Asya's Happiness

Suppressed by the Communist authorities because of the critical political opinions expressed by some of the male characters and not released abroad until the late 1980s, this film exemplifies why director Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky was one of the USSR's premier directors before decamping to Hollywood and taking on more commercial fare (as plain Andrei Konchalovsky). The magnificent Iya Savvina, supported by a largely non-professional and extraordinarily natural cast, stars in this account of life in a rural village, with its attendant hardships, its community attitudes, and the personal suffering and indomitable courage of Asya herself. This absorbing and moving film is rich in detail, authentic atmosphere and honesty.