July Rain

Marlen Khutsiev's 1967 Soviet film follows Lena, in her late twenties, questioning the relationships around her. Her fiancé and their circle are absorbed in calculations of career; Lena notices the emptiness of that circle, and instead of plot, that noticing becomes the story. The film was made at the end of the relatively free atmosphere of the Khrushchev years and was criticised for its formalism on release; it received limited distribution. Khutsiev's Moscow is a place built from street sound and crowds of faces. Its most cited passage is the final scene where war veterans gather, and the silent comparison between two generations. The pace is slow and there is almost no incident. Who it's for: viewers interested in Soviet cinema of the thaw and films about a city. Who it's not for: anyone wanting plot, or who would rather not watch without the historical context.