Cold War chess match where everyone's cheating and nobody knows the rules.
The Second World War is over. The post-war Germany is divided into several responsibility zones. Still many Russian people languish in camps located in the American zone. Though former allies are in no hurry to let them off to the motherland, and even try to enroll some of them. The American intelligence agency gets to know that they've got a daughter of one of the West Germany cities commandant, whose brother is a famous soviet rocket engineering designer. They plan a crafty operation on the discrimination of the Russian colonel and introduction of the niece into the uncles design office. The Russian Intelligence service is also aware of the Americans interest in the designers works. The special department colonel Lartsev is coming from Moscow to Germany to prepare a reciprocal operation.
Direction
Lapshin crafts paranoia through cramped frames and suspicious glances.
Production
Propaganda budget surprisingly delivers moody post-war wreckage.
Director
Yaropolk Lapshin
Mikhail Kuznetsov
Ларцев
Viktor Dobrovolsky
Малинин
Vsevolod Yakut
Грейвуд
Viktor Khokhryakov
Маккензи
Arkadi Tolbuzin
Леонтьев
Valentina Vladimirova
Марфа
Grigoriy Shpigel
Штумпе
Yuriy Sarantsev
Керн
Dzidra Ritenberga
Вельмут
Tatyana Karpova
Бринкель
Viktor Shcheglov
Ромин
Oleg Mokshantsev
Ганс
Lev Yelagin
Вирт
Olga Amalina
Леонтьева
Lyudmila Davydova
Алевтина
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Brezhnev's thaw, this was rare Soviet cinema acknowledging intelligence failures and moral compromise — not exactly heroic worker propaganda.
The 'famous rocket designer' uncle is clearly Korolev-coded; his identity was state secret, making this borderline seditious wink to audiences who knew.
SU
