La fille de la rue Petrovka

I just saw this film for the first time. While Goldie Hawn's Russian accent left a lot to be desired, I found this an entertaining story. Hal Holbrook was great, of course. I thought the Soviet background was fairly well presented of it's 1970's time period. While this was the "Cold War" period, one should not mistake this film for some spy vs. spy story. It is a love story set against the background of the Soviet Union. Some of Goldie's character motivation seem a bit odd at times, I will say. Perhaps another film where if one read the book, some of the character development details would be filled in and better understood. While one recommendation here for a similar story was, "Reds," I would say the 1980's film, "White Nights," with Gregory Hines would be a much better comparison.

One of these days Hollyweird will get the memo and cast couples in these film who are closer in age and not some old fart old enough to be her father as her romantic liaison in these god awful movies. She's ready to party while he's gulping down geritol and going to bed, and we're supposed to believe that she is actually involved with gramps. Old white men need to get out of the movie business and take their tired cliched nonsense with them. One thing about these older movie and that is the sheer quantity of misogyny in them from start to finish. I gave it a three due to Hawn and Hopkins presence in this movie.

Chicago journalist in Moscow, the American news correspondent to the Soviet Union, becomes smitten with a bubbly young woman who has an elderly benefactor but no working papers (she sells her body to make ends meet); it doesn't take much for him to convince her that capitalism suits her better than communism. Terrible vehicle for Goldie Hawn, who nevertheless was reportedly quite proud of this misbegotten romantic drama, adapted from the book by George Feifer. Hawn, speaking (and singing!) with a wobbly Russian accent, is still easier to take than Hal Holbrook, more cranky and nasal than usual. Anthony Hopkins shows them both up as Hawn's flamboyant friend, although there isn't much of a role there. Filmed in Vienna, the picture certainly looks good, but the characters are simply not engaging. *1/2 from ****

A romantic Tragedy with comic elements, this underrated early Goldie Hawn feature is set in Russia during the Cold War (a very serious and cynical place). Goldie's conflicted character, Oktyabrina, appears mostly as a silly young woman, beautiful but fickle. While she is very interested in older men, there are also signs that she has been deeply hurt by them. Through most of the movie she is a puzzle and a pain, especially to her co-star (Hal Holbrook as Joe, an older American journalist), who has trouble seeing through her carefree facade. What is wrong with her? Does she feel unworthy? Is she too jaded? Can she overcome her issues? Her behavior regarding willingness to risk and sacrifice is both fascinating and informative. But perhaps Soviet Russia is simply too brutal a place for love. Will Joe give up on her?

A good 'chick flick', this film also has interesting Cold War elements such as "official truth" (pravda) and the relationships between Oktyabrina's men which lead me to rate it as a 'date movie' also. Definitely worth seeing, this love story breaks the stereotype, showing a woman running from intimacy. Simultaneously, it examines the timeless question 'if you can't feel innocent, how can you fall in love?'

When I saw this title on the TV didn’t know what to expect. Anthony Hopkins with Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook…It was enough for me so I decided to stay up (it was late at night) and watch it! I didn’t regret it. I saw Goldie Hawn in a role that I am not used seeing her in. Anthony Hopkins acting was really different from what I am used too and Hal Holbrook was great as well. The story was really crazy but decent and I didn’t find a lot of comic elements. It is about an American journalist falling in love with a Russian woman who was an outcast. It takes place in the Soviet Union and it has a really dramatic touch. Although it is a romantic film, I wouldn’t call it a chick flick. The story is really great and I hope that if you get a chance to see this one you will really like it.