''Sasha Enters Life'' () is a 1957 remake of the 1956 film ''Tight Knot'', a

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 directed by

Mikhail Schweitzer Mikhail (Moisei) Abramovich Schweitzer (, 16 February 1920, Perm, Russia, Perm – 2 June 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Mikhail Schweitzer graduated from the ...

. In 1988 the original film was restored under the original name, ''Tight Knot''. The film tells how a young man, Sasha, challenges the ruthless ambitions of a district party leader, whose manipulative tactics disrupt the lives of a farming community and entangle Sasha in a conflict that tests his values and personal relationships.

Plot

After the death of the district party committee's senior secretary, the energetic Pavel Mansurov (played by Viktor Avdyushko) assumes leadership of the district. Initially, the heads of the region's large

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

s welcome his efforts. However, they soon realize that Mansurov is more focused on advancing his own career than addressing the farms' needs. Conflicts escalate as Mansurov sets unrealistic production quotas, which the collective farms cannot meet due to insufficient infrastructure. A veteran leader commits suicide following a harsh exchange with Mansurov, and in an effort to undermine another chairman, Mansurov orchestrates a damning newspaper article. Among his critics is Sasha Komelev (played by Oleg Tabakov), the son of the district's former secretary. A secondary plot centers on a love triangle. Sasha courts Katya Zelentsova, a member of a youth brigade, and their relationship seems headed for marriage. However, Katya abruptly ends their engagement, confessing her love for Mansurov. Despite the villagers' negative opinion of him, she views Mansurov as a misunderstood, lonely figure. In the film’s conclusion, Katya overhears Mansurov scheming during a party meeting and, devastated, cannot hold back her tears.

Cast

Oleg Tabakov Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov (; 17 August 1935 – 12 March 2018) was a Soviet and Russian actor and the Artistic Director of the Moscow Chekhov Art Theatre. People's Artist of the USSR (1988). Biography Tabakov was born in Saratov into a family of do ...

as Sasha Komelev *

Viktor Avdyushko Viktor Antonovich Avdyushko (Russian: ''Виктор Антонович Авдюшко''; January 11, 1925 – November 19, 1975) was a Soviet actor and a People's Artist of the Russian SFSR. Biography Early life Avdyushko was born to a father ...

as Pavel Mansurov * Nikolai Sergeyev as Ignat Gmyzin *

Ivan Pereverzev Ivan Fyodorovich Pereverzev (; 3 September 1914 – 23 April 1978) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1975). From his relationship with the actress Alla Larionova, he had a daughter, Alyona. Filmog ...

as Party Leader *

Vladimir Yemelyanov Vladimir Nikolayevich Yemelyanov (; 20 June 1911 – 2 July 1975) was a Soviet actor and producer who appeared in 42 films between 1953 and 1975. He is most known for '' Road to Life'' (1955), '' The Immortal Garrison'' (1956) and '' Plane ...

as Party Leader * Pavel Volkov as Murgin, collective farm chairman * Valentina Pugachyova as Katya Zelentsova *

Valentina Berezutskaya Valentina may refer to: People * Valentina (given name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) * Valentina (wrestler), stage name of Elizabeth Miklosi (born 1983), an American professional wrestler * Valentina (Italian ...

as Nastya Baklushina *

Antonina Bogdanova Antonina may refer to: Geography * Antonina, Paraná, a municipality in Brazil * Antonina, Bełchatów County, in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland * Antonina, Pajęczno County, in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland * Antonina, Poddębice County ...

as wife Gmyzina * Yuriy Medvedev as Meshkov * Svetlana Konovalova as Anna Mansurova *

Yelena Maksimova Yelena Aleksandrovna Maksimova (; November 23, 1905 – September 23, 1986) was a Soviet film actress, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1958). Selected filmography * Women of Ryazan (1927) as Lukerya * The Last Attraction (1929) as Polly * A ...

as Sasha's mother *

Maya Bulgakova Maya Grigoryevna Bulgakova (; 19 May 19327 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actress. She was one of the People's Artist of the RSFSR (1976). Biography Bulgakova was born on 19 May 1932 in the village of Buky (now Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine). In ...

Oleg Yefremov Oleg Nikolayevich Yefremov (; 1 October 1927 – 24 May 2000) was a Soviet and Russian actor and Moscow Art Theatre producer. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1976) and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1987). In 1949, he graduated from Moscow A ...

Valentina Vladimirova Valentina Kharlampiyevna Vladimirova (; 22 November 1927, in Vasylivka – 23 March 1994, in Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (r ...

as Pozdnyakova

Reviews

Andrei Plakhov Andrei Stepanovich Plakhov (; born 14 September 1950) is a Russian film critic and historian of cinema, columnist for newspaper. Honorary President of the International Federation of Film Critics.Mikhail Schweitzer Mikhail (Moisei) Abramovich Schweitzer (, 16 February 1920, Perm, Russia, Perm – 2 June 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Mikhail Schweitzer graduated from the ...

, where the criticism of the collective-farm order was clearly too acute for the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

to begin with. The film was savagely rewired and released under the idiotic title ''Sasha Enters Life'', which forever discouraged Schweitzer from making a keen social film, and he devoted himself to screen versions of the classics. *

Maya Turovskaya Maya Iosifovna Turovskaya (; 27 October 1924 – 4 March 2019) was a Soviet and Russian theatrical and film critic, film historian, screenwriter, and culturologist. She was awarded the Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) ...

: Tabakov with a good and authentic artlessness conveyed the first desperate grief and uncontrollable immediate joy of his seventeen years, his infantile maturity, touching disturbances of the first failed love and breaking boyish principles, all watercolor and tender play of a barely feminine, shy and direct character. But the actor in it has not yet groped his theme.Первая роль. Олег Табаков вступает в жизнь
/ref>

References

External links

*
Меня как будто кто-то подменил: Памяти Олега Табакова
1956 films 1950s Russian-language films Soviet black-and-white films Mosfilm films Soviet drama films Russian-language drama films 1956 drama films Films directed by Mikhail Shveytser 1950s Soviet films {{1950s-USSR-film-stub