''Staromodnaya komediya'' (russian: Старомодная комедия, translation=Old-fashioned comedy) is a

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, ...

full-length colour

melodrama film A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

. Released in 1978 by the

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output incl ...

studio, it was an adaptation of the play of the same name by

Aleksei Arbuzov Aleksei Nikolayevich Arbuzov (russian: Алексей Николаевич Арбузов) (April 20, 1986) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian playwright. Biography Arbuzov was born in Moscow, b ...

Plot

Sanatorium somewhere on the Riga seaside. The main characters of the film are lonely

middle-aged In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

people, both about sixty. He is the head doctor of the sanatorium, she is a patient who came for treatment. Their first meeting ends in conflict. He calls her to him about the violation of the sanatorium regime, but the lady turns out to be difficult, with character. At first, this offends the doctor, but soon their relationship improves, and he invites her to a restaurant. Then they meet in the Dome Cathedral at an organ concert and after a long walk around Old Riga, remembering their pre-war youth and talking about everything in the world. The story ends with the lady having to leave, but she realizes that she is no longer able to do so.

Cast

Alisa Freindlich Alisa Brunovna Freindlich (russian: Алиса Бруновна Фрейндлих, born 8 December 1934 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1981). Since 1983, Freindlich has been a leading ac ...

as ''Lydia Vasilievna Zherber, former circus actress'' *

Igor Vladimirov Igor Petrovich Vladimirov (russian: И́горь Петро́вич Влади́миров; 1 January 1919, Yekaterinoslav – 20 March 1999, Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet film and theater actor, theater and film director, and teacher. People's ...

as ''Rodion Nikolaevich Semyonov, head doctor of the sanatorium'' *

Tamara Sovchi __NOTOC__ Tamara may refer to: People * Tamara (name), including a list of people with this name * Tamara (Spanish singer) (born 1984) * Tamara, stage name of Spanish singer Yurena (born 1969) * Tamara, stage name of Macedonian singer Tamara Tod ...

as ''barmaid''

Film crew

* Script writers: Aleksei Arbuzov, Vladimir Zheleznikov * Directed by: Era Savelyeva, Tatyana Berezantseva * Director of Photography: Boris Kocherov * Composer: Mikael Tariverdiev * Production designers: Aleksei Parkhomenko, Konstantin Forostenko * Songs based on verses by

Bella Akhmadulina Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and ...

, Andrei Voznesensky are performed by Alisa Freindlikh, Galina Besedina, Sergey Taranenko

Reviews

Art critic Yevgeny Kalmanovsky in his book "Alisa Freindlich" noted that although the film is more like a "performance shot on film", it does not particularly pretend to anything and hardly has any significance for the history of cinema, it is interesting for the acting work of

and

, who only benefit from the modesty of the film's cinematic techniques, so that it may well serve as a "good guide to the art" of these performers. Assessing Freindlich's acting, Kalmanovsky points to the actress' wide vocal and plastic abilities, which she skilfully uses to fill the picture with humour and vitality.

References

External links

* Soviet romantic drama films 1978 films 1978 romantic drama films 1970s melodrama films Soviet films based on plays 1970s Russian-language films Mosfilm films Films scored by Mikael Tariverdiev {{Soviet-film-stub