Hacker Cinema
Afonya
Афоня
1975 · Film · 92 min
Directed by Georgiy Daneliya
Afonya Borshev is a plumber who drinks a lot, flirts a lot and doesn't care too much about tomorrow. His wife left him, his boss placed him on probation, his whole life is falling apart, but he doesn't realize it. When Afonya met Katya at a dance club he didn't pay her much attention, yet she may be the only one who can help him.
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2 comments on Hacker News
> "Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession" was made in 1973 on a budget that was modest even by Soviet standards. It looks like a cheap TV movie
To be fair, it looks just like any other Soviet movie from that era ("The Diamond Arm", "Afonya", "Shurik's Adventures", etc.), with the exception of the few that were considered "mega projects' by the government ("War and Peace").
> What’s interesting about Afonya is its picture of Soviet life at a time when we were told all was grey, unsmiling misery there. Instead it’s a world with palpable similarities to the West: pop music, glamour photos, consumerism and (undeniably) a class-system.
Facebook/Instagram effect in old cinema. You don't post grey misery unless you can make it meaningful. The same applies to movies. Nobody would watch their own life either. There's a lot of grey misery available in a sarcastic take though. Polish cinema of the time has lots of that as well.