User reviews

On the surface, this movie looks like it's possibly just another romantic drama about a girl and her suitors, but take a look again!! There is much more to this precious film than meets the eye. For starters, our lead lady, Larissa, appears to be every guy's dream girl. She is beautiful, graceful, has a soothing voice and has different males vying for her attention. With all these qualities, one would think that she is in control of her life and should get what she wants, but instead she is caught in a world where she is powerless and is pushed and pulled one way and another. As strong as she appears, she seems to have an inescapable fate no matter what she does, and her attempts at removing herself from it just causes further issues. Upon her realization, it is interesting and a bit gloomy what she chooses to do upon realizing her fate(but you'll have to watch to find out).

There are many subtle symbols spread throughout the film and they are enjoyable to spot. I love when movies tell their story not only with the characters, but with the environment and this film definitely adds those eye catching little details. It adds a sense of artistry, to what is an already a visually pleasing film. However you do not need to understand or spot the small inferences to enjoy the film, the film as a whole is enjoyable as is as well. However if you are familiar with a little Russian culture, literature, or the play altogether it will get you thinking.

It is important to note that the film is originally based on the play called "the Dowerless bride." A dowry is the property or money a bride will bring to a man if he gets married to her. Well, the film is centered around wealth, the wealthy, and how to maintain wealth so for our lead to be "without dowry," (and yet still be adored) you can see how it can lead to complications. It brings to light necessary topics of women, objectivity, a patriarch society and the harsh reality of a capitalistic world.

All the surrounding men play their parts great and I love that there is a wide cast of characters. The two main male leads are intriguing in the way they develop. (or not develop in some cases). We don't just have the "charismatic" guy, but also have the shy "little man," the wealthy men, gypsies, and serfs. All part of the Russian culture. It is a great film to get a small taste of the Russian lifestyle, but there are also many aspects and behaviors that are not so different than our own.

The film itself is very pleasing to the eye. The costumes are gorgeous and sometimes looking at the modernity of the film, I forgot these folks were in Russia. The style is similar to that of a Russian Audrey Hepburn film, but definitely has its own dark take on matters inside it. I hope you enjoy it as I did.

This film has great music, acting and sets. Overall very good adaptation of the play. I enjoyed it immensely.

The film centers around a young woman who comes from a noble family but has no dowry for suitors. It explores the changing situation in the mid 1800s among the classes. At this time there were 3 classes: the nobles, peasants and the emerging raznochintsy class. Many of the characters in the film are from the latter, and the focus upon wealth and social status is apparent.

In summary, this is a great film which really shows the changing social structures of the 1850s Russia. I would highly recommend this film to anybody interested in romance or Russian history.

This movie by Eldar Ryazanov surpassed my expectations. It really is quite an experience to see how Larissa's life unfolds; how she is coveted by men old and young, rich and poor... And yet every turn of events leaves a much bitter taste on her. It seems like if tears were a permanent mark of every Russian woman, like if, by definition, no woman would dare to call herself Russian without ever tasting the bitterness of life.

Ryazanov is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors. Though here I may be coming late, since he actually achieved fame and glory during Soviet time, a long gone era. Anyway, his "Zhestokij Romans" or "A cruel Romance" tells a tale which seems to me timeless.

Consider the plot of a very beautiful young woman, whose life ahead is full of promise.. But consider also that this girl's life is actually torn apart by events which seem (apparently) out of her immediate control, like if fate was conspiring against her at every other corner. Even her mother, willingly or not, at some point "sells" her -though like every other mother she blindly believes doing what's best for her daughter's future. Zhestokij Romans is sinonimous to drama: just watch the final scene, which is so powerful, telling and poetic...

I especially enjoyed the Gipsy scenes. All that dancing, joy and vodka were very moving in this film. Just as Yugoslav director Emir Kosturica has immortalised the Gipsy people (i.e. "Underground") we also see in "Zhestokij" droves of joyful Gipsies carrying everywhere they go that sound which is at the same time melancholic and joyous. Some other scenes reminded me of "Svadba" (Pavel Lounguine) a film which also features lots of partying and rivers of vodka despite the imminent disgrace and bitterness of life. I even found some parallels with "Luna Papa" another film from the former Soviet republics in which a young and pretty girl has to rapidly mature and leap from childhood into adulthood.

The Gipsy scenes also served as a very effective contrast between joy and doom. While they kept dancing, tragedy was occurring elsewhere. It's like they say: one man's happiness is another man's suffering.

That's why I consider this movie to be "Timeless". That's why I consider the last scene a gem of cinema, like anything I've seen before. Our lovely Larissa is embarked in that permanent quest for real love and affection.

AKA The Cruel Romance

Absolutely one the the very BEST film ever made. Powerful drama thanks to Orstrovsky, and the amazing director and his heavenly cast. Hail to Alisa Frejndlikh, who appeared in his comedy "The Office Romance". Everyone love movie as a form of art should not miss it.

It is the best Russian film I have even seen. It is based on A.H. novel. The actor and actress are the best one. It also include some nice songs which really express the theme of the film. The film won the 1985' Russian National Film Festival.

Ok, this was my first Soviet-era Russian movie, so it was difficult to assess by my (western) standards. By those standards the characters seemed simplistic and exaggerated, and the screenplay cliché-ridden. Also, by those standards, the cinematography came across as ill-developed for the day.

