We’re conducting an interview with you for a film project that analyzes the general, political, and cultural history of Russia through film. We would like for you to tell us about your memories of going to the movies and we’re particularly interested in the details. On the basis of your answers we will write an essay, in which we will analyze the results of the questionnaire and write about moviegoing in Russia. The goal of this interview for us is to learn as much as we are able about individual people and the place of the movies in their lives. Thank you very much for your readiness do share your memories with us and also for helping us. This interview will be added for listening on the film project’s website. If you’re not against it, then let’s begin.
Let’s begin.
Tell us, when and where were you born?
My name is Svetlana Nikolaevna Efimova. I’ve been working as a professor of Russian as a foreign language for practically my whole life. I was born in 1956 in a little town called Nikolaev. This town is located in Ukraine. It’s a coastal town. There they build and work on ships, but anyway I was born in Ukraine.
Where did your mom and dad work?
Well, mom and dad worked in different cities. By profession mom is a cardiologist and dad is a lawyer. And they worked in some of the best cities in Russia.
And where do they live, if they’re still alive?
Yes, they’re living. They’re already very old people. Well, they live here, in Saint Petersburg, in the center of the city, on the very famous Suvorovskii Prospekt. It’s a very pretty area. They’ve been retired for a while now. And they live by themselves. We live in different places, but in the same city here in Petersburg.
What sort of education do you have?
I graduated from the Odessa State University. That city’s located in Ukraine. It’s a very pretty, ancient city, Odessa. I graduated from the Department of Languages. My specialty is the Russian philology and history.
When did you move to Petersburg?
I moved to Petersburg almost 30 years ago, when I was 26 maybe.
Do you remember the first time when you went to the movies?
The first time, I remember it very well.
Tell us about it.
I was a very young little girl. I was only six years old. I still wasn’t going to school. And at that time my mom, dad, and I were on vacation in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Usually we went there every summer for four weeks, to go swimming in the sea, relax, and in the evening of course my parents loved to go to the movies. And one evening we went to the movies together. It was an old French film based on Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers. Yes. And my first impression was terrible, because it was the first moment, when they turned off the lights in the theatre. And at once they turned off the lights, and then started to show the film. And my first impression was that I was really scared. But I remember the film and even now they sometimes reshow it on television. It’s a classic of cinema, international cinema. French cinema is really interesting, as you know. And I’ve seen that film a few times afterwards in my life.
Did you like that film, the cinema?
The film, of course, all Russian really love French art. Our cultures are very close to one another, and, of course, French cinema I think is one of the most interesting in the world.
Do you like other foreign films, like English or German ones?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, of course. I like German films, and American, and English ones too. I like good cinema. For me the national identity of today’s films doesn’t have meaning, just if it’s a good, interesting movie, that would be interesting for me. If you like I could tell you some other specific films from other countries that I liked. I was going to school. Then we didn’t have VHS machines in Russia, and television was really boring, and black and white, and dad didn’t let me watch television.
Why?
Because he thought that it was an empty waste of time. It was important to read books, do lessons, do homework for musical school, learn English. And I went to the movie theater. There was a movie theater by my house. And I was a schoolgirl, and watched a lot of different French movies, both comedies and serious movies. And I remember one German movie. It wasn’t a comedy, it was a melodrama. A movie about a young man and woman. It was called Tears of Blood. There one of the protagonists dies in an automobile accident. The movie’s really beautiful, but sad, but it is a film about love.
Do you like other genres, movies?
Other genres?
Yes.
Yes, of course. Different genres, comedy, that’s one genre, melodrama’s another, and of course others.
And which, which genres do you like to watch most of all?
I can’t say that I prefer just one genre. I know one that I don’t like and that’s crime movies.
Excellent then.
And I don’t like contemporary sci-fi that the youth loves right now.
Avatar, for example.
Yes. I won’t watch that. And I don’t like recent Russian movies.
Why?
