Afonya

Ridiculous fact.... When Danelia came to the United States in 1976 with the film "Athonia." The Soviet government instructed him to go to the Oscar Award ceremony, and could win an Oscar for the film "Dersu Uzala," which was made jointly by the USSR and Japan. Russian film director Ders Uzala was not allowed to come to Los Angeles. Danelia won an Oscar for this director. And Voice of America radio reported that Danelia won an Oscar for the film "Athonia."

It is the 1970's and Afanasy Borshchov- Afonya to his friends- is a cynical, jovial plumber living in the city of Yaroslavl. He and his compatriots spend the days shirking their responsibilities, womanizing and consuming copious amounts of alcohol. After a night of philandering, his girlfriend leaves him, and his life begins to fall apart. In a precipitous personal decline, he meets a young nurse who seems to see only the good in him- but whether Afonya will seize this opportunity for happiness or squander it is entirely in the hands of fate, as well as a bottle of vodka.

Directed by Georgiy Daneliya and featuring a screenplay from Alexander Borodyanski, 'Afonya' is an affecting comedy-drama that successfully balances the serious with the absurd. The story is grounded in reality- despite containing scenes of high comedy- featuring many unpredictable moments of authenticity, as well as an ending full of dramatic power and emotional weight.

Borodyanski's characters are tragic figures struggling to find some meaning in their oftentimes directionless lives. They drown their sorrows in liquor and take up company with wretches as miserable and as disillusioned as themselves. 'Afonya' is sad, but meaningful; reflecting a Soviet society that really couldn't care about its' citizens, as well as citizens none too pleased with their society.

'Afonya' is shot by Sergei Vronsky and his naturalistic cinematography captures the starkness and decrepitude of the 70's USSR in a powerful, understated manner. His is not ostentatious camerawork, it is subtler, he lets the images speak for themselves without manipulation in terms of composition or movement.

Production designer Boris Nemechek and set designer Eleonora Nemechek highlight the barren, run down nature of the Soviet era infrastructure with their minimal but evocative work. The spaces in 'Afonya' look long lived in and well on their way to destruction. Overall, the film is an atmospheric and technical powerhouse, which is not even to mention Tatyana Egorycheva's tight editing or the brilliant costume design from Tatyana Razumovskaya.

The movie also features an emotive Mieczyslaw Weinberg score that contributes to the gritty, sometimes despairing tone established by the muted cinematography and sparse set-design. This is not to say that his score is heavy or depressing, because at times it's quite rousing (particularly during the first half of the movie) and is consistently, pleasingly melodic. The song 'Dear Che' is particularly memorable and utilized to brilliant effect in a drunken dance scene that ranks alongside the best of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly in its intensity if not in its technical intricacy or grace.

Leonid Kuravlyov stars as the titular hard-drinking plumber and his performance is one of much depth, wit and intelligence. His Afonya is a well-rounded, multi-layered character that is full of surprises. Just when you think you understand him, another piece of his past is revealed, which adds more complexity to the role and to Kuravlyov's performance.

Funny at times and pitiful at others, Afonya is an utterly realistic cinematic creation who has the audience's sympathies throughout the film, despite being such a selfish rogue. In fact, many viewers might see something of themselves in the character- for better or worse- and Kuravlyov is unforgettable bringing him to life.

The supporting cast are all excellent- from Yevgeny Leonov's hilarious turn as a friend of Afonya's who comes to stay with him to Nina Maslova as a beautiful woman the plumber fantasises about. Yevgeniya Simonova's performance as the young nurse Katya is the most striking. Simonova was only twenty when the film was shot and she underplays the role, approaching it with the maturity and understanding of a much older and more experienced actress. She and Kuravlyov share an electric chemistry and it's a real treat watching them work together.

In short, Georgiy Daneliya's 'Afonya' is an entertaining, utterly believable movie that can elicit laughter and tears in equal measure from the audience. Powerfully acted and directed- not to mention featuring a fine, unpredictable screenplay and story from Alexander Borodyanski- the film is a peek behind the Iron Curtain that is uniquely memorable and utterly marvelous. If you haven't seen it before now, go watch it: 'Afonya' is not to be missed.

One of the best movies made by great Russian-Soviet-Georgian director Georgy Danelia. Of all his brilliant works "Aphonya" probably is the most loved by Soviet people, and most cited too. This film is a tragicomic journey into the world of a middle-aged plumber Afanasiy Borshchov (Afonya), starting exactly when the next black stripe in his life begins - he's left by his woman, there are trouble with work, and, yes, there's some alcohol dependence. On the first look, Borschov is an exceedingly jovial man, sometimes rather cynical and sarcastic though. But as the movie proceeds and we get deeper into the inner world of the hero, Danelia and Kuravlyov (the actor) reveal unexpected dramatical depth of the character, turning out to be portraying the entire social phenomena of the village people moving to the big city and getting oppressed by the urban way of life. The first half of the film is quite entertaining, most of the gags and comic situations are concentrated here. Then the melodramatic and rather sad second part comes, showing relations between Borshchov and the young nurse Katya, and how are these relations growing from the light flirting in the disco into the deep and desperate love (brilliant acting by Evgenia Simonova). The general idea of the film as I see it is hero's return to the roots, into the village, which blows away Afonya's emotional numbness and fake joviality, unfolding the beautiful and loving soul, truly Russian in its frankness and kindness. Amazing works by wonderful actors E.Leonov and B.Brondukov starring as Afonya's boon-companions, and a lot of other great actor works like Vladimir Basov (Dni Turbinyh), Nikolay Grinko (Stalker, Solaris), Savely Kramarov (Gentlmeny Udachi) and so on. There's no visual refinement of Danelia's later works (especially his stunning surrealistic sci-fi "Kin-Dza-Dza") in this film, and the camera work is quite traditional. But the editing is very expressive and sometimes drastically changes the mood of the film. Also it is necessary to add that this movie is one of the best portrayals of Soviet urban life of 70's, so it possesses definite historical value. I would give this film 8 out of 10, and among Danelia's works I would placed it on the second if not on the first place. Should this film be adequately translated, the Western viewers could also enjoy it very much.

What the movie is about: A plumber is living his best life. A woman leaves him, but he finds a new one. He's late for work and friends, but he doesn't worry. He just drinks and gets sad sometimes.

It's hard to describe the movie, to be honest. Even KP can't handle it. It's literally a retelling of the whole movie, and the tagline is even worse.:

A drinking womanizing plumber confronts a world of hypocrites and bureaucrats. An unfading folk hit by George Danelia

You don't even want to watch it after that, but don't let it scare you.

The film is about an ordinary person. About a bad good person. He seems to be doing something bad, but how can you be mad at him?

Constantly on the move, and it's interesting to watch.

It's mostly a comedy, and the funniest scenes are with Leonov. He doesn't have much screen time, but he's inimitable as always.

One of my favorite USSR movies. Offers huge psychological background for viewer. Many are keen to think "Afonya" is a comedy, but i would rather call it tragical comedy. Movie shows many details of general USSR citizen life, but i would say it goes even much deeper, and tries to analyze human relations, especially it is visible in discussions between main hero and friend, who stays at his place, after wife drives him off home. Danelia made movie very close to reality, and guess everyone who had lived in USSR could recognize there himself. Tricked hopes, lost chances in past, lack of reversible love - all is there. Till the very end you have no clue how it will end, as in life. Some moments make you cry, some to laugh, but i guess there is no moment when you get indifferent to actions on screen. Great job by Danelia!