And you have to live with grief. Different directors, different screenwriters, but the film turned out to be a single whole, thanks to the sincerity and humanity of the theme raised by the almanac. Despite the fact that all three stories are completely different from each other and relate to the war in completely different facets, they share the warmth with which the directors shot their novels.
Novella first: 'Life'. Based on the short story by Andrei Platonov, written in 1946. A very painful topic is the search for surviving relatives. In this case, Anton Gvozdikov is looking for his son. The search is complicated by the fact that the soldier has not seen him for almost five years and very vaguely imagines himself as his son is now. From his descriptions, he turns out to be one, but in fact... In this novel, the ending seemed unsaid to me, because there is no voiceover that could clarify everything. I had to turn to the original source to read the final lines from Platonov himself: ' Gvozdarev clung to the window glass and peered inside the twilight hut; he saw what Evdokia Gavrilovna was doing, he saw the pale, beautiful face of his son clear under her hands. '
Novella two: 'You have me' War is not a woman's face. War has no childlike face. War has no face at all - only a beastly grin. Valery Priemykhov, who graduated from the script faculty of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in 1973, knew the topic he was taking up well. It was this knowledge that allowed 8 years later for the role of Pasha Antonov in the film “Boys” (1984) to receive his first State Prize. A very sincere and touching story about how the orphanage boy Vitya (Konstantin Smirnov) suddenly felt its importance for the girl Sasha (Irina Fominskaya). And this significance made the boy instantly grow up, because now he is responsible not only for himself, but for the one who trusted him. The story is almost fabulous, and the fairy tale, as you know, is a rare guest in our lives. So with Vitya - he broke into Sasha's life, warmed her with his warmth and participation, while asking absolutely nothing for himself personally. . .
Novella the third: 'Where are you, Love Dunyashova'. The most emotionally powerful novel is due to the fact that it is based on real events, and the writer Vladimir Tendryakov himself tells this story. A bright, cheerful, partly cheerful story, behind which is a sequel that stretches for decades. At the end, Tendryakov says that through the magazine 'New World' he wrote a response to Lyubov Dunyashova's last letter, but there was no response to this message. He spoke to the audience of the film and... Miracles happen too. 'In memory, her stories emerge about how through this film she found her front-line comrade, how, many years later, they met in Moscow. I remember the photo taken on Red Square, where Tendryakov and Lyubov Mikhailovna held hands.' (Maria Ivanenko)
' With birch unheard, weightless flies yellow leaf, old waltz ' Autumn dream' plays harmonist. The basses sigh, complaining, and, as if in oblivion, the fighters, my comrades, sit and listen.' ('In the forest frontline' lyrics by M. Isakovsky music by M. Blanter)