''Station for Two'' () is a 1983 Soviet

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

directed by

Eldar Ryazanov Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov (; 18 November 1927 – 30 November 2015) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, poet, actor and pedagogue whose popular comedies, satirizing the daily life of the Soviet Union and Russia, are celebrat ...

. The film became the Soviet box office leader of 1983 with a total of 35.8 million ticket sales. It was entered into the

1983 Cannes Film Festival The 36th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 19 May 1983. American author William Styron served as jury president for the main competition. Japanese filmmaker Shōhei Imamura won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for the dra ...

Plot summary

There are two main heroes in this movie: Vera, a waitress at a train station and Platon, a pianist. Platon is innocent of the crime he is accused of: he took the blame for his wife's driving over a pedestrian. On a leave from the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

to see his wife he gets stuck at a provincial railway station where he meets Vera. After a series events they fall in love... As a result Platon is about to be late for his return, which is equated to an escape attempt... Platon's innocence is known to Platon's wife and Vera in whom he confided. However it turns out that Platon's life is of no interest to his wife, but Vera is ready to wait for his release.

Ideas for the filming

The script (the beginning and the end of the movie) is based on two real stories from the life of well-known people – the composer

Mikael Tariverdiev Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiev, : (15 August 1931 – 25 July 1996, also Mikayel Levoni Tariverdian) was a prominent Soviet composer of Armenian descent. He headed the Composers' Guild of the Soviet Cinematographers' Union from its inception an ...

and the poet Yaroslav Smelyakov. The idea was given to the authors by Tariverdiyev. During the trip on his car, he took the passenger's seat and had one of the famous actresses drive his car. Unfortunately, it ended tragically. They had an accident and a pedestrian died. The composer decided to take the blame on himself to save the woman. There was a very long legal process that lasted about two years. Mikael was found guilty, but he was saved by

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

. However, the affair with that woman did not last long. The second story, which happened with the poet Smelyakov, was used in the ending of the film. He was arrested in the early 1950s and was sent to the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. In 1953, he was given a day off to meet his friends. The next morning after the feast friends woke up late and overslept the roll-call. Delay for the roll-call was equated with the escape. So, Smelyakov and his friends had to run a few kilometers along the snow-covered

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

to the camp. Towards the end of the road, his friends had to drag him up to the very gates of the camp, as he was too tired.

Cast

Lyudmila Gurchenko Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko (12 November 193530 March 2011, ) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer. She was given the honorary title People's Artist of the USSR in 1983. Biography Lyudmila Gurchenko was born in Kharkiv, USSR ...

as Vera Nikolayevna Nefyodova, waitress *

Oleg Basilashvili Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili (born 26 September 1934) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1984. Biography Childhood He was born to a family of mixed Russians, Russian, Pol ...

as Platon Sergeyevich Ryabinin, pianist *

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (; born 21 October 1945) is a Russian filmmaker and actor. He made his directorial debut with the Red Western film ''At Home Among Strangers'' (1974) after appearing in a series of films, including the romantic com ...

as Andrey, conductor *

Nonna Mordyukova Noyabrina Viktorovna Mordyukova (Russian: Ноябри́на (Но́нна) Ви́кторовна Мордюко́ва; 25 November 1925 – 6 July 2008) was a Soviet and Russian actress and People's Artist of the USSR (1974). She was the star o ...

as "Uncle Misha", a speculator *

Mikhail Kononov Mikhail Ivanovich Kononov (; 25 April 1940 – 16 July 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of Russia (1999). Biography He first appeared on stage at school. In 1963, Mikhail Kononov graduated from the Shchepkin Drama School a ...

as Nikolasha, militiaman * Anastasia Voznesenskaya as Yuliya, on duty at the hotel *

Aleksandr Shirvindt Aleksandr Anatolyevich Shirvindt (, 19 July 1934 – 15 March 2024) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, educator, screenwriter and voice actor, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989). In 2000, he became a theatre director of Moscow Sat ...

as Shurik, pianist *

Tatyana Dogileva Tatyana Anatoliyevna Dogileva (; born 27 February 1957) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress, Meritorious Artist of Russia (1989), and People's Artist of Russia (2000). Biography Early life and education Dogileva was born on February ...

as Marina, on duty at the hotel *

Olga Volkova Olga Volkova may refer to: * Olha Volkova (born 1986), Ukrainian freestyle skier * Olga Volkova (actress) (born 1939), Russian actress {{Hndis, Volkova, Olga ...

as Violetta, waitress * Raisa Etush as Lyuda, waitress *

Viktor Bortsov Viktor Andreyevich Bortsov (; June 14, 1934 in Orenburg, USSR – May 20, 2008 in Moscow, Russia) was a Soviet/Russian theatrical and cinema actor. He was a People's Artist of RSFSR. Bortsov was best known as Savva Ignatyevich in the 1982 film ...

as drunken visitor restaurant *

Anatoli Skoryakin Anatoli () is a town and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the c ...

as commandant *

Stanislav Sadalsky Stanislav Yurievich Sadalsky (; born 8 August 1951 in Chuvashia) is a Soviet and Russian actor. Selected filmography * ''The Twelve Chairs (1971 film), The Twelve Chairs'' (Двенадцать стульев, 1971) as ''Fireman in the theater " ...

as drunk man with a carburetor *

Alla Budnitskaya Alla Zinovievna Budnitskaya (; born 1937, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian actress of theater and cinema. Biography Born July 5, 1937, in the family of the builder Zinovy Lazarevich Budnitsky. After graduating from secondary school in 1954, sh ...

as Masha, Platon's wife *

as Railroad Supervisor

References

External links

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Trailer
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Screenshots
{{Eldar Ryazanov 1983 films Mosfilm films 1983 romantic comedy films 1980s Russian-language films 1983 in the Soviet Union Films directed by Eldar Ryazanov Films set in Russia Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Oblast Films shot in Saint Petersburg Films scored by Andrey Petrov 1980s prison films Soviet romantic comedy films Russian historical comedy films Prison comedy films