Short encounters

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Movie
German title Short encounters
Original title Короткие встречи,
Korotkije vstretschi
Country of production USSR
original language Russian
Publishing year 1968
length 96 minutes
Rod
Director Kira Muratova
script Leonid Schuchowizki
Kira Muratowa
production Odessa film studios
music Oleg Karavichuk
camera Gennady Karjuk
occupation

Short Encounters (Original title: Короткие встречи , Korotkije wstretschi ) is a Soviet feature film directed by Kira Muratowa from 1968 .

action

Valentina Swiridova, the head of municipal services in a small Soviet town, torments herself at home with a speech she is supposed to give at an agricultural conference on behalf of her superior and does not make any progress. Although that is not her specialty, she has to step in for a sick employee despite her veto . In desperation, she speaks to her lover Maxim and complains to him of her problems, even though he is not present. Suddenly the doorbell rings and a young country girl is standing in front of her, who she thinks is the domestic help she has ordered that she needs because she has no hand and no time for the daily household chores. She offers the girl a place to sleep and together they drink a cup of tea with hard biscuits, which her husband, as she calls Maxim, gave her as a present. When Nadja, that's the name of the young woman, hears that Maxim is her husband, she wants to go back home straight away, where she has not been for a long time, but Valentina can convince her to stay.

Nadja did not come to this apartment by chance, but is looking for Maxim, whom she met in a desolate area, where he was a geologist looking for silver. She worked there in a diner on the country road, where the geologists also looked after themselves, as a saleswoman, waitress and cook. Since there was no job in her home village that would have satisfied her, she wanted to move to town with her friend Lyubka, who is now a housekeeper for an old general and his wife. But Nadja got stuck at the snack bar and falls in love with Maxim, but he let her understand that she is still far too young for him and that geologists are also not the right partners for a longer relationship, as they often change places of work. But Nadja doesn't want to hear about it and continues to adore him until one day he explains to her that his job in the area is done and that a mine is now being built there. He tries to comfort her, because with such projects a canteen is always built first, where she is sure to find a job. But Nadja wants a life with Maxim, which is why she finds out his address in town and ends up with Valentina Swiridova. Nadja accompanies Valentina on her way through the city, to the office and at appointments that are related to her tasks. They also talk a lot about their work, so Nadja lets her understand that the prepared speech with which she wants to convince city residents to move to the country is full of falsehoods, so the two of them get closer and understand each other better and better. Only Valentina doesn't know that Nadja came to town because of Maxim.

But Valentina keeps thinking of Maxim, as can be seen in her constantly wandering thoughts. She thinks of how they met on one of their birthdays, of the many beautiful days they spent together and of his singing, which he himself accompanied on the guitar. But she also thinks about how they quarreled when he asked that she move with him because he always wants her around. But Valentina did not want to miss her work and suggested that Maxim should work in an office in town, then they would always be together. The result of this argument was that Maxim packed up his toothbrush and left the apartment, apparently forever. Nadja realizes how much Valentina loves her Maxim when one evening she finds Valentina crying and shortly before she collapses in her dark room and has to muster all the strength to comfort her. When a few days later a call came from Maxim announcing his arrival, Valentina's delight was very great.

Nadja realizes that she mustn't stand in the way of this love, turns the table in Valentina's apartment into a festive table, packs her suitcase and leaves the apartment forever.

production

The film, shot in black and white, premiered in January 1968 under the title Короткие встречи in the Soviet Union and had over 4.4 million viewers there. However, since the present day of the Soviet Union was discussed in a painful and overwhelming way, the film disappeared from the cinemas after a short time. The Lexicon of International Films notes: “It was banned in the USSR for a long time because the censorship authorities classified it as 'bourgeois' and 'anti-Soviet'.” On January 10, 1988, it was broadcast on Soviet television and then in cinemas shown at home and abroad.

The film was shown on the 3rd program of Bavarian TV on December 5, 1989. A first screening can only be proven for September 19, 1990 in the West Berlin cinema Arsenal .

criticism

The lexicon of international films writes that the film avoids all melodramatic elements and lives entirely from soft tones, shy away from gestures and hints and yet is full of spontaneity.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Short encounters. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 18, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used