The Most Charming and Attractive
Nadya is a proud worker, but feeling the pinch of life. In her 30s and with no partner to show for it, she is aided by a chance meeting with an old friend. The glamorous Susanna gives her pal some tips on how to improve herself, and how to make the men come to her instead of waiting for them. Will this advice pay off, or does true love lie elsewhere?...
The Most Charming and Attractive is a neat Soviet rom-com. It comes from the 80s, a time when things were starting to unravel and open up politically, but you'd never know it from this film, which is content to simply be a fun movie, no matter the times. The title translates as Samaya Obayatelnaya i Privlekatelnaya, which makes me wonder how those Russkies don't dislocate their tongues!
The story here is a mildly subversive one, showing the plight of unconventionally unattractive woman 'past their prime' trying to find love. The film also skewers a lot of romantic conventions, like the need of glitzy fashion and make-up to find happiness. The film's message is presented in a low-key way too. It doesn't just take potshots at cosmetic niceties. Instead it shows subtly how a good balance of things really is the way to go.
Nadya is a likeable protagonist, with plenty of personality. It's thankfully never too awkward seeing her attempts at
pursuing the , and there are a few moments where she puts the guys in
their place. Her character journey is a good one, and comes to a nice conclusion, if a little obvious.
The supporting cast is a great bunch. We've got a fairly small group of characters, and so we get to know them well. Susanna is a genuine and well-meaning friend, who doesn't see the flaws in her advice. While her husband, amusingly comfortable with being used as a guinea pig, soon becomes
There are three main guys in the film. The main object of Nadya's misplaced affections is a real Casanova type, always with another woman, and using his limited language skills to impress those around him. He's cold and distant towards Nadya, and has no idea why she's so interested in him all of a sudden. Then there's a fellow who thinks of his marriage as more of a suggestion than binding. And lastly is a hapless bloke who whose attempts at courtship are helped by the friendly old lady at the office, but hindered by just about everything.
One of the most fun and interesting things about the film is the changing attitudes of the
three men. Their opinions of Nadya to begin with range from mere
indifference to outright annoyance. But her sudden attention leads the others
to wonder why, and as they see her focusing on this guy, they
think "Why not me? What does he have that I've got? I'm more than enough
man for her!', and the psychology alone is enough to make this
otherwise unassuming woman totally enthralling for the trio. Even the
rogueish 'Don Juan' ends up being entranced in a way by Nadya, with her becoming
unattainable for him being like the final clincher.
The cast all do great jobs. Irina Muravyova is a nice lead, looking believable as a plain normal person, while also having a natural charisma that makes her distinctive. Aleksandr Abdulov, Leonid Kuravlyov, and Mikhail Kokshenov all entertain for different reasons as their characters, never feeling identical in appearance or behaviour. Vladimir Nosik is nice as the true love interest, and Tatyana Vasileva is spunky, if fleeting in appearance in the latter half. Everyone else does well, and there were no bad performances.
Director Gerald Bezhanov has a great eye for visuals, and gets the most out of these settings. Even places that only appear once manage to look impressive.
The music is a highpoint here. It's a surprisingly unique and groovy soundtrack, especially for an older Russian movie! You expect them to all have very uniform sound, especially if they're a simple romantic comedy, but this sounded almost experimental.
The Most Charming and Attractive is a great little film, a nice showcase of its country's cinema, and perfect for any Valentine's day...
Girls
Tosya is a bubbly young girl beginning work as the cook at a Siberian logging camp. She quickly makes friends and enemies, with both her roommates, and some of the guys. A particular rival is the cocky Ilya, who makes it his mission to prank the poor girl, namely with a bet that he can seduce her. His scheme eventually works a little too well, as he falls for her too, but when Tosya finds out the deception, chaos might be on the menu...
Girls is a marvellous film, full of comedy, romance, and a cast packed with memorable faces. It gets off to a quick start, and breezes right through before you know it.
The film has a perfect cosy winter wonderland feel. I am seriously impressed they were able to make the wastes of Siberia look this good! Whether foreign or domestic, fiction usually portrays this area as an unlivable hell on earth, where the strong suffer and the weak die, but Girls for a change shows it more even-handedly, as a regular place that happens to be a little cold, but everyone makes do just fine.
The story here is pretty cliched by modern standards, using plenty of old-fashioned tropes, but they all work well, and are never annoying, forced, or lazy.
The characters are a highlight here. Tosya is an adorable lead. Sweet, spunky, but also never naive, and will eagerly beat the crap out of anyone giving her guff. Her cutest moments include her dance with a friendly tall girl, and her cheering up of Mama Vera.
Fellow roommate Nadya has her own subplot, and one point of interest is the end. Namely, there isn't one-Sort of. Apparently it was filmed that Nadya decides to call it quits with her boyfriend, rather than to settle for a marriage of convenience. But this scene got cut during editing, and the actress who played Nadya was pissed! I do kinda agree with the decision to cut it though. It may be a marriage of convenience, but he's a good guy, he loves her, and she likes him, so it doesn't seem that bad, at least for a goofy movie like this.
Anfisa is a cold and bitchy girl, but she too gets some development and sympathetic moments (while still retaining enough bitchiness to feel consistent). Her rivalry with Tosya is a fun one, and her interactions with men are well written.
Despite the title, Girls does also pay focus on the boys too. Namely there's Ilya, whose romance with Tosya is the heart of the film. It's a nice story, with enough deceit and misunderstanding to be expected from an old rom-com, which leads to much drama, before resolving in a happy ending.
Where the film started to annoy me a little was in how long the 'on the outs'
section was drawn out. It felt a little bit much. I also wasn't crazy
about what Ilya does with the gold watch. C'mon, your friends all
chipped in for that, mate!
Girls has a pretty large cast, and while I feel not all get as much attention as they could've, I did eventually get a feel for all of them, and none felt blank. Each served a purpose
The cast all do great jobs, getting across their characters and relationships well. A lot of them do blend together, but it's due to a strong script and performances that we eventually figure out who's who, more or less. Nadezhda Rumyantseva is a superb lead. She's extremely animated, and handles the personality and physical comedy of her character like a classic silent film star
The direction in Girls is great, with scenes both big and small shot really nicely. There's a great attention to detail too. Two favourite moments were how it showcases height differences, and the panning shot of all the boots, and Tosya's cute little shoes.
The setting is fantastic, and every bit of it is convincing. So much so that I was curious to read about the production. Apparently it was shot on a mix of location and sets, and some of them weren't really in winter, but warmer weather, and the actors had to deal with this while wearing heavy clothing. That does dampen the fun a little, but good on them for powering through so effectively!
The music is charming and wintery, the kind of tunes you could easily play during Christmastime to get the mood going. There's so much identity here, with a timeless feel that could suit any country (well, unless it's too bloody hot during Christmas, like down under!).
Girls is another classic of Russian romance, and if the world was more like these films, it'd be a lot more fun!...
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