We'll Live Till Monday (1968)
Ilya Semenovich Melnikov is a history teacher in an ordinary Soviet high school. He is a very good teacher and his students and colleagues treat him with a great deal of respect. However, Melnikov faces a lot of difficulties in his work. In particular, everybody at school is spreading rumors about Natalya Sergeyevna, an Enlish language teacher and a former student of Melnikov, being in love with him. Exhausted by his mental suffering, Melnikov asks the principal to allow him to quit his job. At the end of the week that is to become the last week of Melnikov's teaching career the students of his class write an in-class essay on how they understand happiness. Svetlana Mikhailovna, their Russian teacher, is shocked by what one of the students wrote in her essay, nevertheless, she allows her to read it in front of the class. The other students express support of their classmate. Melnikov gets involved in the conflict, after which he reconsiders his decision to quit...
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best movie i've ever seen.
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Sharing details on a number of titles from 1968 I've recently seen,I started talking to a former IMDber about movies from the year,and ended up getting a list of their top films from 1968. With the superb adaptation of And Then There Were None being the only Soviet Union film I've seen,I decided to not wait for Monday to view my second movie from the Union.The plot:Becoming one of the most respected teachers at the school, Ilya Semyonovich Melnikov becomes sick of lies going round that he is having a secret romance with fellow teacher Natalya Sergeevna Gorelova-who used to be a student of his. Going to the head teacher, Melnikov gives his notice in,and declares that he is working his final week. For his final lesson,Melnikov asks the students to write an essay on how they understand happiness,and gets some surprising answers.View on the film:Attempting to ignore the whispers linking her with Melnikov, Irina Pechernikova gives an immaculate performance as Gorelova,who faces disruption from her class and fellow teachers,but is given a head- strong, determined attitude by Pechernikova. Handing in his notice to the head teacher, Vyacheslav Tikhonov gives an incredibly brittle performance as Melnikov,which strikes in snappy dialogue exchanges,that Tikhonov cleverly gets to break into shock,on Melnikov's final school day.Joining the students and the teachers in class, the screenplay by Georgi Polonsky superbly grinds intimate personal lessons,where one misplaced sentence from a student can set off an abrasive chain reaction from Melnikov. Offering glimpses into Melnikov's humble home life, Polonsky invests everything Melnikov has into the school, as the final lesson of Melnikov is given a heavy dramatic weight. Appearing to have been filmed at a real school, director Stanislav Rostotskiy & cinematographer Vyacheslav Shumskiy close in on Melnikov in sharp- edged close-ups,as the lesson ends.