''Muzhiki!'' (russian: Мужики!) is a 1981 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Iskra Babich
Iskra Leonidovna Babich (russian: И́скра Леони́довна Ба́бич; 10 January 1932 – 5 August 2001) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. Her 1981 film ''Muzhiki!'' was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Fil ...
. It was entered into the
32nd Berlin International Film Festival
The 32nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12–23 February 1982. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film '' Veronika Voss'' directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The Honorary Golden Bear (''Goldener Ehrenbär ...
, where it won an Honourable Mention.
Plot
Pavel Zubov (
Aleksandr Mikhajlov) lives and works in arctic
Nikel
Nikel (russian: Ни́кель, lit. ''nickel''; fi, Nikkeli; Norwegian: ''Nikkel'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of Lake K ...
. He came there thirteen years ago, just after the army, without even a glance at the road leading to his native village, where his bride Nastya was waiting for him. The fact is that at the end of the service, Pavel got a letter from his mother, from which he learned that Nastya had cheated on him and is expecting a child whose father is not known. That is why he did not come back home and stayed to work in the North.
A letter informing Pavel that his father is seriously ill forces him to visit the parents. It turns out that everything is fine with his father (he just used the letter as a trick to force his son to visit). But Nastya died recently. Pavel learns that his mother was wrong when she sent the unfortunate letter about her. Nastya loved Pavel and it was from him that she gave birth to a girl named Polina. Later, after marrying a drunkard artist, Anastasia gave birth to a son named Pavlik and also adopted Styopka, a child from a
maternity hospital
A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, m ...
. Everyone thinks that Styopka is mute from birth, even though he hears perfectly, understands everything and has no physical defects which prevent him from talking. The father of Pavlik became a chronic alcoholic, and has long since left the family. The children do not have adult able-bodied family members and foster care is not given to Pavel's parents because they are elderly.
It is not easy for Pavel to decide if he can assume responsibility for the fate of not only of his biological daughter but also of the two boys.
Cast
*
Aleksandr Mikhajlov as Pavel
*
Pyotr Glebov as Pavel's father
*
Vera Alkhovskaya Polina mother of Pavel
*
Irina Ivanova as Polina
*
Mikhail Buzylyov-Kretso as Stepan
*
Pyotr Krylov as Pavlik
*
Aleksandr Pavlov as Sergei
*
Anatoli Solonitsyn as artist
*
Mariya Andrianova
Mariya is a variation of the feminine given name Maria.
People
* Mariya Abakumova (born 1986), Russian Olympic javelin thrower
* Mariya Agapova (born 1997), Kazakhstani mixed martial arts fighter
* Mariya Alyokhina (born 1988), Russian polit ...
as aunt Ustyusha
*
Svetlana Tormakhova
Svetlana () is a common Orthodox Slavic feminine given name, deriving from the East and South Slavic root ''svet'' (), meaning "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context similar if not the same as ...
as Inspector of Social Services
*
Leonard Varfolomeyev as chairman of the kolkhoz
*
Afanasi Kochetkov as uncle Grisha
*
Dmitry Buzylyov-Kretso as Arslan Asanov
References
External links
*
1981 films
Soviet drama films
1980s Russian-language films
1981 drama films
Films directed by Iskra Babich
1980s Soviet films
{{1980s-USSR-film-stub