Vernye druz'ya

Childhood, youth, young age, and finally middle age: main goals in life are achieved, your occupation and social position are clear and you have reached a certain level in life, nothing is going to be changed, the major efforts to prove to the world that you are something are behind, you are surrounded by work colleagues, and you wonder if that's the way your childhood dream got materialized and what is next ? Do you have enough courage to meet now your childhood friends, with whom you used to sail rafts on that little river ? And to see what became of them, and let them see what became of you ? To see how much you drifted away from your childhood self ? The three from "Vernye druzia" did this. A very highly ranking architect, a famous surgeon, and elite horses breeder gonna leave all their adult cares and troubles in the big city and sail again the raft down the river for three weeks of their vacation. You go with them to take part in there adventures and be the witness of their inner change.

In the suburbs of Moscow, the boys Aleksandr, Boris and Vasiliy are best friends and like to sail in a raft in the Yauza River. They promise to each other to sail a large river when they are older. Many years later, Boris Chizhov (Boris Chirkov) is a successful neurosurgeon and professor and is visited by Aleksandr Lapin (Aleksandr Borisov), who is the director of an institute of breeding animals. He recalls their promise when they were kids and they decide to look for Vasiliy Nestratov (Vasiliy Merkurev), who is an important bureaucrat difficult to be contacted and academician of architecture. When they finally meet Vasily, they lure him and embark in a wooden raft to navigate the Volga River. Along their journey, Vasiliy meets the manager Vitaliy Nekhoda (Aleksey Gribov) and learns how bureaucratic and arrogant he is and improves as a man. The shy Aleksandr meets his old flame, Natalya Sergeyevna Kalinina (Liliya Gritsenko), and rekindles his love. Boris learns the needs of a countryside hospital and promises to help them. And their friendship strengthens with their journey.

"Vernye druz'ya", a.k.a. "True Friends" (1954), is a nice adventure of friendship and self-discovery. The three old friends join together to fulfil a promise when they were kids of navigating a large river. The film criticizes the Soviet bureaucracy in a funny way but shows three men making important discoveries about themselves. Vasiliy changes his arrogant behavior and becomes closer to the people. Aleksandr meets his love and finally declares to her. Boris helps a local with a brain surgery and learns the need of the hospital. The songs are outdated but the film is from 1954. The colors and the cinematography are very beautiful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Amigos Verdadeiros" ("True Friends")