Moscow Does not Believe in Tears
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| Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears | |
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 Poster for USA promotion |
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| Directed by | Vladimir Menshov |
| Written by | Valentin Chernykh |
| Starring | Vera Alentova Irina Muravyova Aleksey Batalov Raisa Ryazanova Oleg Tabakov |
| Music by | Sergei Nikitin |
| Cinematography | Igor Slabnevich |
| Editing by | Yelena Mikhajlova |
| Distributed by | RUSCICO |
| Release date(s) |  1979 8 May 1981 |
| Running time | 140 min. |
| Language | Russian |
| IMDb profile | |
Moscow Does not Believe in Tears (Russian: Москва́ слеза́м не ве́рит; Moskva slezam ne verit) is a 1979 Soviet film made by Mosfilm. It was written by Valentin Chernykh and directed by Vladimir Menshov. The leading roles were played by Menshov's wife Vera Alentova and by Aleksey Batalov.
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[edit] Plot
The movie is set in Moscow from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. It tells a story about three provincial women who come to Moscow. They are settled in the same room in a dormitory and eventually become friends. Ekaterina, played by Vera Alentova, strives to earn her degree and also works hard at a factory. At a party she meets a man called Rudolf (Yuri Vasilyev) who works as a cameraman for a television channel. He eventually seduces Ekaterina resulting in her becoming pregnant. Rudolf decides that a marriage is not an option. This leaves Katerina alone with a baby - Rudolf's mother, a member of the Soviet elite, tells her to leave her son alone and offers her money, which Ekaterina refuses.
The movie then takes a 20-year leap forward in time. First it shows Ekaterina with tears in her eyes going to sleep in a dormitory where she just arrived after bearing her daughter, Alexandra (later played by Natalya Vavilova). Ekaterina is then shown waking up to the sound of an alarm clock in her own apartment. She is still hasn't married, but she is now the director of a large factory. She has a lover, a married man that is older named Volodya (Oleg Tabakov), but she still feels that something is missing in her life.
One evening when Ekaterina is returning home from her dacha on an elektrichka, she meets a man named Gosha (Aleksey Batalov). Soon after they start seeing each other, but an unexpected return of Rudolf seems to ruin everything. Rudolf is part of a news crew that arrives at Ekaterina's factory to do a report on the factory's great production rate. He recognizes his ex-lover and wants to make amends and meet his daughter. Ekaterina tells him that she is about to get married and doesn't let him call or visit their home. But Rudolf comes against her will when Gosha, Ekaterina and Alexandra are having dinner. He tells them about the interview, and at that moment Gosha finds out that Katerina is a director and that her salary must be bigger than his own. Being a man that can't let a woman be on top of him in any way, Gosha gets upset and leaves.
For several days he is nowhere to be seen, he doesn't call and doesn't come to Ekaterina, until at last she and her former dormitory rommates gather in her kitchen and decide that they have to do something. Nikolai (Boris Smorchkov), the husband of Antonina, sets out to find Gosha. He finds him drinking and after getting drunk with him he convinces Gosha to return to Katerina.
The final scene of the movie is set in the kitchen of Ekaterina's flat. Gosha eats soup, while Ekaterina watches him with tears in her eyes. Gosha asks "What's wrong?" Ekaterina replies "I've been looking for you for so long". After a moment of thought Gosha says "Eight days." Ekaterina says "No," and repeats, "I've been looking for you for so long."
[edit] Awards and recognition
The film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980, and was chosen to participate in the International Film Exchange. The following year, it was awarded the USSR State Prize. Menshov, the director, was not informed by the Soviet government that his movie was nominated for an Oscar until after the movie won the Academy Award.[citation needed]
US President Ronald Reagan watched the film several times prior to his meetings with the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, in order to gain a better understanding of the "Russian soul".[citation needed]
[edit] Songs from the movie
- Bésame mucho
- By Sergei Nikitin and Tatyana Nikitina:
- Александра (Alexandra)
- Диалог у новогодней елки (A dialogue by the New Year's tree)
- By Klavdiya Shulzhenko:
- Давай закурим (Davai zakurim / "Lets take a smoke")
[edit] External links
- Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears at the Internet Movie Database
- An interview with Vladimir Menshov (Russian)
- Trailer and Screenshots
| Preceded by The Tin Drum |
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1980 |
Succeeded by Mephisto |