The recent work of Mikhalkov, for example. I don’t feel that it’s interesting for me. And it’s a repetition of old themes, which Russian cinema already explored, and it seems to me to exploit this topic already unduly. This topic, the Stalinist period in Russia. It was a hard time in Russia, and enough documents have already been uncovered, they aren’t secrets. And about that, how Russia lived in those times when Stalin was in charge, and how it’s still really important. Before the documentation was secret, now it’s really important, lots of novels have been written, books, and a lot of good films were made. Therefore it’s just not interesting for me to return to this topic. Therefore I can say that if it’s Russian cinema, I like Soviet cinema.
The first time, did you go by foot or take transport?
By foot. The first time I watched a movie was in Crimea, in a little spa town, if I’m not mistaken in Feodosia.
What was the movie theater like? Can you describe it? As far as you remember, of course.
I think that it was an ordinary theater, located in the South in a provincial little town.
That means it was little or a bit bigger?
It seemed to me, then when I was a little girl, it seemed to me a typical big theater.
Do you know…describe the theater, please. The first movie theater. For example, what were the seats like, maybe? What was sold there? We’re really interested in your first impression.
I remember the theater well, where I used to go when I was in school, going to school, which was located close to home. It was a really small theater. And we called it Vinbochka. From the words for ‘wine’ and ‘barrel.’ Why? Because it was located close to, practically on the property of a winery. And we kids called it that so lightheartedly, went to Vinbochka in the evening. There were three showings there. The daytime one started at four in the afternoon, the evening one at six, and the last, if I’m not mistaken, started at nine. Generally we went at six because we weren’t allowed to be out late. But, sometimes I went with dad to the last showing too.
And there was only one screening room or a couple of them?
Oh no, it was really little. It wasn’t a free standing building, like the official big movie theater, it was a little, little structure, which belonged to this winery, and there they screened them, it was the center of the town anyway, and there they showed all, all of the popular European films of the time. And if you want to know what the seats were like, they were wooden, very primitive, and we were able to buy a ticket to sit in our favorite spot. There was no number on the ticket, for which seat we were supposed to sit in. Wherever you want.
And were you able to buy something to drink or snack on, for example? At that time?
Unfortunately at that time it wasn’t popular, that started not that long ago, maybe fifteen years ago in the big cities. In the provincial towns, if it was a really big theater, then in the foyer of course one could buy something at the snackbar, both juice and ice cream, but like now when one can buy popcorn, sit inside and eat, then it wasn’t accepted.
Going to the movies, was it a special occurrence or a regular one?
No we did that very often, it was very enjoyable, but it wasn’t something special.
Who did you normally go to the movies with?
Usually with my friend well, from my grade, because we lived together in the same area and in the same building.
That means you wouldn’t have gone as a whole big group, right? Or…
Why? If our other classmates also wanted to go with us, they lived in neighboring houses, then we went with a couple people together too.
Understood. How often did you go to the movies, to which showings, morningtime, daytime, evening ones?
Well, I already said generally at six in the evening, so as not to get done too late, because as you know, typically a normal film, if it’s one series, it lasts an hour and a half, if it starts at six then it ends somewhere around eight at night, and I wasn’t able to come home later than that. That is I usually went at six. But sometimes with dad, we went to the last showing too together at nine o’clock.
And did you know, for example, anyone who worked at the movie theaters, or how it was, what it was like to work there, which people liked to work at the theater?
Well, unfortunately in that little movie theater near my house, except for the cashier, the woman who sold the tickets, there were usually two women working in the line. One or two in the daytime, and then another, I didn’t see anyone else. And who else was able to work? The projectionist, I suppose that’s all.
Understood. Were the movies silent or talkies, black and white or color?
Of course the movies were talkies, and black and white cinema had already gone out of style. Only if they were retro-films, but back then they didn’t show them. And color, of course color. The movies were European, the majority, the movies were the majority French. At that time the French actor Alain Delon became very popular, and we loved to watch movies starring him, and there was a very popular actress, Romy Schneider, she was a German actress and also his wife, who lived and worked in France. Other than that comedies were very popular, about Fantomas, it was the French actor Louis de Funes. We watched all movies, serials, and we went almost every day. Very, well every other day, two, three times a week, that’s it.
