Iyulskiy dozhd

Lena discovers that her fiancé is not the person he appeared to be, and calls off the wedding. Then, she begins a journey to discover the meaning of her life, in the company of a group of artists with the same goal.

At first glance, it seems to be a story about a relationship that did not work, but this issue becomes secondary as the film progresses, revealing that, as a whole, it is an expression about the social life of the Soviet artistic/elitist class, in the 60s, which sometimes tends to the pretentious, in a certain way.

The atmosphere of mystery that we see right at the beginning fades, the characters do not leave their bubble of self-contemplation, leaving very little to absorb, except for the cinematography of great quality, a nice soundtrack and a careful and well-edited sound design.

The movie has rather a loose plot of a perished love as a background for displaying the Moscow life in the 60-s. It's mostly a set of shrewd observations with a clear premonition and question mark at the end.

It shows the time of the choice of a future way for the country. In fact the choice was already made in October 1964, when conformist climbers and unprincipled egotists (Volodya) took a lead of the Soviet society and eventually destroyed it. The most charming and human figure of the movie is Alik, played by the famous Russian bard Yuri Vizbor. Alik represents the honest and skeptical part of Soviet society, that didn't have much hope for the bright future and tried to enjoy the life, avoiding ranting and bargaining with the conscience.

One of the most brilliant films of the ending Khruschiov's "thaw", reflecting its hopes and vague apprehensions. The vivid scenes of Moscow 60-s intellectuals life are portrayed with a slight irony and melancholy, that makes the movie an enjoyable souvenir for a couple of Soviet generations.