Many modern filmmakers tend to capture on film a passing world that disappears irrevocably under the inexorable pressure of urbanization, so they make a movie about the village. The biggest contribution of directors of thematic projects is considered to be a gallery of images of ordinary people - carriers of traditional Russian values. Melodrama films about village life, which came to contemporaries from the era of the USSR, are a valuable source of information about the moral guidelines of our people and their character.
Village stories
Melodramas about village life have their own favorite plots, their characters of heroes. It should be noted that the majority of viewers and filmmakers associate the village flavor on the subconscious with lyrical moods, which also determines the scenic course of the paintings. Many trends that determine the recognition of village cinema came to Russian cinema from Soviet.
Among the best melodramas about rural life and love, the work of Ivan Pyryev “Kuban Cossacks” stands out. This legendary musical film tells a love story between the chairmen of the two richest Kuban collective farms Galina Peresvetova and Gordey Voron. After a series of curiosities and ups and downs of life, the story ends with a merry wedding.
“Kuban Cossacks” was released just four years after the bloody and destructive war ended, so the fantastic abundance shown on the screen was perceived by many viewers as an approach to coveted communism. In cinematic terms, this is a very pleasant, light, bright and festive film. The story, in addition to the central romantic line, contains a lot of funny situations, simple-minded charm and kindness, so the picture can be safely included in the category “Melodramas about village life”.
"Tractor drivers"
Continue the list of melodramas about village life ”should the film of the same Ivan Pyryev, which he created ten years before the famous“ Kuban Cossacks ”. The painting "Tractors" is the best example of the early melodramas of the Soviet era. Events unfolding in the mid 30s. Tankman Klim Yarko, who had long liked the beautiful Maryana Bazhan, returned from the army to his native collective farm. But now the girl has become a celebrity of the entire district, she is a famous tractor driver, there are a lot of fans around her. There is a negative character in the narrative - loafer Nazar, with whom Maryana seems to be in love. The love triangle, by all laws of the genre, will cease to exist later, and Maryana will make the right choice.
“It was in Penkov”
One of the Soviet melodramas about village life called “It was in Penkov” can overshadow many Mexican “soap operas”, since serious passions boil in it.
The thunderstorm of the whole village, the mischievous fun-man, the tractor driver Matvey Morozov only appeased his indefatigable energy at a party with the moonshine-maker Alevtin. This fact did not prevent him from marrying the daughter of the chairman, whom he did not love much. Everything could have turned out differently, but Tonya from Leningrad comes to visit the village. Morals and foundations in the village begin to change. The girl collects youth, initiates the construction of the club. Between the main characters there is a strong feeling. But Matvey is married, Tonya with all her might restrains surging emotions, and Alevtina puts sticks into the wheels.
"Hello and goodbye"
It seems that, in comparison with modern Russian melodramas about village life, the film “Hello and Goodbye”, staged by V. Melnikov according to the script by V. Merezhko, is considered one of the most repertoire, often broadcast TV. A deceptively unpretentious plot of the times of developed socialism is capable of affecting nostalgia-prone hearts even after decades.
The main character, the beautiful bird house, Alexandra, was abandoned by her husband - left with three children and fled to the city. After a while, she met the open and sincere policeman Grigory Burov, whom she loved with all her heart. But her unfaithful husband Mitka, as if sensing, immediately returned to the village, showing everyone how concerned he was about preserving the long-disintegrated cell of society.
“Can't say goodbye”
No less melodramatic story is the basis of Boris Durov's film “I Can't Say Goodbye”. In the center of the story, the main characters are the first guy in the village Sergey and the modest, sweet girl Lida, who fell in love with a handsome man with no memory. Sergei, not appreciating her emotional impulse, marries a bright blonde Martha. The couple leave for the cutting area, where the guy soon receives a severe spinal injury. His wife did not need a sick husband, but Lida immediately rushed to her beloved and nursed him, giving love and happiness.
"Roma"
In 1979, the mini-series Gypsy was aired, and the huge audience of the USSR seemed to be riveted to the screens during the broadcast. The love story of a simple village woman, Claudia Pukhlyakova, who raised a gypsy boy as her own child, and a free gypsy Budulaya (Mihai Volontir) struck the hearts of compassionate spectators. In 1985, A. Blanc, who acted as the director of the project, shot a sequel called "The Return of Budulai."
"Love and pigeons"
Beloved by several generations of our compatriots, V. Menshov’s melodrama “Love and Pigeons” remains one of the most popular in the 21st century. The main character - the village peasant Vasily - gets a ticket to the resort and falls there under the spell of the spectacular city dweller Raisa Zakharovna. After returning, Vasily leaves his wife and children and moves to the city, but after a while he realizes that happiness does not lie in adventures on the side - it is in rural home comfort.