''There Was an Old Couple'' () is a 1965 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

Grigori Chukhrai Grigory Naumovich Chukhray (23 May 192128 October 2001) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin. People's Artist of the USSR (1981).Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary // main editor Sergei Yutkevich (1987). — Moscow: Sovi ...

. It was entered into the

1965 Cannes Film Festival The 18th Cannes Film Festival took place from 3 to 16 May 1965. Olivia de Havilland served as jury president for the main competition, becoming the first woman to ever do so. The ''Grand Prix du Festival International du Film'', then the fetiv ...

Plot

In a small village by a river, two elderly retirees find themselves homeless after their house burns down. Lacking the strength or will to rebuild their wooden cabin, they decide to move to Vorkuta, a northern Siberian town where their daughter lives, despite their son being in a more stable situation. Upon arrival, they learn that their daughter, a mother to a young boy, has left her husband to pursue a relationship with another man. When she returns, her father, deeply offended by her actions, drives her away. Left behind with their alcoholic son-in-law and grandson, the couple attempts to adapt to their new living situation. The grandfather, who is deeply rooted in the Stalinist ideology of his youth, begins to confront the harsh realities and lasting consequences of that era in the remote Siberian town.

Cast

* Ivan Marin as The Old Man, Gusakov * Vera Kuznetsova as The Old Woman, Gusakova *

Lyudmila Maksakova Lyudmila Vasilyevna Maksakova (; born 26 September 1940) is a Soviet Russian stage and film actress who appeared in 24 films between 1965 and 1998. Honoured with the People's Artist of Russia title in 1980, she is also a laureate of the State Pr ...

as Nina *

Georgy Martyniuk Georgy Yakovlevich Martyniuk ( rus, Георгий Яковлевич Мартынюк, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪtɕ mərtɨˈnʲuk; 3 March 1940 – 13 February 2014) was a Russian film and theater actor. Biography Born in Orenbu ...

as Valentin *

Galina Polskikh Galina Aleksandrovna Polskikh (; born 27 November 1939) is a Soviet and Russian film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1962. In 1979 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia, and in 1999 Order of Honour (fou ...

as Galya * Anatoli Yabbarov as Sectarian *

Viktor Kolpakov The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

as Paramedic *

Nikolai Kryuchkov Nikolai Afanasyevich Kryuchkov (13 April 1994) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1932 and 1993. Selected filmography * '' Outskirts'' (1933) * '' By the Bluest of Seas'' (1936) * ''The Re ...

as Director of the Sovkhoz * Nikolai Sergeyev as Accountant * Giuli Chokhonelidze as Engineer * Yelena Derzhavina as Irochka (as Lenochka Derzhavina) * Nikolay Khlibko as episode

References

External links

* 1965 films 1965 drama films 1960s Russian-language films Soviet black-and-white films Films directed by Grigori Chukhrai Soviet drama films Russian-language drama films 1960s Soviet films Mosfilm films {{1960s-USSR-film-stub