A Soviet factory boss trades power for poison—vodka isn't the only snake here.
The dramatic story of the moral fall of a former plant director who became addicted to the “green serpent.”
Acting
Solovyov's physical transformation—dignity eroding frame by frame.
Direction
Shamshurin's claustrophobic framing traps you with Balandin's shame.
Production
Authentic industrial decay—shot in a real failing plant.
Director
Vladimir Shamshurin
Viktor Solovyov
Семён Васильевич Баландин
Nikolai Gusarov
Ванечка Юдин
Valentin Golubenko
Устин Шемяка
Vitaliy Yakovlev
Витька Малых
Tamara Timofeeva
Кланя Шестерня
Tamara Syomina
Серафима Матвеевна Садовская
Sergei Varchuk
Борис Зеленин
Ivan Krasko
Медведев
Nina Usatova
Неля
Aleksandra Nazarova
Вера
Vladimir Mychkin
Власов
Oleg Korchikov
Варфоломеев
Aleksandr Novikov
Цыпылов
Anatoli Golik
Морщиков
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during perestroika, this was one of the first Soviet films to explicitly critique the 'hero worker' myth. Shamshurin faced censorship pressure for making Balandin unsympathetic.
The plant location—a real closed factory in Sverdlovsk—was demolished months after filming. The movie preserves its final months.
SU
