The Envy of Gods (russian: Зависть Богов, Zavist Bogov) is a 2000 Russian
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 ...
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
"
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
says, "The gods do not like happy people". In ancient times, people knew why they can not demonstrate their good fortune and happiness: it can cause jealousy and anger of the gods, because they believed that happiness is their, gods, privilege, and daring people who want the same thing, should be punished.
The film takes place in early autumn 1983 in Moscow, in an atmosphere of acute cold war (including the
war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
Aleksandr Feklistov
Aleksandr Vasilyevich Feklistov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Фекли́стов; born December 7, 1955) is a Russian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1984 (the film ''Troop'').
Since 2007 – ...
) is a quite successful Soviet writer. One day to visit them a Frenchman Bernard ( Gérard Depardieu) comes, whom Sergei met while working on a book about the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
, accompanied by a French translator of Russian descent named André (Anatoly Lobotsky). André also has a family in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. However, this meeting turns their lives upside down. André falls in love with Sonia at first sight and emphatically tries to get a new meeting with her. Sonia, a faithful wife, educated in the Soviet tradition of chastity, at first refuses; moreover employees of Soviet television are not allowed to enter in unsupervised contact with foreigners. But André still gets his way, and Sonia is also overtaken by a violent passion. She discovers such strong feelings about the possibility of which she previously did not know. For a few days of their lives Sonia and Andre are absolutely happy. But they soon have to separate because their countries belong to different worlds, divided by the Iron Curtain.
Aleksandr Feklistov
Aleksandr Vasilyevich Feklistov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Фекли́стов; born December 7, 1955) is a Russian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1984 (the film ''Troop'').
Since 2007 – ...
Vladlen Davydov
Vladlen Semyonovich Davydov (russian: Владле́н Семёнович Давы́дов; 1924 — 2012) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1969). The winner of two Stalin Prizes (1950, 1951). Membe ...
as Sonia's father
* Marina Dyuzheva as Natasha, Sonia's friend
*
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 Sonia's mother-in-law
*
Yuri Kolokolnikov
Yuri Andreyevich Kolokolnikov (russian: Юрий Андреевич Колокольников; born 15 December 1980) is a Russian stage and film actor. In the West, Kolokolnikov is best known for his performance as Styr in the television series ...
Irina Skobtseva
Irina Konstantinovna Skobtseva (russian: Ирина Константиновна Скобцева; 22 August 1927 – 20 October 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actress and second wife of Sergei Bondarchuk.
Biography
Irina Konstantinovna Skobtsev ...
Larisa Udovichenko
Larisa Ivanovna Udovichenko (russian: link=no, Лариса Ивановна Удовиченко; born 29 April 1955, Vienna, Austria) is a Russian actress. People's Artist of Russia (1998).
Igor Kirillov
Igor Leonidovich Kirillov (russian: Игорь Леонидович Кириллов, 14 September 1932 – 29 October 2021) was a Soviet and Russian news presenter, announcer and actor. He was a news anchor for Soviet Central Television (CT U ...
Natalya Khorokhorina
Natalya Nikolaevna Khorokhorina (russian: Ната́лья Николаевна Хорохо́рина; Kharakhorina (russian: Харахорина); born in 1954) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress.
Biography
Natalya Nikolaevna ...
# The Long Tango
# Meadows
# The Dream No.1
# The Date
# The Catastrophy No.1
# Loneliness
# Tango `Beter` by J.Menshova
# Thinking about the Past No.1
# The Catastrophy No.2
# Thinking about the Past No.2
# Saying Good-bye
# Finale