- Source: The Envy of Gods
The Envy of Gods (Russian: Зависть Богов, romanized: Zavist Bogov) is a 2000 Russian romantic drama film directed by Vladimir Menshov.
Plot
In the "History" Herodotus says, "The gods do not like happy people". In ancient times, people knew why they can not demonstrate their good fortune and happiness: it can cause jealousy and anger of the gods, because they believed that happiness is their, gods, privilege, and daring people who want the same thing, should be punished.
The film takes place in early autumn 1983 in Moscow, in an atmosphere of acute Cold War (including the war in Afghanistan, the incident with the South Korean "Boeing", etc.).
The main heroine of the picture Sonia (Vera Alentova) is an editor in television, she has a son, a graduate of the school, and her husband Sergei (Aleksandr Feklistov) is a quite successful Soviet writer. One day to visit them a Frenchman Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) comes, whom Sergei met while working on a book about the French Resistance, accompanied by a French translator of Russian descent named André (Anatoly Lobotsky). André also has a family in Paris. However, this meeting turns their lives upside down. André falls in love with Sonia at first sight and emphatically tries to get a new meeting with her. Sonia, a faithful wife, educated in the Soviet tradition of chastity, at first refuses; moreover employees of Soviet television are not allowed to enter in unsupervised contact with foreigners. But André still gets his way, and Sonia is also overtaken by a violent passion. She discovers such strong feelings about the possibility of which she previously did not know. For a few days of their lives Sonia and Andre are absolutely happy. But they soon have to separate because their countries belong to different worlds, divided by the Iron Curtain.
Cast
Vera Alentova as Sonia
Anatoly Lobotsky as André
Aleksandr Feklistov as Sergei, Sonia's husband
Gérard Depardieu as Bernard
Aleksandr Voroshilo as Krapivin
Vladlen Davydov as Sonia's father
Marina Dyuzheva as Natasha, Sonia's friend
Lyudmila Ivanova as Sonia's mother-in-law
Yuri Kolokolnikov as Sonia's son
Victor Pavlov as Vilen
Irina Skobtseva as Sonia's mother
Leonid Trushkin as Vadim
Larisa Udovichenko as Irina
Vladimir Yeryomin as Igor, Natasha's husband
Igor Kirillov as cameo
Anna Shatilova as cameo
Valery Prokhorov as trucker
Daniil Spivakovsky as taxi driver
Natalya Khorokhorina as administrator of movie theatre
Valentinа Ushakova as railway worker
Nina Yeryomina as cameo
Soundtrack
The Long Tango
Meadows
The Dream No.1
The Date
The Catastrophy No.1
Loneliness
Tango `Beter` by J.Menshova
Thinking about the Past No.1
The Catastrophy No.2
Thinking about the Past No.2
Saying Good-bye
Finale
References
External links
The Envy of Gods at IMDb
The Envy of Gods (in Russian) on YouTube