Pick of the week: “Let’s Get Divorced” by Anna Parmas

On Monday the whole world celebrated International Women’s Day, and on Sunday we will be celebrating Mother’s Day all around Britain. This year these two major women’s holidays happen to take place in the beginning and end of one week, which is a truly rare occurrence; therefore, it really is time to honour all women and mothers in one way or another. We propose doing so with the help of Russian cinema! The “Pick of the Week” section of the British streaming platform Klassiki features a film by a Russian director Anna Parmas Let’s Get Divorced, while elsewhere on the platform one can find several wonderful Soviet films, which are perfect for both Mother’s Day and March 8, — Afisha.London magazine recommends one such film.

Let’s Get Divorced | Давай разведёмся

dir. Anna Parmas, 2019

Let’s Get Divorced is the first feature film by Anna Parmas, who is best known to the Russian audience for directing several music videos for a famous band Leningrad. However, she also has experience directing short films as well as writing screenplays in collaboration with other artists. At first glance, it might seem that Let’s Get Divorced is the most common Russian comedy about adultery and a woman in despair, which in itself does not appear to be a great base for a funny plot, since such stories are actually rather tragic. What distinguishes this film, however, is that Parmas completely reinterprets stereotypical gender roles.

A still from “Let’s Get Divorced”

The main character Masha (Anna Mikhalkova) is a successful gynaecologist; she is at work all day providing for the family, while her husband, geophysicist Misha (Anton Filipenko), looks after the children and the household. However, Misha gets bored of being a ‘housewife’ and almost never seeing his wife, so he finds himself a mistress (Anna Rytsareva) – a fitness trainer in her twenties with an ideal body. Masha is in despair, because now she is completely alone with two children and a lot of debts, so she decides to make her husband come back home at all costs. In the end of the film, the main character realises one important truth that is accurate for every modern woman – she can cope with all her difficulties without a husband. Let’s Get Divorced is a film about ordinary Russian people, which shows their everyday problems without embellishment. Yes, there are comedic elements, but they do not deprive the film of realism.

Watch on Klassiki in excellent quality with English subtitles

Mother Got Married | Мама вышла замуж

dir. Vitaly Melnikov, 1970

A still from “Mother Got Married”

An iconic Soviet actor Oleg Yefremov refers to his role of Viktor Leonov in the film Mother Got Married as to one of his finest works. Viktor (Oleg Yefremov) falls in love with Zinaida (Lyusyena Ovchinnikova), mother of the protagonist Boris Golubev (Nikolai Burlyaev). Boris lives with his beloved mother – Zinaida and his father are divorced. However, the son’s ideal world is threatened by the appearance of Viktor, whom his mother begins to date. Boris does not want to accept a new person, and even more so to let him into the family, even though Viktor really loves Zinaida and wants to make happy not only her, but also the main character himself.

Watch on Klassiki in excellent quality with English subtitles

What else to watch on Klassiki this weekend:

Family-friendly films for Mother’s Day

Films by female directors to watch in honour of International Women’s Day

Cover photo: a still from “Let’s Get Divorced”

Read more:

How Britain discovered Gorbachev, and Gorbachev discovered Britain

Felix Yusupov and Princess Irina of Russia: love, riches and emigration

Justine Waddell on launching Klassiki: a streaming platform for Russian cinema