And Soviet movies, did they also show them or exclusively foreign ones at that time?
Then there were exclusively foreign films in the movie theaters, there were Soviet movies on television, and one could watch them on television, and then we had black and white television, but the movies were very good. And these films are even now still popular, very much beloved. They were made in color, but unfortunately, television was still black and white. It was the end of the 1960s. I watched them, unfortunately, as black and white, and then, now one can see them in color. If you want to find out precisely which movies, it was, first war movies,, then a very popular film, coming up on thirty years old, White Sun of the Desert,. That, of course, is very well known.
Yes we also watched that movie.
And this film, it’s the favorite movie and talisman of all Russian cosmonauts. Before flying into space, they would all sit together in the evening as a crew, and the scientific advisors, and they had a tradition to watch this movie.
But why this film in particular?
Well they love it. And they also have this superstition, when they watch that film, that they’ll have a happy trip.
Were there movies that children couldn’t go see?
No. Then they didn’t show such movies in the theaters. At that time there weren’t any of these movies. That kind of film used to be called “Children up to sixteen not allowed.”
Do you remember any movies that had problems coming to the screen?
Well, these movies, of course, existed, but at that time we didn’t find out about them immediately. Then, much later, already well into the late Soviet period we…when the directors gave interviews on television and talked about the fact that they had had these kinds of problems. Yes, but generally these films, the censor simply recommended to change them and cut something out. A part of the movies was cut out. Of course these movies existed and, among them was White Sun of the Desert, they also didn’t want to show it because it was a western and that wasn’t characteristic of Russia. But that movie enjoyed a fortunate outcome, because our president, at that time Leonid Ilych Brezhnev, he spent a lot of vacation time in his country house, and he also really liked cinema. And he said to his secretary, “I want to watch some good movie today.” And they showed him White Sun of the Desert. Although the sensor hadn’t approved it. The president liked it, and everyone came to watch it. But that film’s been watched for thirty years, and everyone really likes it, but it didn’t get any recognition or awards. But that movie had the love of everyday people.
Did you read about movies in magazines, in the papers?
No, although we did have a regular magazine, they did publish one. As I recall it came out once a month, it was called Soviet Cinema. But there were other magazines, in which one could occasionally read an article about a European movie and see photographs of actors. Sometimes in town, at that time I lived in Tashkent, in the very big central movie theaters they showed some sort of new French film, for example, with Alain Delon, starring this actor, and a man came and read a lecture before the film about the actor. He spoke about his life, about his work, and then they showed the movie. That is it was a special cultural event somewhere in the center of town in a very big movie theater.
How did movie advertising change from the Soviet period?
How did cinema change today?
No, for example, there you talked about how they advertised movies, for example, in the magazine, maybe an article, a photograph, and how, today…from the Soviet period?
No, I, hmm, you know no, in Soviet times they didn’t have to advertise movies. People just found out in the moment which movie was interesting, talked to one another, there wasn’t any advertising needed. But now, now advertising is used widely, especially on television. They explain ahead of time which film will be nominated for the Cannes Film Festival. For example, director Nikita Mikhailkov’s last films, they should be shown at the film festival, they’re nominated, they want to win a prize. After that the film returns to Russia and it’s already accessible to the public. But they’re talking about this movie on television, the director gives an interview ahead of time. He explains a little bit about the movie, which actors are already in the film and which will be. This is all happening on tv primarily.
How did you find out about the movies showing at the theaters?
Could you repeat that?
How did you find out about the movies showing at the theaters?
Very simply. There was a movie theater that was located near home, and a poster simply hung there. All movies for the week were written there, which day, at what time, the program for the whole week. Like a playbill. But my parents usually told me about those movies that were in town, because the city was big, then there were already more than two million people, and, of course, my parents didn’t let me go far on my own. But my parents usually knew which movies were popular in town. And sometimes we went together on Sunday.
