July Rain (Russian: Июльский дождь, romanizedIyulskiy dozhd) is a 1967 Soviet drama film directed by Marlen Khutsiev.[1]

July Rain
Original Slovak film poster
Directed byMarlen Khutsiev
Written byAnatoly Grebnev
Marlen Khutsiev
Produced byAleksandr Yablochkin
StarringYevgenia Uralova [ru]
Aleksandr Belyavsky
Yuri Vizbor
CinematographyGerman Lavrov [ru]
Edited byA. Abramova
Music byBulat Okudzhava
Yuriy Vizbor
Production
company
Release date
  • 7 August 1967 (1967-08-07)
Running time
107 min
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Plot

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July Rain is story about the rather boring life of 28-year old Lena, her mother, her longterm boyfriend Volodya and their intellectual friends - and Zhenya, the stranger she has occasional telephone conversations with since he once lent her his jacket during a heavy rain.

Cast

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Style

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Just like Khutsiev's previous film, I am Twenty, July Rain is heavily inspired by the French New Wave, with its combination of realism, subjectivity, discontinuous editing and long takes. It has also often been described as the Soviet version of an Antonioni film.[1]

The story about Lena and her friends is interspersed with long documentary scenes from Moscow. The film can be seen as a declaration of love to Moscow and its younger generation, and was possibly Khutsiev's angry response to the heavy criticism he encountered from Nikita Khrushchev for I am Twenty and its portrayal of Soviet youth worrying about money and jobs and listening to Western music.

Although I am Twenty won a prize at the Venice Film Festival, the Soviet authorities refused to send July Rain to Venice when it was invited to participate.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Young, Deborah (2000-08-21). "July Rain". Variety. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
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