Romance cruelle

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 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.

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 !

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.