- This is about a movie; for the eponymous concept, see Irony of fate (cosmic irony).
| Irony of Fate | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Eldar Ryazanov |
| Written by | Emil Braginsky Eldar Ryazanov |
| Starring | Andrei Myagkov Barbara Brylska Yuri Yakovlev |
| Music by | Mikael Tariverdiyev |
| Cinematography | Vladimir Nakhabtsev |
| Editing by | Valeriya Belova |
| Release date(s) | December 31, 1975 |
| Running time | 184 min |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
| Followed by | The Irony of Fate 2 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Irony of Fate (original title: Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!, in transcription: Ironiya Sudby ili S Lyogkim Parom) is a Soviet comedy-drama directed by Eldar Ryazanov as a made-for-TV movie. The screenplay was written by Emil Braginsky and Ryazanov, loosely based on Ryazanov's 1971 play 'Once on New Year's Eve' (Russian: Однажды в новогоднюю ночь). The movie was filmed in 1975 at Mosfilm. Simultaneously a screwball comedy and a love story tinged with sadness, the film is traditionally shown on Russian TV every New Year's Eve. It is as fondly viewed every year as the American film “It’s a Wonderful Life” is during the Christmas holidays. Many memorable quotes from the film have become catch phrases in the Russian language. A sequel, The Irony of Fate 2 (English title; Russian: Ирония судьбы. Продолжение; Ironiya sudby. Prodolzhenie, "Irony of Fate. The Sequel") was released in December 2007.[1]
Contents |
The story
The key to the plot is the relative uniformity of Brezhnev era public architecture. This is made explicit in a humorous animated prologue, in which architects who know better are shown polluting the entire planet with identical, unimaginative multistory apartment buildings - of the sort that can in fact be found in the suburbs of every city and town across the former Soviet Union. The rest of the film is live-action. Following their annual tradition, some friends meet at a banya (traditonal public bath) in Moscow to celebrate New Year's Eve (Russian: Новогодняя Ночь, Novogodnyaya Noch). After the bath, one of them, Pavlik (Aleksandr Shirvindt) is supposed to catch a plane to Leningrad. All of them get very drunk toasting the upcoming marriage of the central male character, Zhenya (Andrei Myagkov) to Galya (Olga Naumenko). Zhenya and his friend Pavlik both pass out. The others forget which of their unconscious friends was supposed to be catching the plane, and Zhenya is put on the plane by accident instead of his friend. On the plane, he collapses onto the shoulder of his annoyed seatmate, played by the director Ryazanov in a brief comedic cameo appearance, who helps him off the plane in Leningrad. He wakes up in the Leningrad airport, believing he is still in Moscow. He stumbles into a taxi and, still quite drunk, gives the driver his address. It turns out that there exists a street in Leningrad with the very same name, with a building at his address which looks exactly like Zhenya's. The key fits in the door of the apartment with the identical number. Inside, even the layout of the apartment is the same. Zhenya is too drunk to notice any differences, and goes to sleep. Later, Nadya (Barbara Brylska), who lives in the apartment, comes home and finds a man she has never met before asleep in her bed. To make things worse, Nadya's fiancé, Ippolit (Yuri Yakovlev), arrives before Nadya can convince Zhenya to wake up and leave. Zhenya desperately tries to get back to Moscow in time to spend New Year's Eve with his own fiancee, and Nadya herself wants to get him out as fast as possible, but unfortunately there are no flights to Moscow until the next morning. Comedy moments, punctuated by unexpected guests, visits by the jealous Ippolit, and the buzzing of the doorbell and ringing of the phone, alternate with the inevitable love story between Zhenya and Nadya.
Trivia
- The term "Irony of Fate" refers to Fate toying with the lives of mortals. The second title, "S lyogkim parom!" (literally something like "Here's to your light steam!") is an idiomatic expression used to compliment somebody who has just come out of the shower, the banya, or the bathtub ("lyogkiy par" translates to "light steam" or "easy steam").
- The score to the film was composed by Mikael Tariverdiyev, and includes both orchestral background music and songs in the style of the "author's song" movement, sung by several of the characters. The strikingly melancholy lyrics of the songs were written by some of Russia's greatest twentieth-century poets: Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetayeva, Bella Akhmadulina, as well as the songwriter and poet Bulat Okudzhava. The singing voices of the characters were dubbed by the (now well-known) vocalists Sergey Nikitin and Alla Pugacheva.
- An important note about the coincidence with the addresses: many street names are/were common to Soviet and now Russian cities (for example, Red October Street, Leninskaya, etc.). Zhenya's and Nadya's addresses fall under this category: 3rd Builders' Street. In Soviet times buildings were prefabricated in factories. Thus many buildings were identical in facade, layout, and even the locks on the doors. Many houses look identical, and even apartments look very much the same from the inside. For example, nobody had to ask for directions to the lavatory, because it is typically next to the kitchen.
- The character of Barbara Brylska, Nadya, is voiced by actress Valentina Talyzina who stars in the same film as Nadya's friend.
Cast
- Andrei Miagkov as Zhenya
- Barbara Brylska as Nadya
- Yuri Yakovlev as Ippolit
- Aleksandr Shirvindt as Pavel, Zhenya's friend
- Georgi Burkov as Misha, Zhenya's friend
- Liya Akhedzhakova as Tanya, Nadya's friend
- Aleksandr Belyavsky as Sasha, Zhenya's friend
- Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya as Zhenya's mother
- Olga Naumenko as Galya
- Gotlib Roninson as Zhenya's neighbour at the airport
- Eldar Ryazanov as Zhenya's neighbour in the plane
- Lyubov Sokolova as Nadya's mother
- Valentina Talyzina as Valya, Nadya's friend; Nadya's voice
See also
External links
- Irony of Fate at the Internet Movie Database
- review at The New York Times
- Screenshots
- Trailer and Screenshots
Cinema of Russia | |
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| Cinema of the Russian Empire (Pre-1917) • Cinema of the Soviet Union (1917-1990) | |
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