But now, after you moved to Petersburg, do you go to the movies? And if you do go, is it often, not very, etc.?
The first few years, even more than that, probably the first twenty, or maybe fifteen very often. The movie theaters operated, as in the old Soviet times, traditionally. There was also very little home video. Afterwards it became available, but there were other movies on video, of another quality, different themes. But the last few years I haven’t liked going to the movies. Because there’s no interesting showings there. For starters it’s fantasy and just so loud, horrible stereo sound. I don’t understand how it’s that uncomfortable.
That means, how was it in the Soviet times…?
It was better. I liked it more. First of all, there wasn’t such thunderous noise, because it’s really loud for me, and the showings were different, more interesting.
Do you remember movies during the war?
During the war. Well these are old movies, which today you can watch. They’re black and white, popular, but during the war I still hadn’t been born. I was born…I can’t say that I remember them. Yes, they’re really good movies. They’re black and white. And made by talented, good directors. And I think that today even contemporary films about war can’t pretend to be of a better quality. And we really love these old movies.
Do you remember movies in the time of Perestroika?
During Perestroika, no. During Perestroika I don’t remember any good movies. Just up to. And all of them afterwards are interesting to me. I think, that there weren’t any good movies after Perestroika, Soviet ones at any rate. I’m only talking about Russian films now. European cinema, that’s a different matter.
Would you like to tell us anything about cinema in general, your impressions about cinema?
Of course, if it would be interesting for you. I would like to name movies of a director, a couple directors and a couple movies, which, if you haven’t seen them, I would highly recommend to watch. There’s that director Nikolay Nikolayevich Gubenko. Once he was even Russia’s Minister of Culture. That is up to Perestroika. He has really good movies, for example a film called Wounded Game. Wounded Game, that is, a bird that a hunter wounded while out hunting. T hat is, wounded but still alive. And it’s fighting to live. This movie talks about children, who lose their parents during times of war, and has the Second World War in mind, and these children live in an orphanage, and also about their anything but simple lives. And about their teachers, who weren’t professional teachers, but after the war were wounded, who were officers, soldiers, their operated the orphanage. And it talks about the fate of the children, the young boys in this film, who lost their parents in the war. It’s a very interesting, beautiful, good movie. And Nikolay Nikolayevich Gubenko plays in the movie himself. He plays the caretaker with an anything but common fate. And his wife was also in the movie, the very famous Russian actress Zhanna Bolotova. She worked, per the film, per the plot, as a history and language teacher in this school. The movie’s really beautiful, very serious and lyrical. This movie. And after that he has other movies that I also love. For example, the movie Life, Tears, and Love. He talks about a nursing home. The home is outside of the city, where very old people who have no family live alone. And a new doctor takes over their care. Zhanna Bolotova also plays this doctor, and she was new at the nursing home. She arrives at this nursing home, where little attention is paid to the waning people, it could be, they don’t care for them well, and she takes care of these people. And she wants to make them more active. She pays a lot of attention to each patient. And then you see how the life of these old people changes. These people, who felt bad and weren’t able to walk, after a stroke or a heart attack, she helps them, and they begin to live better, more interestingly. It’s a very interesting movie. And he also has a comedy. I simply love this director. What a good sense of humor. It’s demonstrated. Yes, at the beginning the film is called, the film is called, the film… From the life of those on Vacation. The word ‘to be on vacation,’ you know, ‘resting,’ these people who’ve gone to relax on the Black Sea, to a small provincial town at a spa, the season has come to an end, and about these people, men and women, they’re on vacation, how they get acquainted. It’s a lyrical comedy, generally they go there for four weeks. It’s about love, and about theater, about cinema, the lives of people, when the season’s already on the way out at the spa.
Did you have favorite actors or actresses?
Of course.
Who and why?
Who and why, well of course Alain Delon, because he’s a good actor and a good looking guy. I was a young girl, a schoolgirl, and of course we really like this brown haired guy with blue eyes. And if you talk about serious actors, because he was not a professional actor, then at that time I also liked the work of a Frenchman, a very famous actor, better known to the older generation, Jean Gabin. There, well, of course we really like movies with Marilyn Monroe, yes, and you know her work, they were really popular in our country. And therefore American cinema was also popular, comedies, there were of course very popular Russian actors and actresses, but I can’t name them now, there are too many.
