

A woman's heart in ruins, a country's soul in rubble — who saves who?
Acting
Tatyana Kulish's eyes do entire monologues of unspoken grief.
Production
Post-war Leningrad decay so authentic you can taste the dust.

Director
Vyacheslav Nikiforov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot during Brezhnev's stagnation, the film's unflinching poverty depictions were rare Soviet honesty. State censors nearly shelved it for being 'too hopeless.'
Tatyana Kulish was a theater actress who made only three films; this was her only lead. Her rawness was 'inexperience' that directors now would kill for.