Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath. - 1975.

This article was supposed to come out on the eve of the New Year. But, for some reason, her release was delayed. And so, as the debut of this site, I want to tell you about a movie that has traditionally been shown on December 31 or January 1 for many decades in a row. And, frankly, we are Russians, we ourselves do not understand why. After all, in fact, the plot of the film is connected with the New Year, well, very mediocre. However, it was for some reason that he was destined to become a cult New Year's.

It's about the film, as is already clear from the title "Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath", 1975 release. Popular Soviet actors played the main roles in this film:

Actor's Name / Role.

Andrey Myagkov - Zhenya (Evgeny) Lukashin main character

Barbara Brylska - Nadya (Nadezhda) Sheveleva

Yuri Yakovlev - Ippolit Georgievich (patronymic) fiancé of Nadia.

Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya - Marina Dmitrievna (middle name) Zhenya's mother

Olga Naumenko - Galya (Galina) Zhenya's bride

Leah Akhedzhakova - Tanya (Tatiana) friend of Nadia

Valentina Talyzina - Valya (Valentina) friend of Nadia

Alexander Shirvindt - Pavel is a close friend of Zhenya, voiceover in the film

Georgy Burkov - Misha (Mikhail) friend of Zhenya

Alexander Belyavsky - Sasha (Alexander) friend of Zhenya

Lyubov Sokolova - Nadia's mother

Gottlieb Roninson - a passenger from Krasnoyarsk

Eldar Ryazanov - passenger on the plane

Brief annotation.

"A film about a careless surgeon who decided to feel like a full-fledged alcoholic man, who received a new apartment in Moscow from the state, and who invited his girlfriend Galya (Galina) to marry him. As it turns out at the end, a character who does not drink before is a passion to an exorbitant libation of alcohol, plays an evil (or not, you judge) joke with our hero. And, as a result of the "irony of fate", he finds himself in a "clone apartment" in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and finds a new love. After all, an alcoholic , this is such a "hero" romantic ... "

The topic of alcoholism was constantly played up in films and serials of the USSR. And also in everyday life, books, anecdotes. In my opinion, this image served as a cruel joke regarding the perception of Russians abroad. But there was such a side effect of society. Alcoholic - macho in the USSR. A real man. And if you don't drink vodka, then you are either "sick" or "not a man." And the "white crow", that is, a renegade from the collective.

Unfortunately, I don't know if this film is being broadcast in the US. But, you can search for it on the Internet, for requests:

Film, Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath, 1975, English translation.

Film, Ironiya sud'by, ili S logkim parom 1975, English translation.

Film, Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath, 1975, English translation.

You can try to replace the phrase "English translation" with "English subtitles".

Attention. There will be a spoiler below! Full description of the plot of the film, with comments.

Part one.

The film is a two-part film. And, on TV, it is often shown in a slightly stripped down form. The film is set in two cities: Moscow and Leningrad (the current name is St. Petersburg). Zhenya Lukashin, the main character of this film, a Moscow surgeon. Shortly before the main events, Zhenya decides to make his bride Gale an offer. And, to celebrate, she gives her the keys to his recently received Moscow apartment, the address of which will play an important role in the plot of the film: 3rd Stroiteley Street, 25, apartment 12.

And, the girl confesses that once, he already made a marriage proposal. But, frightened by the wedding, he fled to Leningrad. At this point, we pay attention.

But, before his date, Zhenya, decides to celebrate the end of his bachelor life. And he goes with his friends (Sasha, Misha, Pavel) to a public bath. Where he gets drunk to the point of intoxication, together with his best friend Pavel, who is to fly to Leningrad (!). Somehow, having reached the airport, Pavel and Zhenya fall asleep like the dead .. And their friends Sasha and Misha, also falling into unconsciousness after a binge, cannot remember who should fly, Pavel or Zhenya.

Inspired drunkards, the thought comes to mind - to throw a coin and decide fate. But, they refuse, and begin to think "logically", as far as the intoxicated consciousness allows. With a little thought, they decide that since Zhenya is getting married, then probably his girlfriend is waiting for him in Leningrad, and they put him on the plane instead of Pavel.

