hte-trasme This won the Best Foreign Film Academy Award and it has received a lot of very high plaudits here. I didn't like it quite as much as would justify all that enthusiasm -- but I did like it.It's a sweet story, touchingly told, with very good acting from all involved. Because it's presented in two parts which, when combined, make for a fairly long movie, it has time not only to follow its characters but to develop themes -- prominent being that of the loneliness of people in the big city and the sometimes unwise things they do to relieve it.Because of the wise scope it moves slowly, but that and the effective device of setting in two distant times allows for the payoff of some affecting moments in the second half. While it's nominally a drama-comedy, it means more on the side of drama, and sometimes feels almost novelist in its wide scope. It was also interesting to see how it addressed various aspects of the social implications of the introduction of television and the social effects of income disparity in the two times. But overall personally I found myself more appreciative than enthusiastic.

Dennis Littrell This is one of the most captivating love stories I've ever seen on film. It starts with a young woman (Katya, played by Vera Alentova) reporting to her Worker's Dormitory friends that she has flunked by two points the exam to get into university. It ends with the most incredible sweetness of life.It is like a French film done by a Russian company (which is what it is). The Moscow we see that does not believe in tears does believe in love, and it is not a Moscow of politics, although some people do call one another "comrade." This is a woman's point of view film (a "chick flick") that transcends any genre cage. It begins slowly, almost painfully dull in a way that will remind the viewer of all the clichés about Russia, the unstylish dress, the worker's paradise that isn't, the sharp contrast between Moscow and the peasants who live outside the city. Katya works in a factory. She works at a drill press. She is obviously underemployed. Lyudmila (Irina Muravyova) works in a bakery. She is probably gainfully employed for the time and place. They are friends, twentysomethings who are on the make for a man, but not a man from the sticks. They pretend to be university post docs or something close to that and they impress some people as they house-sit a beautiful Moscow apartment.This is how their adult life begins in a sense. Lyudmila falls in love with an athlete; Katya becomes infatuated with a television cameraman. One thing leads to another and before we know it they are forty. Neither relationship worked out. The athlete becomes an alcoholic, the cameraman, in the sway of his mother, believes that Katya is beneath him (once he finds out that she works in a factory). How wrong he is, of course.But no more of the plot. I won't spoil it. The plot is important. The characterizations are important. The story is like a Russian novel in that it spans lots of time, but once you are engaged you will find that the two and a half hours fly by and you will, perhaps like me, say at the end "What a great movie!" My hat is off to director Vladimir Menshov and to Valentin Chernykh who wrote the script and to the cast. I've mentioned Vera Alentova and Irina Muravyova, but Aleksey Batlov who played Gosha was also excellent. I don't want to say anymore. Just watch the film. It is one of the best I've ever seen.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

Vash2001 This may be the first Russian movie I saw that did not end tragically. There were the normal problems of living in Moscow, particularly for the 3 young women trying to make it under very difficult circumstances. The things they do (particularly Lyudmilla) are funny and yet give us a glimpse into how difficult it must have been for them. Katya, the main character, goes through her trials but comes out on top. She does better than anyone else (out of the 3), even raises a daughter (without a husband), but she secretly longs for a man in her life. After many failed attempts are relationships she accidentally meets the man who turns out to be the perfect one for her. However, they too go through some struggles before coming to the final realization that they belong together. It is a wonderful story of struggles, successes, and life in general. The acting was wonderful, particularly the actress who played Katya. Her young daughter (Alexandra) was adorable. The scene I liked the most was Gosha invites Katya and her daughter to a picnic, to get to know each other better (after declaring that he is going to marry Katya). Katya is tired and she just falls asleep in a chair in the fresh air. Gosha gently puts a blanket on her. Very simple, but very caring and touching. There are many wonderful moments in the movie. The humor is sprinkled throughout and it is very refreshing to see a movie like this one. The most valuable thing to me was it gave a glimpse into life in the USSR, and yet we can relate to the story and the characters on a human level.

sym4ny This is a tribute to the Soviet era some people in Ukraine still consider to be the best years of their lives.I saw the movie in my child years, but didn't pay much attention to it. Now, when I study film history and techniques, the movie revealed to me some dark sides. "Moskva sliezam nie verit", I guess, tells a story of a humble Soviet woman in pursuit for happiness with a beloved man. This woman does not care about feminism. True love of a man-"stronghold", a man who is ready to comfort her any time she needs--that is what she is searching for in life. The movie shows some cloudy moments in the way to happiness three female friends go along. And the movie ends up where it should--an "island of placid" I watch it in original. Have to say, many phrases from the movie are cited in Ukrainian and Russian-speaking communities these days.