However, 'Cruel Romance' was something of a revelation for me. Just as the American Dream is expressed repeatedly (ad nauseam?) in Hollywood movies, I had a strong feeling after watching this movie that the 'Russian Dream' had been laid bare for my comprehension at last. The worship of impossible romance combined with blindness to all practical considerations and the expression of that romance in the gift of expensive baubles and other grand gestures are the main threads running through this story. And, despite the fact that 'Cruel Romance' is a Soviet-era depiction of 19th century Tsarist Russia, these are cultural traits to be found in abundance in modern-day Russians. For this reason watching the movie was a treat to me personally, and henceforth I will view my Russian friends and colleagues with a slightly higher degree of understanding.

Also, I hope to see many more Russian movies in the future !

"A cruel romance" was a big success in the Soviet Union. When I saw it in my local moviehouse the Russian lady giving the introductory speech was full of praise. For Western eyes the film is rather goody-goody.

The film was made in the period just after the death of Brezhnev. In this politically unstable period directers didn't dare to treat controversial subjects. A costume drama set in the 19th century was relatively save, criticizing the corruption of pre-revolutionary nobility and civil servants. All the characters in "A cruel romance" are busy keeping up appearances. Sincerity is a luxury that no one seems to be able to afford. Illuminating in this respect is a dialogue in which one character says he has never accepted a bribe, whereupon his counterpart responses that his job is too unimportant to be offered a bribe.

This theme can produce good films such as for example "Sense and sensibility"(1995, Ang Lee). The problem of "A cruel romance" is however that it exaggerates almost everything. Nobody gets drunk in a normal way for example but blind drunk at the very least.

The story is also about a girl having to choose between a dull and an adventurous (but maybe unreliabke) husband. A theme that has been worked out (and in a better way) in many Western movies.

To conclude with at least one positive remark, the landscape around the Volga river has been beautifully captured by the cinematographer.

I'll try not to spoil the plot for anyone, especially since while you will guess the direction in which the fate of the heroine is moving you won't guess the final resolution till the last moment.

What makes this masterpiece so rare is the confluence of four exceptional artists which allowed unprecedented blending of music into a thriller with well developed characters. Not as a background but as a part of the story. Let's just say that if you skip the lyrics you won't be able to follow the motivation of main characters. This is what allowed it to stand the test of time. I watched it 27 years after it was made and it is as fresh and vibrant as if it was this year's production.

First of the four is of course Ostrovsky who wrote a thriller with character development and emotional story that will keep you guessing to the very end even after you know each character, it's motivation, and sometimes even fate. It's close to knowing that is Titanic going to sink but you can't stop watching since it's the "how" and fine grained aspects that really matter.

Even without the other cinematic elements the play itself would make for a good movie, but for director (Eldar Ryazanov) this is just the beginning. Ryazanov is the principal artist here who takes the credit not just for the exceptional blending of music but also for making the actual big river (Volga) and an old steamboat integral parts of the story and metaphors. One can easily imagine Missisippy and Jazz instead of Gypsy music, or Danube and a Strauss waltz band without any change to the story. He made conceptual structure completely universal while keeping the full flavor of the old Russia.

The composer (Andrei Petrov) is the next artist equally responsible for this rare blend and not just the instrumental part but also vocal, actual poetry used for lyrics and the stylization and blending of Russian Gypsy music.

Last but not least - Nikita Mikhalkov as the male lead and the heart and soul of the ensemble who managed to combine tragic, comic and even musical aspects in impeccable performance with surprising facial and physical acting capabilities.

This is the ensemble play/film, meaning that most actors had to work hard to make their characters alive, but female lead (Larisa Guzeyeva ) deserves special praise for effective blending of dramatic and musical aspects doubling up as narrative. Also, there are virtually no precision cutting tricks (director cutting into replicas to make it look like less capable actors actually played emotions and transitions). Scenes are mostly filmed in long shots with minimal editing. Just that aspect provides the quality an order of magnitude above a comparable Hollywood production. It's not that it's not doable but that the cost of production would be prohibitively high to reach that level.

And in the end I will say (А напоследок я скажу :-) this is one of the films to keep and watch again every several years. Like the big river, it constantly flows, and is constantly fresh.

This is my favorite movie, the best drama with plot twists and an unpredictable ending.

It must be said that the film is like a multi-layered pie and it reveals new sides with repeated viewings. To understand it fully, you need to know all the nuances of life in Russia in the 19th century.

The film is based on Ostrovsky's play "The Dowry" written in 1870. There is no need to look for any gender issues or struggle for any rights in it. This is the story of the Ogudalov family, who were left without a source of income after the death of their father. The mother of the family is looking for wealthy husbands for her daughters.

I read a comment from one of the readers that he has a difficulty understanding the film from the Western point of view. At least this time the viewer admits having problems with crossing the cultural boundary. Film is not riddled with cliches, it`s theatrical and highly artistic. It should be viewed almost as a poem translated into reality. It doest`n ask from actors just stand there and act natural, it asks for a brilliant, almost satirical work, which is performed in this movie perfectly. Realism is not the goal here. And yet, story like that very well could happened at that time, to the smallest details.

Either I don't understand something, or this film is a montage of scenes that have little to do with each other. The plot is unclear, the actors overact, Ryazanov repeats himself. I don't understand what there is to praise, except that Guzeeva is a cutie. What's happening on screen makes you sleepy, each character is more boring than the next, the script seems to have been written under sedation. I wouldn't be surprised that this film has received great reviews in Russia - apparently, only Russian viewers can understand this awesomeness. The drama is untouchable, the humor is dull, watching this in 2025 means not respecting yourself.