What can I say. Of course, it used to be easier to fly. In terms of the lack of strict control. But, in my opinion, the director of the play based on which this film was filmed clearly went too far with fantasticness. For, on the plane, they freely put a drunk person, unconscious, and with a passport that does not correspond to the ticket. But, the Soviet Censorship missed such a "fantastic" plot.

Upon arrival in Leningrad, Zhenya was already able to get to a taxi, but he still did not realize that he was flying by plane. And he thinks that he is in Moscow. Sitting in a taxi, he tells us the address of the Moscow apartment we know. And a "miracle" happens. And, in Leningrad there is exactly the same street, with the exact same address, with the exact same house, with the exact same key to the apartment, and the apartment itself, and even furniture.

Surprisingly, such situations could have occurred in the USSR. Of course, there could be no such 100% "coincidences". But. in the USSR, houses throughout the country were often built according to the same plan. And, locks too, with their variation of key notches. And, in fact, this happened when in a similarly planned house, on the same floor, there was an apartment with the same number and the same standard key. What guided the builders when assembling such a sequence of locks, I can not even imagine. By the way, this made life easier for thieves "burglars", as they often carried a bunch of dozens of standard keys with them, in the hope that one of them would work. Hence the moral: do not have many keys in a bunch, or they will mistake a burglar for a thief.

Let's continue. When our intoxicated main character peacefully falls asleep in full confidence that he is at home, the lawful owner - Nadya Sheveleva - returns to the apartment. And, she discovers a "gift of fate", completely unfamiliar to her, drunk to death a man. Then, boldly, he tries to wake him up. But, the protagonist, not sober, comes to sincere amazement - why, some outsider woman, drives him out of his apartment ?!

Honestly, I doubt that even in the naive past, this was possible. What will you do if you come home and find a broken in there. an alcoholic unknown to you? Especially if you are not a tough boxer, but a simple, Soviet teacher who never even introduced herself as "Sonya Blade, from Mortal Kombat" (yes, yes, I know that these are films from different eras). It is reasonable that you call the neighbors you know and call the police (Soviet police). But, our heroine, not a timid dozen (it looks like there is no crime in the universe of this movie), and begins to send Zhenya out on her own.

Finally turning on his brain, Zhenya realizes that he is in Leningrad. And, he is horrified, imagining the reaction of his girlfriend - Galya, given his past experience, which he managed to share with her. But, not only he is in a relationship. And at the same time, her fiancé, Ippolit Georgievich, comes to Nadia, with whom Nadia planned to spend the holidays. Ippolit, finding a stranger in the bride's apartment, makes a scene of jealousy, and demands to immediately expel him. Zhenya leaves, but not for long. For! A "inspiration" comes to him - how to fly to Moscow, without money for a ticket ?! So he comes back to borrow money. The more they shake the jealous psyche of the offended Ippolit. After that, Ippolit already leaves, and in anger and resentment, he drives in his car (Ippolit is wealthier), along the night streets of Leningrad. And the unlucky Zhenya and Nadia celebrate the New Year together.

You probably shouldn't be surprised at the scene with a "moment of jealousy". Although jealousy is not the right feeling, jealous people still exist. You can also understand Ippolit as a Soviet person. For in the USSR, the issues of relations were stricter. For family matters were regulated by society. For example, for adultery, they often chewed at a general meeting of the working collective. And getting a divorce in the USSR was also a problem. Even if a husband and wife, themselves, have long and sincerely wanted to separate, and they are very uncomfortable together, they had to seek permission for a divorce. And, the representative of the registry office (the body for registration and dissolution of marriage in the USSR and the Russian Federation) could refuse. By obliging the spouses to live together. Ippolit, in this film, is also not a negative character. And, unfortunately, behind all this "romance", people forgot about feelings and disappointment at the end - Ippolit and Galya.