And did you have a favorite actress or favorite actor from Soviet cinema?
Well, then we had a very popular movie, War and Peace, based on Tolstoy’s novel, and from Fedor Bondarchuk, from the director Fedor Bondarchuk. And the actress who played part, Savelyeva, her last name was Savelyeva, she was a professional ballerina, and they asked her to play the role of Natasha Rostova. This actress was my favorite…I also like the movie The Flight, based on Bulgakov’s novel. I saw it when I was in school. It’s a two part movie. It walks about the emigration of the Whites during the Revolution. Two sided, they often show it on television. We all really like it. And very famous actors played there too, both Ul’ianov and Evstigneev. Well known Russian actors.
Do you remember and films or trips to the movies especially well? Talk about these visits.
Yes. I really liked one, an American film left a strong impression on me, someone living in America made it, and American of Italian descent, it’s called Once Upon a Time in America. This film talks about America, of course, in the 30s, I think the 30s. About Italians, about the children of immigrants from the Italian diaspora, who all hand out together, and then how fate unwinds, how they become adults. There, this movie left a powerful impression on me. This movie and another one…a very famous actor in America plays the main role – Jack Nicholson. He left a breathtaking, in general, impression on all views in Russia. The movie’s called, it talks about a hospital, where recovering psychologically abnormal people live, One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Why did these movies leave such an impression on you?
Because they talked very interestingly about uncommon themes in this life. And it’s not important whether it’s an American movie, or Japanese, or French, in my opinion people are the same everywhere. And in general problems are similar everywhere for humanity, serious problems, there very similar to one another.
What were your favorite genres, when you were a student?
Of course love stories, and of course melodramas and comedies.
Do you know which films? These were your favorite films then? Your favorite films in these genres, maybe, or in other genres?
Why not, but even then they were still making movies, and I was already a student at university, you know this movie really well, Eldar Ryazanov’s movie The Irony of Fate. We still play it every New Year’s, everyone really loves this movie, and I saw it for the first time when I was a student. Then I really like comedy, but the director, if I’m not mistaken, his last name is Seryi. He made only one movie, it’s comedy called Gentlemen of Fortune. By the way, there’s an interesting story regarding the making of the film. This director was a very emotional person, his colleagues say this about him, and at one moment he got into a fight with someone, you see, and they put him in prison for five years. And when he got out, he made this movie, this comedy and we see, he got the subject of the movie from his cellmates when he was in prison. It’s a comedy about how they tried to steal a helmet, old, ancient, I think something maybe of Alexander the Great’s and about how this many, who was like a bandit, but he worked as the director of a kindergarten, and they ask him to paint it. Well it’s a strange film, but I really like. Then, of course, Gaidai’s comedies. But that’s it. With actors like Mironov, Andrei Mironov, and Papanov, who voiced, you know, the cartoon, the wolf, about the wolf and the rabbit, yes, Just You Wait! And there he voices the wolf. But before that we was a very talented cinema actor. Therefore the director Gaidai. And then the director, the movie Mimino, of course. That’s it, and I call them classics. And the actors there are also strange. Unfortunately, one of them who played…Frunzik Mkrtchyan, unfortunately this actor already died, he was unbelievably popular. Remember in that movie, Mimino, he is Georgian, but Frunzik Mkrtchian plays the Armenian. And it was a comparison of Georgian and Armenian cultures. They always compete a bit. They’re similar and they’re nonetheless different and that’s the idea, the director used this difference in a remarkable way, with a light sense of humor. They laugh at themselves, how they fight over who’s better, the Georgian or the Armenian, where’s prettier and better and where the water’s tastier and it’s better to live. It’s a very good, warm, well-made and enjoyable movie.
Thank you very much for your interview.
And thank you too.
Thank you.