A talented girl from the provincial Russian town Pasha Stroganova dreams of becoming an actress. She plays the role of Baba Yaga in the amateur theatre — and does it so organically that the visiting filmmaker offers her the most difficult role in the historical drama about Joan of Arc. She was given not only great acting talent, but the talent of deep, selfless love. A dream comes true: she is invited to the main role, and she begins a completely different life, full of real creative torment, insights and true happiness.
Acting
Inna Churikova's volcanic, trembling presence — career-making rawness.
Direction
Panfilov blurs reality and performance until you can't tell which hurts more.
Writing
Script treats amateur theatre like sacred ritual; every line aches with yearning.
Director
Gleb Panfilov
Inna Churikova
Pasha Stroganova
Valentina Telichkina
Valya
Leonid Kuravlyov
Arkadiy
Mikhail Kononov
Pavlik
Tatyana Bedova
Toma
Yuri Klepikov
movie director
Gennadi Beglov
Odinokov
Yuri Vizbor
Stepan Ivanovich
Vyacheslav Vasilyev
Stepan Vitalyevich
Yevgeni Lebedev
Cauchon
Vsevolod Sobolev
Massieu
Lyudmila Arinina
an official on the selection of actors at the film studio (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the Thaw, when Soviet cinema briefly allowed messy, emotional heroines who wanted things for themselves. Churikova became Panfilov's muse for decades.
SU
