''Man Follows the Sun'' (, translit. Chelovek idyot za solntsem) is a 1962

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Mikhail Kalik Mikhail Naumovich Kalik (; 27 January 1927 – 31 March 2017) was a Soviet and Israeli film director and screenwriter. Life and career A descendant of a prominent Kyiv Jewish family, Mikhail Kalik grew up in the heart of Moscow. As a teenager, ...

. The film follows a little boy through the megacity (

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

) on his pursuit to get the sun, because, as another boy tells him that going straight he will be able to get the sun, walk around the globe, and return to the place of his departure but from a different side. The world of adults and the spaces they inhabit are viewed from a child's perspective.

Plot

The story follows a single day in the life of a child, filled with an extraordinary range of experiences as seen through a child’s eyes. Inspired by the idea that one could walk around the Earth by following the sun and return to the same spot, Sanda sets out to test this theory. Along the way, he encounters various people and events: a lottery ticket seller, a scientist from the Institute of the Sun, a teenager with a magnifying glass, joyful fathers outside a maternity hospital, a girl with colorful balloons rushing to a date, a bustling market where a boy shares a ripe watermelon, a stunt motorcyclist performing a death-defying trick, a hero who turns out to be a timid ceramic collector fearing his domineering wife, a truck driver opposed to his sister’s dates with strangers, construction workers who kindly share lunch with him, a policeman scolding him for his independence ("today you're chasing the sun, tomorrow you'll be scalping movie tickets"), a girl watering sunflowers and her boss who orders them uprooted, a shoeshiner who lost his legs in the war, a boy blowing soap bubbles, a funeral procession, golden fish in a city fountain, a sunset, an evening café, and a lullaby song. At the end of his exhausting day, a passing military musician picks up the tired boy, listens attentively to his account of the endless day and unique adventure, and walks him home.

Cast

* Nika Krimnus as Sandu *

Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev (; 9 October 1926 — 4 March 1992) was a prominent Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre pedagogue, one of the founders of the Moscow Sovremennik Theatre. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in ...

as Nikolai Chernykh, motorcycle racer *

Tatyana Bestayeva Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin� ...

as Elya, motorcycle racer's wife *

Anatoli Papanov Anatoli Dmitriyevich Papanov (; 31 October 1922 – 5 August 1987) was a Soviet and Russian actor, drama teacher, and theatre director at the Moscow Satire Theatre where he served for almost 40 years. A prominent character actor, Papanov is mos ...

as manager * Nikolay Volkov as lottery tickets seller * Georgiy Georgiu as Koka, hairdresser *

Valentin Zubkov Valentin Ivanovich Zubkov (; 12 May 1923 – 18 January 1979) was a Soviet film actor. He was born in Peschanoye Settlement of Ryazan Province. He finished Armavir Military Aviation School (1941–1943) and served as a pilot at frontlines of the ...

as military musician * Lev Kruglyy as truck driver *

Valentina Telegina Valentina Petrovna Telegina (; February 23, 1915 — October 4, 1979) was a Soviet and Russian actress. Biography Valentina Petrovna Telegina was born on February 23, 1915, in Novocherkassk, capital of Don Cossacks (now the Rostov Oblast). In 1 ...

as woman reading a letter *

Larisa Luzhina Larisa Anatolievna Luzhina (; born 4 March 1939) is a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the RSFSR. In 2021, the actress revealed that when she was 19, she was harassed at work. The assistant director of the film molested her and offe ...

as Lenutsa * Dumitru Fusu as Rike, inspector of

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

Maxim Grecov Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition * Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Si ...

as Lev the shoeshiner *

Viktor Markin Viktor Fyodorovich Markin (; born 23 February 1957 in the village of Oktyabrsky, Ust-Tarksky District, Novosibirsk Oblast ) is a former Soviet athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. After graduating from a se ...

as happy father *

Georgios Sovchis Georgios (, , ) is a Greek name derived from the word ''georgos'' (, , "farmer" lit. "earth-worker"). The word ''georgos'' (, ) is a compound of ''ge'' (, , "earth", "soil") and ''ergon'' (, , "task", "undertaking", "work"). It is one of the most ...

as Prince of Orange, construction worker * Georgiy Svetlani as fan de foot *

Iosif Levyanu Iosif is the Romanian variant of the biblical name Joseph and may refer to: People *Iosif Amusin, Soviet historian *Iosif Anisim, Romanian sprint canoer *Iosif Ardeleanu, Romanian communist activist and bureaucrat * Iosif Blaga, Romanian literary ...

as taxi driver

Reception

Administrative measures were taken against Mikhail Kalik because one brief erotic episode.

References

External links

* 1962 films 1962 in the Soviet Union 1960s Soviet films 1960s Russian-language films Films about children Films set in the Soviet Union 1962 drama films Russian children's drama films 1960s children's drama films Soviet children's films Soviet drama films Films scored by Mikael Tariverdiev {{1960s-USSR-film-stub