Before the finale of the first part, her friends, Tanya and Valya, also unexpectedly visit Nadia. Not knowing about this whole situation, they ask Nadia about Ippolit. They ask if he is with her today. And, Nadia does not find anything better than to marry her friends off as Ippolit - her unexpected guest Zhenya Lukashin. After that, the friends begin to congratulate them on their future marriage. Zhenya supports this "game" and pretends to be Ippolit.

Of course, this is an interesting idea, not yet sure of breaking up with Ippolit, to show her friends another man. Probably the problem of how to explain to friends the unexpected change in the groom's appearance, she decided to postpone indefinitely.

Part two.

The climax of the film will be sharper. Having turned on "amnesia" about their partners - Gala and Ippolit, forced friends begin to feel sympathy for each other. But, it won't last long. because, Ippolit decides to apologize for his jealousy, but again meeting Lukashin, brazenly using his things, a conflict occurs, with a fight (not kung fu of course), for which, Nadia "expels them from Paradise" ... But ours " dispossessed, "an alcoholic hero returns, under the pretext of a forgotten portfolio. After that, Nadia again has a change of mood, and she again leaves it with her. But, nevertheless, she herself goes to the station to buy Lukashin a ticket at least for a train. After all, he openly declared that he did not want to rush to leave, and rejoices at the lack of an opportunity to fly away. However, all in vain. For the newly minted macho, throws out a valuable ticket from the balcony. Just as I had previously thrown Ippolits photograph from the balcony.

Of course, our protagonist is insolent. He is not at all worried that he broke into someone else's house. He uses the things of a completely stranger to him, and yet, he took his place. Including presented himself as Ippolit in front of Nadia's friends. Well, and, according to the plot, Zhenya never got the idea to stop drinking vodka.

Ippolit, at this time, realizing that "everything in the world is decay," decides to follow Lukashin's experience, and gets drunk. After that, he returns to Nadia to take a shower. Without taking off your coat and hat! At the same time, he continues to reasonably reasonably argue that Nadya and Lukashin are not compatible, and they have no future. Then, completely wet, he goes outside.

It is noteworthy that Ippolit is not being stopped. Well, a man left, in clothes soaked through with water - into the cold, so what ?! To the frost, which at the time was somewhere around -30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit)! What happened next to Ippolit, who went into the cold intoxicated in wet clothes, we no longer know. And, it puts me in a moral stupor.

However, Nadya, although she is not worried about the fate of the once loved one, who left drunk and wet in the cold, decides to think - does she really have a future with Zhenya Lukashin? And, she understands that no! Disappointed by Nadia's insight, Lukashin returns to Moscow, where one person is waiting for him - his mother, who was frightened by the disappearance of her son, in an unknown direction. He tells her about his alcoholic adventure. And that he is parting with Galya, but since there is no chance of being with Nadia, he will remain, as always, a bachelor.

And, the final is approaching. After experiencing alcoholic adventures, Zhenya, this time, as if at home, falls asleep. Then we are shown a scene in which a certain woman opens the door of Zhenya's room. We are shown her hand. It was Nadia who had another rethinking of life, and she decided that there is a future with Lukashin! And the reason for the visit was the same, forgotten by him in her portfolio, which brought the heroes together a little earlier. Waking up, Zhenya does not immediately understand that Nadia is not a hallucination, and she, in fact, came to stay with him forever.

Amazing Finale Facts. It turns out that Zhenya Lukashin, first of all worried about the reaction of the bride, and hastened to contact her. But, I completely forgot about my own mother, for whom the sudden disappearance of her son without a trace was a much greater shock. Also, the question is raised by the main character. Rather, her emotional swings. Within one day, she changed her mind to the opposite, many times.

Afterword.

Those who are interested in Russia and the USSR, as well as Russian cinema, can definitely watch this film. The main thing, of course, is to find a translation into your language, or at least subtitles. But to be honest, I personally am not a fan of this movie. He's about some unrealistic universe. And it supports stereotypes about us. And, if we talk about the fate of the characters, then I seriously doubt that they will have a happy joint future.

I decided to start with this film, precisely because it, deservedly or not, has become one of the symbols of the New Year. Tradition. It's up to you to judge.