Cinema
My Friend Ivan Lapshin
Мой друг Иван Лапшин
Aleksei German · 1982
Synopsis
In a Soviet city of the 1930s, Ivan Lapshin heads the criminal police and tracks down Solovyov's gang, responsible for brutal murders; he celebrates his fortieth birthday in the communal apartment, surrounded by his friends. A man remembers those days, which he lived through as a child, at the age of nine. The narrative combines the investigation, the life of the shared apartment and a love triangle around a theatre actress, Natasha Adashova.
Context
Edouard Volodarsky wrote the screenplay based on stories by Yuri German, the director's father; the cinematography, in black and white with sequences in colour, is by Valery Fedosov. Andrei Boltnev plays Lapshin, Nina Ruslanova the actress and Andrei Mironov Khanin. Produced by Lenfilm, the film was held back by the censors before being released in the time of glasnost; the Cinémathèque française speaks of a two-year wait.
Who it is for
A film of about an hour and three quarters, with a fragmented narrative, for those who like chronicles of Soviet life.
Prizes and reception
The film received the Ernest Artaria Prize at the Locarno festival in 1986.