The Theme

A key movie in glasnost cinema, Panfilov's film was refused a release by the Soviet authorities until 1987, when it promptly won the Golden Bear at Berlin. Oulianov is a mediocre writer who makes a good living toeing the Party line, but he knows he's a fake and that his success has little to do with genuine talent. By siding with the real artists rejected by the system, Panfilov makes a courageous statement against the conformity suffocating cultural life under the Brezhnev regime. A dour, very Russian piece, but a substantial one.