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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent comedy, esp. good for Christmas or New Year eve, October 18, 2002
This review is from: The Irony of Fate, or "Enjoy Your Bath" (DVD)
This movie combines comedy, drama, and some sort of Christmas fairy tale. A guy gets drunk on Christmas eve and, by mistake, is put on a plane from Moscow to St.Petersburg instead of his (also drunk) friend. As a result of this mishap he misses an important date with his girlfriend where (at last) he intended to propose. Instead, he meets another woman in St.Petersburg (Nadya) who just happened to live on a street with the same name, in the same "typical" apartment block, and in the same "typical" flat with the same "typical" furniture as what the guy had in Moscow. The main part of the story only begins as Nadya discovers a completely drunk stranger sleeping on her sofa... Within the remaining hour and a half of the movie you find out that these two were ment for each other. Sounds melodramatic? Sure. The trick that makes this movie work is in excellent acting and in the warm atmosphere that may resemble a good drama theater experience. The movie was made in the 70'es. It became an all-time-favorite "Christmas movie" in Russia. Often, it is watched year after year around winter holidays. There are a number of songs with excellent lyrics (e.g. by Pasternak and Ahmatova) that add considerably to the appeal of this movie. I believe that anyone can enjoy the movie even if you don't know Russian (but do not mind subtitles available on this DVD). However, if you don't understand Russian you might be better off ignoring the subtitles for song lyrics as they do not make much sense (they are simply a bad translation). Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An inseparable part of a Russian New Years!, January 12, 2006
This review is from: The Irony of Fate, or "Enjoy Your Bath" (DVD)
This movie was first aired on dec 31 in 1975. The second part was shown on jan 1 in 1976. The next day people could not stop talking about this movie. Nadya's orange dress rocked Russian women's world. Thirty years later everyone still talks about this movie. It is the "Christmas Story" for Russians. Eldar Ryazanov, the director, did a superb job with costumes, decorations and actors.
A bit about the film: Ryazanov wasn't sure if the script would be approved for filming by the Committee of Culture of USSR, so he made it into a play at first because it was easier to get approval for plays. Once the permission was obtained, he easily got an approval for the movie. Then came an extensive search for the actors. Someone proposed Andrei Mironov (a Russian sex-symbol and a great actor/singer/dancer) for the part of Ippolit, but Ryazanov felt that no woman would leave Mironov, no matter how negatively he portrayed his character (Mironov was THAT loved by Russian women). Thus Ryazanov picked Yakovlev for that part. Barbara Brylska was a star of Polish Cinema and a perfect match for the role of Nadya, but spoke Russian with a heavy accent. To solve the problem, Valentina Talyzina (who plays one of Nadya's friends in the movie) dubbed her part completely. The hardest part was in finding the actor to play Zhenya. After a long search that gave no result, someone advised Ryazanov to see a play where a young man by the name Andrei Myagkov played a drunk man. After the play was over, Ryazanov handed him the role.
The songs are sang by Alla Pugacheva and Sergei Nikitin - beloved Russian singers and songwriters. Poems by Pasternak, Akhmadulina, Akhmatova, and (one of the most tender and beautiful poems read at the end) Kochetkov make this film beautiful, lyrical and complete. I have not yet met a Russian who does not like this film. All Americans who watched this film loved it, too.
You will enjoy watching this film no matter if you are Russian or not.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome flick, December 18, 2002
This review is from: The Irony of Fate, or "Enjoy Your Bath" (DVD)
This movie is simply wonderful. Other reviewers have covered the details, so I'll skip that portion of the review. It's the ultimate chick flick that guys can really enjoy. After watching so many Russian films that were done in fine style, yet were almost always lacking in the "technical" (read budget) department, this movie has it all. Great script, great acting, a director who was matched for this movie in Heaven, and an all around superb production. Even if you don't understand a word in Russian, this movie will not let you down. The subtitles serve to highlight what the screenplay already told you, and the musical scores fit the storyline perfectly. One viewing and you will understand why this movie has become a perennial classic. Buy it and see for yourself. When this DVD arrived today, it turned a so-so workday evening into a great night. By the way, it has an English dub track, but I hve not listened to it, as there is usually too much lost in the translation. Listen to it in Russian, and just let the English subtitles fill inthe gaps. Enjoy.
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