Every Minute Is Goodbye

A quiet and unassuming but evocative romance drama which plays in the manner of two stories in one. In the first vignette, the butler of a young but terminally ill Russian countess reveals his deep love for her. This episode is beautifully created and acted, and features one of the most romantic scenes I have ever viewed in a movie. The second half of the movie is a more prosaic and less interesting coda that details the life of the butler following the death of the countess. He is indicted by the local constabulary for a murder he did not commit and is eventually executed, after which he joins his beloved countess in death. The producers had no budget with which to work and created something very special here.