Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears

The movie received an Oscar and is supposed to be one of the most commercially successful Soviet films, although this is a relative concept because true commercialism could not be discussed in the Soviet distribution system, where it was always more about educational and propaganda functions. The awarding of Oscars was always to a considerable extent subject to not only commercial but also political interests, so the awarded prizes are usually the result of certain fashion trends or social calculations, as in this case. It was the end of a wave of political détente between the two superpowers, which roughly falls within the functional period of Jimmy Carter, and so the American Academy decided to reward the wave of mutual cultural exchanges and increased interest in Soviet culture with an award for the best foreign film. Truth be told, I think this choice speaks more about the incapacity of Soviet cinema because if this is the best it can do, then God help us. It is a typical Soviet melodrama with nonsensically drawn-out runtime, unremarkable characters, and outdated conception, which testifies both to the fact that Soviet cinema was isolated from its Western counterpart, where big things were happening at that time, such as in the field of independent film, and to the fact that the creators really didn't have to cater to the audience, as attendance was not a measure that determined film production. I will be harsh and say that if the runtime was shortened by an hour, if the script worked on the dialogues and the actors, who, in fact, quite often resembled startled fish, it would still be a mildly average film on a global scale and in the respective genre. Not to mention that the attitudes of Soviet heroines and their behavior would make American and Western European feminists blink. On the positive side, ideological stances, so typical for Soviet production, are significantly downplayed in this case, but with closer observation, they can still be unmistakably identified. Overall impression: 35%. (27/06/2011)

It's a melodrama. It’s two episodes full of the life stories of the three women next door. And that beautifully haunting melody... Alexandra... Alexandra. I'm not surprised that this particular work from Mosfilm succeeded in the West because Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears is simply a pleasant film to watch, the acting performances are not pathetic, and we casually pass through two decades after the thaw began. (10/02/2011)