''Promised Heaven'' (russian: Небеса обетованные, translit=Nebesa obetovannye, italic=yes) is a 1991
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
directed by Eldar Ryazanov. The film is a fantastical social tragicomedy.
Plot
The movie is set in against the dusk of the Soviet Union and associated changes in economical and social life. Near one of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
's train stations, on a
landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
site, a group of vagrants lives. Due to a variety of reasons, once prosperous people have lost their jobs, homes, loved ones and began living at a landfill. Among them are: Anthemia, a talented artist; her brother Fedor Yelistratov, who was repressed in the days of Stalinism; Solomon, a former engineer, who lost his job because his family emigrated to Israel; and former cook and housemaid Katya, who was beaten and kicked out of her house by her drunkard son. The head of those unfortunate people is "President" - a former
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
worker Dmitry Loginov, who like his friend Fedor, was in Stalin's camps.
One night the President tells his friends incredible news. He allegedly had contact with aliens, who promised to take all those people to their planet - to the place where happiness, joy and peace rule. At the right day and hour of the homeless are supposed to receive the signal from the "visitors from the sky": blue snow shall fall.
They prepare for a long trip, but authorities are going to liquidate the landfill site to build a condom factory. The President and other inhabitants of the landfill are trying to protect their home, but the authorities in their pursuit to liquidate the camp of homeless people are ready to do anything.
At a winter night, "blue" snow begins to fall from the sky. The President and his "fellow citizens" go out to meet the good aliens, but they see heavily armed police squads and tanks approaching them that should raze vagrants' shacks to the ground.
Desperate people load on the old steam train, power it up and as it gains speed, it takes off the ground, to the Promised Heavens.
Cast
*
Liya Akhedzhakova
Liya Medzhidovna Akhedzhakova (russian: link=no, Лия Меджидовна Ахеджакова; born 9 July 1938) is a Soviet and Russian film, stage and voice actress who received the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1994. She received two ...
as ''Anthemia Stepanovna (Phima), woman artist''
*
Olga Volkova Olga Volkova may refer to:
* Olha Volkova (born 1986), Ukrainian freestyle skier
* Olga Volkova (actress)
Olga Vladimirovna Volkova (russian: Ольга Владимировна Волкова; born 15 April 1939 in Leningrad) is a Russian theatr ...
as ''Katya Ivanova, former cook and housemaid''
* Valentin Gaft as ''Dmitry Loginov, former party worker, leader of tramps (President)''
*
Leonid Bronevoy
Leonid Sergeyevich Bronevoy (russian: Леони́д Серге́евич Бронево́й; December 17, 1928 – December 9, 2017) was a Soviet and Russian actor. Though primarily a stage actor in the Lenkom Theatre, Bronevoy also made occasiona ...
as ''Semyon Yefremovich Bakurin, Soviet Army colonel retired''
* Oleg Basilashvili as ''Fedor Stepanovich Yelistratov, Phima's brother''
*
Svetlana Nemolyaeva
Svetlana Vladimirovna Nemolyaeva (russian: link=no, Светлана Владимировна Немоляева; born 18 April 1937, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian actress of film and theatre. She is the widow of Alexander Lazarev.(29 July 201 ...
as ''Aglaya Sviderskaya, former party worker, Loginov's former wife''
*
Sergei Artsibashev
Sergei Nikolayevich Artsibashev (russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Арциба́шев), less Artsybashev (russian: Арцыба́шев); September 14, 1951, Kalja, North Urals District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, USSR — July 12, 2015, M ...
as ''Kirill, Katya Ivanova's eldest son / Kirill Grigorievich, large party official''
*
Mikhail Filippov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov (russian: Михаил Михайлович Филиппов; born 10 June 1992) is a Russian professional football player. He plays as a goalkeeper for FC Shinnik Yaroslavl.
Club career
He made his Russian Premie ...
as ''Vasya, Katya Ivanova's younger son / Vasily Ilyich Prokhorov, large party official''
*
Natalya Gundareva
Natalya Georgyevna Gundareva (russian: Наталья Георгиевна Гундарева, August 28, 1948 — May 15, 2005) was a Soviet Russian film and theatre actress, one of the leading figures at the Mayakovsky Theatre where she worked ...
as ''Lyuska, Vasya's cohabitant''
* Natalia Shchukina as ''Jeannа, student, Fedor Yelistratov's wife''
*
Vyacheslav Nevinny
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Nevinny (russian: link=no, Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Неви́нный; 30 November 1934 – 31 May 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor who was titled a People's Artist of the USSR in 1986. He worked in th ...
as ''Stepan, bum''
*
Roman Kartsev
Roman Andreyevich Kartsev (russian: link=no, Рома́н Андре́евич Ка́рцев, born Roman Antshelevich Katz (russian: link=no, Рома́н А́ншелевич Кац); 20 May 1939 – 2 October 2018) was a Russian entertainer of ...
as ''Solomon, bum, Stepan's friend''
*
Alexander Pashutin
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
as ''crazy motorman''
*
Nina Ruslanova
Nina Ivanovna Ruslanova (russian: Нина Ивановна Русланова; 5 December 1945 – 21 November 2021) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress. She was honored as a People's Artist of Russia (1998).Alexander Belyavsky as ''Oleg P Mirov, chairman of Regional Executive Committee''
*
Valery Nosik
Valery Benediktovich Nosik (Валерий Бенедиктович Носик, 9 October 1940, Moscow, USSR, — 4 January 1995, Moscow, Russian Federation) was a Soviet Russian film and stage actor, the People's Artist of Russia (1994) who appe ...
as ''bum''
*
Stanislav Sadalskiy
Stanislav Yurievich Sadalsky (russian: Станисла́в Ю́рьевич Сада́льский; born 8 August 1951 in Chuvashia) is a Soviet and Russian actor.
Selected filmography
* ''The Twelve Chairs'' (Двенадцать стулье ...
as ''photographer at the wedding''
*
Lyudmila Ivanova
Lyudmila Ivanovna Ivanova (russian: Людмила Ивановна Иванова; 22 June 1933 – 7 October 2016) was a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989). She was awarded the Order of Honour and the ...
as ''Claudia, cat lady''
*
Tatyana Kravchenko
Tatyana Eduardovna Kravchenko (russian: Татья́на Эдуа́рдовна Кра́вченко; born 9 December 1953, Stalino (since 1961 — Donetsk), Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress, People's Artist of Ru ...
as ''matron of the old people's home''
* Eldar Ryazanov as ''client in a cafe''
Awards
* Awards of magazine "Soviet Screen": "Best film of the year" and "Best actress of the year" (1991)
*
Nika Award
The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars.
History
The award was established i ...
: "Best Movie", "Best Director", "Best Actor in a Supporting Role", "Best Music", "Best Sound", "Best Artistic Direction" (1992)
* Film Critics Award of the film festival "Constellation" (1992)
* Awards of International Film Festival in Madrid: Grand Prix - "Best fiction film" (1992)