A Soviet waiter snaps, then schools rude service staff in the most petty, poetic revenge.
The cafe is almost empty. A customer tries in vain to choose a meal to his liking. The barmaid and two waitresses are discussing a recent radio program in which a retired waiter talks about the plight of his colleagues in the old days. The customer is nervous: borscht is impossible to eat, crayfish is already peckless, milk is sour, beer is warm.... The disappointed customer, leaving, says that he was the one who spoke on the radio. The waitresses apologize: they thought it was an ordinary customer, but now they will serve him in no time. The man refuses and in a peculiar way - by verse and personal example - gives a lesson in cultural service.
Acting
Anikeyev's slow-burn from meek customer to moral authority.
Writing
The final verse lesson is petty poetry perfection.
Production
Entire film shot in one cafe location, claustrophobic genius.
Director
Eduard Abalov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Khrushchev's Thaw, when Soviet cinema could lightly mock bureaucracy without disappearing filmmakers.
Georgi Millyar, who plays the doorman, was famous for playing Baba Yaga—his brief cameo is Soviet cinema in-joke gold.
SU
