A Soviet 8th-grader channels Cyrano de Bergerac to wingman his own heartbreak. Chivalry is dead? He didn't get the memo.
Eight-grader Petya Kopeikin, despite his short stature and nondescript appearance, is constantly in the spotlight. Petya is noble, witty, well versed in literature, he writes wonderful poems. Kopeikin has long been secretly in love with his classmate Masha Goroshkina, and she is passionate about the new student from 9 "A" Kolya Kristallov. Masha tells Petya about her feelings and asks him to hand over a note to Kolya. Deeply worried from unrequited love, Petya not only doesn't stand in the way of a happier rival, but even helps him win Masha's heart. He wants to prove that courage and honor were not only inherent in the times of “musketeer” novels, but exist in our time. Petya chooses to follow the example of the hero of the famous play Edmond Rostan and in his actions copies Cyrano de Bergerac.
Acting
Mikhail Efremov's heartbreaking earnestness.
Direction
Tumanyan's gentle, unsentimental gaze at adolescence.
Writing
Rostand homage that earns its literary weight.
Director
Inna Tumanyan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Soviet school films of the 70s often used Western literary references to explore individualism within collective ideology. Petya's musketeer obsession was permissible exoticism.
Mikhail Efremov was 19 playing 14—his actual father Oleg Efremov plays his teacher, a casting choice that adds surreal family tension to classroom scenes.
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