"Little Vera"

[Alina Israeli]

>
>Half a country cannot possibly agree on what is extraordinarily good.
>..........................Yes, but it seems that all those who watched the
>film agree on what is bad. Just for fun I've kept asking all my contacts
>one and the same question since the film was mentioned on SEELANGS: "Don't
>you want to watch 'Little Vera'? I've bought a DVD." Some reacted as if I
>"beleny ob'elas", the rest thought I was kidding, one even said: "A
>'Lenina v oktiabre' u tebia sluchaino net?". Good comparison, to my mind...


You are missing the point. The question is not whether those who already
have seen it 20 years ago would like to watch it again, now, but rather
whether it is representative of some important period and conveys some
worth while ideas and is worth showing in foreign language culture course.

In general there are not that many films that are watchable 20 years later.
Those are usually called 'classics' and for good reason.

When I saw Tarkovsky's "Solaris" in the 70's it caused a revolution in my
thinking. When I went to see it again in NY in early 80's I was dying of
boredom. No, I am not trying to open a can of worms here, just as an
example of something I thought truly great that did not survive a test of
time.

"Little Vera" is not about sex, even though it has it. The most memorable
line from it was "Cel' u nas odna - kommunizm". Considering that that goal
is no more, and spoofing it makes little sense, it's not surprising that
your friends don't want to watch it.

__________________________
 Alina Israeli
 LFS, American University
 4400 Mass. Ave., NW
 Washington, DC 20016

 phone:    (202) 885-2387
 fax:      (202) 885-1076 

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