A Soviet director takes on British theater and somehow makes class collapse feel like a warm hug from your disappointed ancestors.
Action takes place in England during the 20 years between the two wars. The film explores the relationship in the once wealthy bourgeois family, whose members, in their own way, are experiencing the collapse of their plans and hopes.
Acting
Evgeni Leonov's weathered Alan anchors the time-jump with devastating quiet.
Production
Soviet lens on British material creates fascinating cultural displacement.
Director
Vladimir Basov
Rufina Nifontova
Mrs.Conway
Irina Shmeleva
Carol
Andrey Leonov
Alan in youth
Evgeni Leonov
Alan Conway in maturity
Alyona Bondarchuk
Madge in youth
Irina Skobtseva
Madge Conway in maturity
Anton Tabakov
Robin in youth
Oleg Tabakov
Robin Conway in maturity
Veronika Izotova
Hazel in youth
Inga Budkevich
Hazel Conway in maturity
Margarita Volodina
Kay Conway in maturity
Natalya Strizhenova
Joan Halford in youth
Marianna Strizhenova
Joan Halford in maturity
Vladimir Basov Ml.
Ernest Beevers in youth
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Basov's adaptation transfers Priestley's critique of British capitalism into Soviet-era commentary on bourgeois decay, making it oddly palatable for state censors while preserving emotional core.
The father-daughter casting of Leonov and Bondarchuk was deliberate — their real tension amplified the Conway family dynamics.
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