1981 film ''Muzhiki!'' whic ...

) lives and works in arctic

Nikel Nikel (russian: Ни́кель, lit. ''nickel''; fi, Nikkeli; Norwegian: ''Nikkel'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of Lake K ...

. He came there thirteen years ago, just after the army, without even a glance at the road leading to his native village, where his bride Nastya was waiting for him. The fact is that at the end of the service, Pavel got a letter from his mother, from which he learned that Nastya had cheated on him and is expecting a child whose father is not known. That is why he did not come back home and stayed to work in the North. A letter informing Pavel that his father is seriously ill forces him to visit the parents. It turns out that everything is fine with his father (he just used the letter as a trick to force his son to visit). But Nastya died recently. Pavel learns that his mother was wrong when she sent the unfortunate letter about her. Nastya loved Pavel and it was from him that she gave birth to a girl named Polina. Later, after marrying a drunkard artist, Anastasia gave birth to a son named Pavlik and also adopted Styopka, a child from a

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most o ...

. Everyone thinks that Styopka is mute from birth, even though he hears perfectly, understands everything and has no physical defects which prevent him from talking. The father of Pavlik became a chronic alcoholic, and has long since left the family. The children do not have adult able-bodied family members and foster care is not given to Pavel's parents because they are elderly. It is not easy for Pavel to decide if he can assume responsibility for the fate of not only of his biological daughter but also of the two boys.

Cast

as Pavel *

Pyotr Glebov Pyotr Petrovich Glebov (russian: Пётр Петрович Глебов; 14 April 1915 – 17 April 2000), was a Russian film actor from the aristocratic Glebov family, whose early generations are listed in the 17th-century Velvet Book. Glebov's ...

as Pavel's father * Vera Alkhovskaya Polina mother of Pavel * Irina Ivanova as Polina * Mikhail Buzylyov-Kretso as Stepan * Pyotr Krylov as Pavlik * Aleksandr Pavlov as Sergei *

Anatoli Solonitsyn Anatoly (Otto) Alekseyevich Solonitsyn (russian: Анатолий (Отто) Алексеевич Солоницын; 30 August 1934 – 11 June 1982) was a Soviet actor known for his roles in Andrei Tarkovsky's films. He won the Silver Bear for ...

as artist * Mariya Andrianova as aunt Ustyusha * Svetlana Tormakhova as Inspector of Social Services *

Leonard Varfolomeyev Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

as chairman of the kolkhoz *

Afanasi Kochetkov Afanasy (russian: Афана́сий) is the Russian form of Athanasios, a Greek name meaning "immortal". It may refer to: People: * Afanasy Bagration, Prince Adarnase of Kartli (1707–1784), Georgian prince royal and Russian Empire general * Af ...

as uncle Grisha *

Dmitry Buzylyov-Kretso Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριος ...

as Arslan Asanov

References

External links

* 1981 films Soviet drama films 1980s Russian-language films 1981 drama films Films directed by Iskra Babich 1980s Soviet films {{1980s-USSR-film-stub