A Soviet seminary dropout story so suppressed it nearly vanished forever.
The talented artist entered a seminary, but, disappointed in the clergy, found the strength to leave the Church.
Direction
Voronin's only feature—banned for 30 years
Cinematography
Stark black-and-white spiritual emptiness
Acting
Ivan Bortnik's raw debut performance
Director
Vsevolod Voronin
Nina Mager
Оксана
Ivan Bortnik
Василий (дебют в кино)
Yuri Puzyryov
Андрей
Varvara Masliuchenko
Евдокия
Andrei Abrikosov
Фотий
Yevgeni Teterin
Благов
Roza Balashova
заведующая отделом ЗАГС
Heorhiy Babenko
священник в титрах - Ю.Бабенко
Vasiliy Vekshin
семинарист
Nina Ivanova
регистратор отдела ЗАГС
Volodymyr Antonov
Савва
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film was shelved until 1990, making it one of the longest-banned Soviet films ever.
Released during the brief Khrushchev Thaw, its critique of religious bureaucracy was deemed too inflammatory even for liberal censors.
SU
